News

Microsoft sees accelerating adoption of ‘standardized’ RFID-enabled applications Aug 1, 2008: An internal Microsoft blog seems to capture the essence of a resurgence of interest in RFID-enabled applications, building on the falling cost, growing reliability and increased ‘off the shelf’ functionality available from application vendors. According to the blog, “I have noticed a shift in attitude over the past year...yes, there will continue to be areas where RFID is viewed as more of a cost than a benefit, like the mandates for consumer goods manufacturers. But the RFID conversations I have on a daily basis with our Manufacturing customers are not about mandates or the latest active tag capabilities. They are about business value and how RFID can be leveraged in their supply chains..." Strobe has evangelized for some time that the adoption curve for value-driven RFID applications would rise much more sharply than any compliance-driven curve – even one driven by a force as powerful as Wal*Mart. Of course we are also very pleased...

Kiala playing a growing role in returns management Jul 31, 2008: We are not exactly sure what a ‘Univers Freebox’ enables residents of France to watch that they otherwise would not get to watch over the airwaves – but we nonetheless found the description of the offering on its website to be very interesting. Univers stresses service and ease of use in its description of its service. We found it even more interesting that the company has apparently decided that incorporating ‘return points’ offered through Logispring portfolio company Kiala are consistent with their emphasis on service. A growing emphasis on after-sales service, particularly for high-value manufactured goods, combined with growing awareness of ‘green’ issues by both consumers and businesses, could well lead to...

On-Line marketers deploying real-time BI technology Jul 6, 2008: Real-time BI problems typically rely on data that is more granular than that added to a data warehouse and require a response in minutes or seconds rather than the hours or days it takes to ‘Extract Transform and Load’ a traditional data warehouse. Recent publications from e-commerce analysts JupiterResearch have suggested that ‘short cycle’ responses to consumers’ on-line activities can deliver very substantial improvements in the sales performance, “quick actions based on online customer behavior can generate 18 times more lift and 9 times more revenue than traditional batch-based segmentation techniques.” This on-line marketing response challenge clearly fits in the ‘real-time BI domain’ definition...

Analysts recognizing the value of a 'Manufacturing Aware' Warehouse Management System May 26, 2008: Steve Banker, director of supply chain management at ARC Advisory Group, was quoted in a recent article of SDC Exec, "The implementation of a warehouse management system built from a manufacturer's perspective offers a differentiated approach to extend lean initiatives into the warehouse...best-in-class manufacturers [have] business processes spanning production and material flows add[ing] a new level of performance improvement, driving further waste from already lean processes." The article also quoted Apriso customer Rustam Sanaev, IT Operations manager at British American Tobacco...

Logispring leads investment in Lysanda May 19, 2008: Logispring has completed a £1.25 million equity investment in real-time emissions measurement company Lysanda. Logispring was the sole lead investor and was joined by other existing investors.