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WHERENET UNVEILS WIRELESS TRACKING SYSTEM TO REDUCE LOGJAMS AT MARINE TERMINALS; AUTOMATED PROCESSING PROVIDES ADDITIONAL SUPPORT FOR HOMELAND SECURITY
SSA Marine Among First to Benefit From Active RFID Technology Solution;
“Virtual Tagging” of Every Container in a Seaport Yard Provides
Real-Time Location and Status Data, Increases Throughput, and Reduces Costs
SANTA CLARA, Calif.—April 5 , 2005— WhereNet Corp., the leader of wireless solutions for tracking and managing enterprise assets, announced today general availability of the WhereNet ® Marine Terminal Solution (MTS). Utilizing the company’s standards-based, active RFID real-time locating system (RTLS) technology, this industry-first marine terminal application combines business intelligence, sensor data, and sophisticated algorithms to serve as the “eyes and ears” of the terminal operating system (TOS), providing constant visibility and status information and automating the work flow for marine terminal operators.
By replacing manual, error-prone, latent data collection processes with automated, up-to-the-minute status and location data about every container and mobile asset in a marine terminal, the WhereNet system provides critical real-time data to the TOS software and personnel, enabling them to:
- Optimize yard operations
- Realize significant cost savings
- Increase throughput
- Improve security in line with Homeland Security regulations
- Offer better customer service while facing ever-increasing volumes of imports
SSA Marine, the largest privately held container terminal operator and cargo handling company in the world, is deploying the WhereNet wireless infrastructure and marine terminal solution at four West Coast ports this year.
“Solving a Rubik’s Cube seems simple compared to keeping track of the stacks and stacks of containers moving through marine terminal yards today,” said Ed DeNike, chief operating officer, SSA Terminals. “This puzzle is getting more and more difficult to solve with each passing day. With imports expected to double by 2010, marine terminal operators have no choice but to invest in technology to try to keep up with the onslaught of inbound product from Asia . WhereNet provides a critical foundational infrastructure that enables marine terminals to maximize landlocked yards and expedite throughput by providing constant visibility and status information about every container — no matter where it moves — across expansive, congested marine terminals.”
Business Intelligence Breeds “Virtual Tagging” Breakthrough
Using active RFID WhereTag™ devices and a local infrastructure of wireless WhereLAN™ locating access points, the WhereNet solution provides real-time location and status information for tens of thousands of containers — often stacked five high and six “lanes” wide — across hundreds of acres in marine terminals. Rather than tagging every container — which is logistically challenging, the WhereNet system enables “virtual tagging” of containers by continuously monitoring every piece of container handling equipment in the yard to keep track of when and where containers are moved.
Leveraging sensors on container handling equipment, location information, optical character recognition data, and sophisticated algorithms, the WhereNet Marine Terminal Solution uses business intelligence to filter irrelevant data and calculate the exact location and status of containers in a marine facility — in real time. Sophisticated exceptions monitoring allows the system to perform with minimal human intervention. When the TOS needs data about a container, the WhereNet system passes a simple message to the TOS in a manner that it can understand.
“Marine terminals are a major choke point for supply chains across the country, and the problem is getting worse. With new-generation 8,000-TEU vessels — which require a line of trucks 40 miles long to offload — bound for our ports every day, marine terminals are scrambling to keep up,” said John Rosen, director of product marketing for WhereNet. “As the ‘eyes and ears’ of the terminal operating system, WhereNet’s Marine Terminal Solution helps automate and optimize time-sensitive freight movements to increase throughput, cut costs, and reduce congestion while also providing an extra level of security.”
Pricing and Availability
Pricing for the WhereNet wireless system and marine terminal management solution is based on the configuration requirements of a customer’s system and the size of the installation; a small WhereNet system begins at approximately $500,000. The WhereNet marine terminal solution is available immediately from WhereNet.
About SSA Marine
SSA Marine (www.ssamarine.com) is the largest privately held container terminal operator and cargo handling company in the world. The company has 150 operations worldwide, including port operations throughout the U.S. and in Panama , Mexico , Chile , Costa Rica , South Africa ,and New Zealand , and more than 10,000 employees.
About WhereNet Corp.
A Zebra Technologies company, WhereNet is the first company to deliver a single wireless location and communication infrastructure that reliably and cost-effectively manages valuable mobile resources and delivers a complete return on investment within 6-12 months. Based on patented, standards-compliant technology resulting from a collective 100+ years of development, the WhereNet active RFID, real-time locating system solutions enable companies such as APL, BMW, Ford Motor Company, and NYK Logistics and facilities like Tobyhanna Army Depot to reduce inventory, lower operating costs, and improve operations. The company has received the Henry Ford Technology Award; was recognized for strong ROI by Computerworld; was ranked among the top 10 in the InfoWorld 100; and has been recognized as a wireless innovator by Forrester Research, Global Logistics & Supply Chain Strategies, Plant Engineering, and Supply & Demand Chain Executive magazines. WhereNet is headquartered in Santa Clara, California, and has offices throughout the United States and Europe. For more information, visit the WhereNet Web site at www.wherenet.com, or call 408-845-8500 (in the U.S.) or +32 3 286 84 50 (in Europe).
WhereNet is a registered trademark and WhereTag is a trademark of WhereNet Corp. All other brands, products, or service names are or may be trademarks or service marks of their respective owners.
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