DC Velocity - December 2014

Camera, Laser & RFID Technology – Future-proof your Automatic Identification Investment

By Bernd Von Rosenberger, Director of Sales & Marketing for Intralogistics www.sickusa.com The demand for increasing productivity and accuracy while staying within budget has never been stronger.

We hear it from our customers often. And I know it firsthand because before I joined SICK, one of the world's leading producers of sensors and sensor solutions for industrial applications, I spent nearly a decade leading an in-house logistics operations team. Almost all of the engineers at SICK have had roles like this in various industries - from pharmaceutical to automotive.

We know what it’s like to be in your shoes. We appreciate the challenges you deal with every day to precisely control and speed processes and flow of goods while maximizing operator safety. We know that accurate, flexible, easy-to-install and easy-to-use identification technology is critical to helping you achieve this.

That’s why we created the IDpro technology platform. You won’t find anything like it in the marketplace. However, it’s far more than merely smart technology. It’s a really smart investment.

It is not uncommon for one company to require the use of multiple identification technologies across different applications. Process optimizations or changing requirements often necessitate the use of multiple identification technologies, or if necessary, even a subsequent technology modification. From an economic standpoint, however, a modification only makes sense if the identification systems are based on a single platform and if the devices have the same performance and connectivity.

IDpro is the answer to those challenges. Whether you’re using laser, camera or RFID, IDpro technology works with all three – it’s the first-ever platform to achieve this.

Here’s why this is should be very good news to you:
• IDpro technology is a future-proof investment. A single device platform delivers flexibility. You can move from bar
codes to 1D or 2D codes to UHF transponders. You can scan items that are a millimeter to a meter away. You can
ship TVs one moment, bicycles the next and cake the next, and trust they will be identified accurately and at high
read rates – even if codes are damaged or dirty.

• IDpro technology can be customized to your specific needs. If the application calls for using a multi-modal approach, you can mix laser, camera and RFID technologies. With SICK, it doesn’t have to be one or the other. Our consultants have decades of experience and recommend the best technology fit for the application.

• IDpro technology is easy to install. Our technologies are easily integrated with each other because they are characterized by uniform connectivity, an identical user interface and a consistent accessory concept.

• IDpro technology drives productivity. IDpro and its associated technologies do far more than collect data. They collect information that is critical to improving your overall performance and outputs in reports that are easy to understand and make actionable.

In addition to building visionary technology that makes your job easier, SICK has one other important differentiating point: We’re a global organization. We have more than 6,000 employees worldwide and you’ll find SICK experts in nearly every country. Whether you have a division in Baku, Azerbaijan; La Paz, Bolivia, or Qingdao, China, we can provide someone who is fluent in the customs and language to support your operations there.

After all, the challenges of supply-chain logistics know no borders.

For more information about SICK’s solutions for warehouse and distribution centers in North America, contact Bernd von Rosenberger at bernd.vonrosenberger@sick.com, or call 800-325-7425. Visit our web site at www.sickusa.com.