Thomasville Furniture Industries' Creative Interiors Division is deploying an RFID tracking system to comply with mandates from Wal-Mart and Target. The ready-to-assemble furniture manufacturer has contracted Unisys Corp. and ODIN technologies to maintain its RFID network and infrastructure.
"Thomasville Furniture is excited about having partners with the experience and capabilities of Unisys and ODIN technologies," said Terry Bargy, vice president and chief information officer, Thomasville Furniture. "Working with both partners gives us the confidence to continue to be proactive in using RFID and other new technologies to improve our business."
"This is the first time we've done passive RFID, one-stop-shop support," said Peter Regen, vice president of Global Visible Commerce at Unisys. "We're building on the capabilities we have with our field organization."
Unisys will provide IT outsourcing services, including help desk and on-site field support for hardware and software issues related to RFID infrastructure. ODIN technologies, which designed and implemented the infrastructure, will work with Unisys to provide Thomasville with support for severe infrastructure failures and reinstallations.
"Thomasville's RFID program with remote and on-site infrastructure support is a testament to the technology's growing maturity," Regen said. "RFID is a key technology that companies are employing to gain greater visibility into their supply chain -- which is critical for improving efficiencies and reducing inventories. Also, Thomasville clearly understands the operational and economic advantages of working with an experienced IT outsourcing partner who can manage service events in a business environment where downtime is not an option."
Thomasville is tagging finished goods before they are shipped to customer distribution centers. The system includes printers, a mobile tagging station, and readers at the Thomasville Appomattox, Va., facility's dock doors and at a shrink-wrap station, among other components. Other vendors on the project included Alien Technology, Zebra Technologies, and Shipcom Wireless.
