Welcome to the webinar rundown, Maximize Asset Tracking Capabilities – Zebra’s Ultra-Rugged Fixed RFID Readers. In this webinar, Bob Conti, President of Imprint Enterprises, and Lee Gamble, Senior Product Manager with Zebra Technologies, provide information on how Zebra’s ultra-rugged Fixed RFID readers can help maximize asset tracking capabilities within your business.
Read on for highlights of the topics addressed in this webinar replay or go directly to Maximize Asset Tracking Capabilities – Zebra’s Ultra-Rugged Fixed RFID Readers to watch the replay.
Zebra offers a variety of RFID solutions that can be used in almost any environment, conventional or not.
RFID Technology Enhances Business Operations
RFID has been around for decades, and Zebra has been working with RFID technology along the way. RFID encompasses an entire ecosystem of technologies that includes WiFi, 5G cellular, private networking, machine learning, AI, and robust software solutions. As RFID technologies continues to develop and expand into sustainable green initiatives, it will also expand use cases, enhance visibility, reduce costs indirectly, and improve efficiencies.
In essence, RFID is the combination of a reader that is equipped with a special antenna to collect data, and the RFID tag placed in the environment to provide the data. Data is collected using wireless radio waves, removing the need for line-of-sight or ambient lighting. RFID data can even be collected through materials, such as cardboard, paper, or plastic. The scanning process is what is known as one-to-many, meaning only one reader can scan many tags, which differs from the traditional barcode scanning option.
Lee highlights why RFID scanning solutions can matter for businesses, considering unprecedented events over the past several years:
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- Ecommerce and Digital Transformation
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- Generational changes
- Store process improvements
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- Greater Customer Need for Operational Visibility
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- More picking, fulfillment, last-mile, and automation
- Financial and operational flexibility
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- Increased Value of Analytics and Employee Collaboration
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- Smarter, faster, more AI
- Employee safety
- Workplace efficiencies
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- Global Standards
- Ecommerce and Digital Transformation
RFID Benefit Statistics
RFID can be beneficial in any vertical for many reasons. The primary drivers most businesses incorporate RFID technology include accuracy, real-time monitoring, efficiency, and visibility. Lee lists some of the proven benefits RFID has provided to specific verticals:
Retail
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- Inventory accuracy results
- Reduction in out-of-stocks
- Decrease in shrinkage
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Manufacturing
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- Improve plant floor productivity and safety
- Increase warehouse visibility
- Optimize field and supply chain operations
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Healthcare
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- Reduce hospital-acquired infections
- Prevent medical errors due to misidentification
- Improve patient safety and care
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RFID Asset Tracking Use Case
A business will set up a process, only to find that the process doesn’t work as well as they wanted. So, the process is tweaked a few times until some combination of factors is found to solve the initial problem. How long can it take to find a solution, what is the overall cost of finding the solution, and what is the trade-off?
RFID isn’t just about what an item is. RFID is an affordable solution to installing a process that is fast and efficient. Lee provides real examples of how RFID has created solutions for:
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- Picking and packing
- Shipping and receiving
- Inventory tracking and visibility
- Tote tracking
- Workflow visibility
- Real-time rich data
- Equipment and asset tracking
- Loss Prevention
- Purchase validation
- Employee safety
Zebra’s FXR90 Ultra-Rugged Fixed RFID Reader
Zebra created an ultra-rugged fixed RFID reader with the choice to have a built-in antenna to create an all-in-one unit for fixed RFID applications. This ultra-rugged device is ready for everything and is built for harsh environments. The FXR90 ultra-rugged fixed RFID reader can be used inside and outside of a facility, opening the door to new applications. Lee highlights some of the key capabilities, such as:
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- 5G Cellular and CBRS Support
- Sustain rain and water exposure
- Rated down to -40° F
- Truck mounting
- Cart mounting
- WiFi-6 capabilities
- External antenna connectors
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Zebra’s RFID Product Portfolio
Zebra offers a variety of RFID solutions that can be used in almost any environment, conventional or not. Zebra offers the industry’s broadest portfolio of RAIN RFID technology for both passive and active use. Lee provides a look at some of their offerings, such as:
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- Handheld and handsfree readers
- Fixed readers and antennas
- Printer encoders, inlays, labels, and cards
- Beacons and tags
- Mobile and fixed receiver hardware and apps
Webinar Wrap-Up
Zebra’s business is to help your business today and tomorrow, increasing efficiency and enhancing processes while reducing your overall costs. Zebra Technologies and Imprint Enterprises have the tools, knowledge, and expertise to help you move forward with the future of RFID technology.
Bob and Lee complete the webinar by answering the following questions:
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- Can you use the FXR90 remotely, like in a truck, and how would that connect to power?
- What is the advantage of the internal antenna and why would somebody want to hook up to an external one?
- Are you finding companies are replacing standard barcodes with RFID tags or are RFID tags enhancing what the barcodes can do?
- Bob, do you have any examples or use cases where people have added the FXR90 readers and have seen enhanced productivity or cost savings?
Imprint’s Professional Services
Imprint is a privately held company that was founded in 1975 and has been producing on-demand labels and AIDC products and services since 1990. Imprint has over 2,000 active customers, providing the best in breed technology so you can accomplish your business goals, within your budget.
Imprint has top-tier status as a Premiere Solution Partner with Zebra Technologies, offering a variety of products and solutions:
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- On-demand label printing systems
- Rugged and industrial mobile terminals
- Handheld and fixed-mount scanners
- Camera-based machine vision solutions
- RFID solutions
For 34 years, Imprint has been furnishing label printer media to customers ranging from Fortune 50 to startups, stocking over 750 different sizes and configurations of labels, including regulatory labeling. Imprint’s professional services portfolio has grown over the years, starting with the deployment and servicing of on-demand label printing systems and incorporating:
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- BarTender integration services
- SOTI deployment and management services
- Wireless site-surveys and installation
- Application development and deployment
- Mobile device deployment
- IM², IM² PLUS, and IM² MAX remote support services
Watch the Webinar Replay
With all the commerce, staffing, and regulatory challenges in business, why wouldn’t your business opt for a product that can make processes easier? Ease your businesses process challenges with Zebra’s FXR90 ultra-rugged fixed RFID reader solutions. Create end-to-end traceability and enhance workflow visibility.
Watch the webinar replay, Maximize Asset Tracking Capabilities – Zebra’s Ultra-Rugged Fixed RFID Readers. The experts are there to help you and your business. If you have questions, Contact Imprint Enterprises today.
