HP does RFID

By Bob Trebilcock, Editor at Large -- Modern Materials Handling, 9/20/2005

In Sao Paolo, Brazil, HP is experimenting with RFID technology to improve its processes and supply chain for printers. That means moving beyond adding a tag on a carton or pallet to comply with a retail mandate.

“We are proud that HP was one of the first seven suppliers to become Wal-Mart compliant,” says Frank Lanza, director of RFID solutions for HP (800-752-0900). “By next year, we will have shipped over 1 million tagged units to Wal-Mart.”

But now, HP is testing the technology in its own supply chain. “Sao Paolo is a test bed for process improvements in the printer supply chain,” Lanza says. “We have been working on solutions using earlier technology and are now developing solutions using the new Gen II equipment. We will develop a standard around readers, printers and tags that work and that we will be able to use in other facilities where UHF is allowed.”

One area HP is focusing on is the receiving dock. “We have a project we call the uninterrupted supply chain, which means a continuous flow of product,” Lanza says. “Right now, in our Memphis distribution center, we have to stop to read a bar code on a pallet and a receiving sheet, which generally takes five to seven minutes. With RFID, we can drive that pallet through a portal and read the tags in a few seconds.”

But those aren’t the only areas HP is investigating. For instance, the computer maker knows that if a computer is tipped more than 30 degrees vertical during a shipment, there might be a problem with a hard drive later. HP is experimenting with sensor technology that can detect and record when that happens. HP has also developed a tag and reader solution that will record when and where someone removes one of its valuable Blade servers from a server rack.

As HP develops standards and solutions for its own operations, the next step is to offer those solutions to their customers. HP is working with chipmaker Philips Semiconductor (800-447-1500), another company that has developed RFID solutions for its own supply chain. “We have a number of joint technology customers,” explains Dirk Morgenroth, marketing manager, RFID, at Philips. “They’ve told us they don’t want to worry about readers, printers and tags. They want someone that can take the complexity out of RFID and implement a solution that they works.”