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Fluensee Inc. has released a new RFID-based starter kit to help companies quickly launch an automated asset management program. AssetTrack Express, which launched in March, includes software, hardware and support services for managing a variety of valuable, highly mobile assets, and has a starting price of less than $10,000. "Most companies are using manual processes for asset management," says Tim Harvie, Fluensee CEO. "This gives larger companies a way to get introduced to RFID asset management, and for smaller companies to have a production solution that they can use to manage their assets." The standard AssetTrack Express kit includes Fluensee's asset tracking software, a rugged hand-held RFID reader, up to 250 assorted passive RFID tags, a quick set-up guide, and up to eight hours of phone support services. The kit also includes one year of software upgrades and basic maintenance. For an additional cost, kit contents can be modified (to include stationary readers or alternative tag technologies, for example) based on the customer's specific needs. The standard kit comes with a Symbol Technologies hand-held RFID reader from Motorola. The passive, EPCglobal Gen2-compliant RFID tags are a mix of Alien Technology, UPM Rafsec and KSW Microtec tags. The starter kit can be used to track asset pools of 250 to 500 items. The system also supports bar code tracking (the Symbol reader is multi-functional). "We're not RFID dependent, " says Harvie. "We support multiple technologies simultaneously." Fluensee already has a few customers up and running on the system, including the Denver School of Science and Technology, and The Furniture Room, a Denver-based furniture importer/retailer.
"I'd been recently considering how RFID could make our lives easier, so I was delighted to discover AssetTrack Express and begin working with Fluensee to determine the best deployment for our situation," said Mark Inglis, director of technology for the Denver School. "Our aim is to institute a true asset management solution by using AssetTrack Express to automate many processes we're still doing manually, such as tracking students' roving laptops and keeping tabs on warranty dates. I expect a host of cost and labor-saving benefits from Fluensee's RFID starter kit." The system is targeted at users with high-value, highly mobile assets, which makes IT asset tracking a primary market. Harvie says that the system could also be used in manufacturing, retail, and transportation environments. Larger companies can also use the starter kit to develop proof-of-concept systems, then move forward with an integrated, enterprise-wide solution.
"By bundling all of the components a company needs to get started with RFID-enabled asset tracking, we're aiming to help them make an effortless move from deliberation to action," says Harvie. "Although cost-effective and straightforward, AssetTrack Express is also a very powerful and sophisticated solution that will deliver evident ROI within weeks." Fluensee also offers an enterprise-level asset management solution called AssetTrack to accommodate the more complex needs of larger organizations. Other offerings in its suite of software include Fluensee Yard, Dock and Fleet, which are specifically designed to automatically and effectively manage assets in transportation and distribution environments.
"With the addition of AssetTrack Express to our portfolio, we are now a one-stop shop for a broad range of RFID-based asset tracking solutions that suit the distinct needs of each customer, from the entry-level adopter to the enterprise-class business already leveraging RFID," Harvie says. Since tag selection and placement will vary by customer, Fluensee provides some guidance as to which tags would be most appropriate for each application. "A lot of customers want to do some of their own testing on various tags, to get educated on the pros and cons, and even experiment with different adhesives," Harvie says. "We can replace certain tags in the kit with other tags, based on their needs, to the extend that the cost is the same."
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