(2005-06-27)
First Around-the-Clock, One-Point-of-Contact RFID Support Enables Thomasville Furniture to Build Greater Supply Chain Visibility – Unisys Corporation (NYSE: UIS) and ODIN technologies announced today that they have been chosen by Thomasville Furniture Industries’ Creative Interiors Division, a full-line furniture manufacturer, to maintain its entire Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) network and infrastructure. The RFID network and infrastructure provides track and trace capabilities for products sent to Thomasville’s large retail customers.
“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.”
Unisys will provide information technology (IT) outsourcing services, consisting of 24x7 help desk and on-site field support for hardware and software issues related to the RFID infrastructure. As the one point of contact for all RFID service requests, Unisys will help streamline the support process for Thomasville. ODIN technologies will work with Unisys to provide Thomasville with support for severe infrastructure failures and reinstallations.
“Thomasville’s robust RFID program with 24x7 remote and on-site infrastructure support is a testament to the technology’s growing maturity,” said Peter Regen, vice president, Global Visible Commerce, Unisys. “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.”
The RFID infrastructure, designed and implemented by ODIN technologies, is being used to tag finished goods – ready to assemble furniture created by Thomasville’s Creative Interior division – before being shipped to Thomasville’s customers’ distribution centers. The RFID tags will enable Thomasville to confirm the delivery of the products to its customers.
“We are excited to partner with Unisys and Thomasville to provide the RFID industry’s first true 24x7 hardware and software-agnostic support services. More and more, RFID tagging capabilities are becoming production-critical infrastructure. As RFID matures, 24x7 support will become a critical asset needed to maintain fulfillment lead times. For Thomasville, the combination of Unisys global field support and service management capabilities, and decade of RFID experience, coupled with ODIN’s position as a leader in RFID infrastructure, will support the proper operation of the system over time,” said Patrick J. Sweeney II, chief executive officer, ODIN technologies.
About Thomasville Furniture
Thomasville Furniture Industries, a division of Furniture Brands International (NYSE: FBN), is a full-line furniture manufacturer founded in Thomasville, North Carolina, in 1904. Furniture Brands International is the largest furniture manufacturer in the United States. Other FBN brands include: Broyhill, Drexel Heritage, Henredon, Lane, & Maitland – Smith.
About ODIN technologies
ODIN technologies (www.odintechnologies.com) is the leader in the physics of RFID infrastructure testing, deployment and certification. ODIN technologies leverages its team of RF engineers, physicists and software developers combined with its laboratory facilities to provide RFID consulting services to major retailers, consumer goods manufacturers, United States government agencies and other RFID early adopters. ODIN technologies is privately held and has labs and offices in Northern Virginia and a systems development office in Dublin, Ireland.
About Unisys
Unisys is a worldwide information technology services and solutions company. Our people combine expertise in consulting, systems integration, outsourcing, infrastructure and server technology with precision thinking and relentless execution to help clients, in more than 100 countries, quickly and efficiently achieve competitive advantage. For more information, visit www.unisys.com.
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Contacts Jennifer Lyons, Unisys, 215-986-5497
jennifer.lyons@unisys.com