Visit to Unipart RFID lab

The RFID-enabled supply chain

Date: 22 March 2007
Time: 19:30 (coffee and biscuits from 19:00)
Venue: Unipart Logistics, Unipart House, Garsington Road, Cowley, Oxford OX4 2PG http://www.unipartlogistics.com/
Speaker: Visit to Unipart Advanced Logistics Centre
Numbers are restricted and those intending to attend will need to register in advance to avoid delays at Security (this site is busy 24X7)
[we'll need to agree how to handle registrations – I can probably do this by e-mail to tim.l unless Adrian has any clever ideas via the website. In fact we are limited to 50 people, so this should not be a problem]

AdrianWalmsley /04.08.2006 13:15/ Probably easiest to use a simple form which generates an email

Abstract: Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) has attracted huge interest as a technology, particularly within logistics, but suitable applications and the cost-benefit is only starting to become clear. We have been given the rare opportunity of a hosted tour of the facility that Unipart has set-up in Oxford to test the impact and benefits of RFID deployment in terms of strategy, people and process.

Description: Unipart Logistics has set up a dedicated centre to improving business process through the use of RFID technology. The 100,000 sq ft facility, called the Advanced Logistics Centre (ALC), developed and perfected over five years, is a 3D, large-scale model that replicates the end-to-end supply chain, linking raw material supplier to the final customer. The ALC encompasses all supply chain business steps and processes, IT functionality, and IT infrastructure. This enables the business community to simulate new, advanced logistics processes and technology in a real-world but risk-free environment, to test the impact and benefits of RFID deployment in terms of strategy, people and process. Underpinned by SAP’s RFID platform, the system uses Intermec’s RFID readers and printers. The ALC simulates a real-life environment, complete with raw materials, picking systems, pallets and supermarket shelves complete with real goods, to create a physical representation of the cost benefits of RFID technology throughout the supply chain.

Committee owner: Tim