SUNNYVALE, Calif. -- Real-Time Solution Cited for Optimizing Security and Efficiency of 'Smart Containers' Entering U.S. Ports Equipped with RFID and Networked Software Platform
Recognizing its leadership in advancing a global software network that enables the real-time tracking of "smart" cargo containers, Savi Technology recently garnered two major awards from acclaimed international organizations for its solutions that enhance "Homeland" and global supply chain security. Savi's unique technology platform provides a flexible global network for the deployment of innovative software linked with all types of Automatic Identification Technologies that deliver both improved cargo security and supply chain efficiency. The most recent recognition includes:
-- A National Infocomm Award 2004 (NIA) ("Most Innovative Infocomm Product and Service"), presented by Singapore's Information, Communications and the Arts Minister Lee Boon, and co-sponsored by the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) and the Singapore Infocomm Technology Federation (SiTF). Savi was selected as one of four top winners from 146 leading companies nominated for the NIA award, the highest industry accolade for information technology innovation in Singapore.
-- The "2004 Homeland Security - Private Sectors Market Global Customer Leadership of the Year Award," presented by Frost and Sullivan, a leading global growth consultancy, during the firm's 2004 Best Practices Awards Banquet presided over by Krishna Srinivasan, president of Frost and Sullivan. Based on extensive quantitative and qualitative analysis, the Homeland Security award for customer leadership noted: "With 15 years of logistics infrastructure experience, Savi is the proven leader in building RFID networks that deliver real-time visibility, asset management, inventory optimization, and global supply chain security."
Savi Technology, a leading provider of real-time solutions for supply chain visibility, management and security, helped build the U.S. Department of Defense's In-Transit Visibility (ITV) network -- the world's largest active RFID cargo tracking system with more than 1,400 installations in over 45 countries. The DoD has deployed Savi's solutions and more than one million of its active, data-rich RFID tags to track critical supplies for more than a decade, including conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan, Bosnia and Somalia.
In addition, Savi's integrated RFID hardware and software solutions, including the Savi SmartChain middleware platform and Transportation Security System (TSS) software application, provide the technology basis for Smart and Secure Tradelanes (SST). Formed after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States, SST is an industry-driven initiative leveraging 7th-generation RFID-driven technologies and networked software to improve the security and efficiency of transporting cargo containers, particularly those destined for U.S. ports.
The SST network continues to grow and to date is installed in more than 15 sea ports worldwide and has tracked more than 2,000 sea containers. The same Savi-generated solutions have been used in projects ranging from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Operation Safe Commerce to pilots funded by the U.S. Trade and Development Agency to track the security of RFID-equipped "smart" containers originating from Asia, the Middle East and Africa destined for U.S. ports.
"We're humbled to receive this international recognition at a time when it's increasingly critical to build an intelligent global network from point of origin to final destination that can sense and respond to 'smart containers' to detect security breaches when they happen," said Mark Weidick, vice president of Savi's Collaborative Network Services. "With about seven million of these containers coming into U.S. ports every year, everyone needs assurances of end-to-end visibility to improve security and business efficiency. Our system solves a critical Homeland Security problem by tracking the location and security of shipments in real-time through strategic checkpoints across borders and multiple transportation modes."
"The close collaboration between industry and public entities here provides an ideal environment for innovating practical solutions such as TSS that can be applied universally -- in this case, the global supply chain community," said Chee Kean Lim, president of Savi Technology Asia, based in Singapore, home to one of the world's busiest transshipment ports. "TSS provides real-time intelligence on the status, security and integrity of cargo containers, enabling users to manage, analyze and optimize their shipments more effectively and take immediate corrective action if necessary." In addition to engineering and marketing offices, Savi Technology Asia includes the Savi Research and Development Center for IT Logistics Excellence, which is committed to advancing networked software that's integrated with RFID and other Automatic Identification and Data Collection Technologies, from barcodes and sensors to biometrics and satellite tracking systems.
Studies by BearingPoint, Stanford University and others have found that Savi's networked RFID solutions for containerized cargo decrease operational costs, improves operational efficiency and productivity, ensures container security and integrity, enables problem resolution and cost avoidance, as well as facilitates fast-track shipments through Customs inspection points.
"These awards to Savi Technology underscore the growing international awareness and emphasis on the uses of existing advanced technologies and best practices to help thwart multiple supply chain security problems, including theft, smuggling, transport of counterfeit goods and the use of containers to hide weapons of mass destruction and disruption," said David Jones, chairman of the National Cargo Security Council, the leading professional association of security professionals from all supply chain functions. Following are more details on the most recent awards:
NIA 2004's "Most Innovative Infocomm Product and Service". Awarded for Savi's TSS software application, TSS is uniquely integrated with the Savi SmartChain platform, which processes data automatically transmitted over radio waves from RFID devices -- including door and temperature sensors -- on the containers. TSS is a web-based, full-featured application that provides real-time and continuous monitoring of the security and integrity of "smart" cargo containers equipped with automatic identification technologies, including RFID, which provide real-time information on the location and status of the container and its contents. Automated alerts sent to TSS immediately provide updates on the security status and integrity of the container, as well as the location and any deviations from plan, such as delays or re-routes. When authorized personnel electronically seal containers and authenticate the contents at the point of origin, the software continuously tracks the status of the container and its contents as they move through key checkpoints in the supply chain.
"2004 Homeland Security - Private Sectors Market Global Customer Leadership of the Year Award." Frost and Sullivan recognized companies that are predicted to encourage significant growth in their industries, have identified emerging trends before they became the standard in the marketplace, and have created advanced technologies that will catalyze industries in the near future. The Frost & Sullivan Award for Global Customer Leadership is bestowed upon the company that has demonstrated excellence in customer leadership within their industry. The recipient company has shown tremendous responsiveness to customer needs and has continually focused on long and short-term customer profitability goals. In addition, the recipient company demonstrated flexibility in tailoring their product offerings to suit customer businesses. To choose the recipient of this Award, the analyst team tracks industry participants and monitors their customer service methods on an ongoing basis. The Award recipient is selected based upon extensive research collected from key market participants, secondary and technology sources, and customer interviews.
During the past two years, Savi has been recognized for its innovative real-time supply chain management and security solutions by a wide range of organizations, including the World Economic Forum, Red Herring and Inbound Logistics magazines, the European Retail Solutions Conference, and the National Defense Transportation Agency, which last year bestowed on Savi its "National Transportation Award."
