Captures Shipping Errors at the Source to Avoid Compliance Penalties

 

NASHVILLE, TN (U Connect Conference, June 6, 2006) — SEEBURGER Inc. today announced an upgrade to its RFID Gateway/SCM Portal middleware platform that enables CPG companies to recover their RFID system investments for the first time by preventing inaccurate shipments that trigger retailer chargebacks.  The new application reconciles product codes contained on RFID labels with the original purchase order before the shipment leaves the supplier’s warehouse, potentially saving millions of dollars in compliance penalties that erode CPG profit margins.

 

“Chargebacks can slash 2 to 10% off a manufacturer’s overall revenues.  A large percentage of these charges can be eliminated by detecting short lots and other packing errors before the shipment goes out the door,” said Philip Calderbank, SEEBURGER Vice President of RFID.  “By making it possible to detect those errors and thereby reduce chargebacks, our RFID Gateway can now equip CPG manufacturers with a true economic return on the RFID technology investments they are being forced to make in order to do business with retail giants like Wal-Mart.”

 

The new functionality is contained in an enhancement to the SEEBURGER RFID Gateway’s Event Manager that is available immediately as an add-on to the Gateway software.  With the new Event Manager/Shipping application:

• EPC codes from packed cases and pallets are read via RFID when the goods pass an RFID shipping portal, then are automatically compared to the Purchase Order or stock Pick List contained in the CPG’s ERP system.
• If the codes and/or quantities fail to match the original print command setup, the Shipping application will trigger an alarm by either switching a traffic light from green to red or sending an alarm message to the shipping manager.  
• CPGs can then resolve the problem by adjusting the advance shipping notice (ASN), the invoice or the items in the shipment, ensuring accurate order fulfillment as well as providing documentation to contest erroneous chargebacks.

 

In a complementary upgrade designed to streamline RFID label printing and encoding, the RFID Gateway Print Manager can now automatically populate print commands from the original Purchase Order or Pick List to eliminate the time and error risk involved in manual data entry.  Print jobs are then placed in a queue and can be sent to any CPG location around the country whenever the labels are needed.  This feature now comes standard with the RFID Gateway.

 

Both the new print and shipping reconciliation functions leverage SEEBURGER’s 20-year experience in EDI and business-to-business integration by providing seamless communication with the CPG’s core business systems.  Purchase Orders or Pick Lists can be shared with the RFID Gateway either through an EDI message or via integration with the CPG’s ERP or warehouse management system, utilizing SEEBURGER’s advanced B2B technology.

 

The SEEBURGER RFID Gateway/SCM Portal is a scalable, EPC-compliant middleware solution providing advanced data, tag, and hardware management capabilities for all stages of RFID deployments from pilot projects to full enterprise application and trading partner integration.

 

The Gateway’s basic functionality is also available on a hosted basis through IDnet, the market’s first hosted solution for implementing an EPC-compliant “slap and ship” program.  The monthly subscription service eliminates the need for companies to install and manage the software required to match barcodes to RFID/EPC codes, print RFID/barcode labels, and automatically generate and transmit ASNs. 

 

SEEBURGER is a leading provider of global business integration solutions designed to optimize transactions throughout the extended enterprise by automating trading relationships with all partners regardless of their size and technical resources.  Launched in 1986 to provide integration solutions to the automotive industry in Germany, the company today is ranked among the top business-to-business gateway providers by industry analysts, and serves more than 6,500 customers in 35 countries and more than 15 industries through its flagship B2B Gateway and related products and services.  SEEBURGER has global offices in Europe, Asia Pacific and North America, including a U.S. office that opened in 1998. 

 

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