RF Controls, Wachter Form Partnership to Expand Enterprise UHF RFID Deployments
RF Controls and Wachter announced a strategic partnership aimed at enabling turnkey deployment and upgrades of RF Controls’ bi-directional electronically steerable phased-array UHF RFID Smart Antenna systems across enterprise environments.
Under the agreement, Wachter customers will gain access to a combined real-time location system deployment model that brings together RF Controls’ item-level location technology with Wachter’s nationwide engineering, installation and lifecycle support capabilities. The companies said the partnership is designed to support deployments ranging from pilot projects to full production rollouts across distributed facilities.
The companies said Wachter customers using RF Controls’ UHF RFID Smart Antenna systems will be able to achieve real-time item-level visibility without the need for handheld scanners or manual processes. The overhead, hands-free approach is intended to reduce infrastructure footprint while minimizing disruption to floor operations, production lines, retail paths and logistics workflows.
The solution relies on passive, battery-free RFID tags, which the companies said can help lower total cost of ownership (TCO) compared to active RFID or Bluetooth-based technologies while supporting large-scale use cases involving thousands to millions of tagged items. The systems are also designed to integrate with enterprise platforms including warehouse management systems, manufacturing execution systems, enterprise resource planning platforms and automation systems.
Nationwide deployment and ongoing support will be provided through Wachter’s U.S.-based workforce, covering installation, commissioning, validation and both onsite and remote service. Together, the companies said the offering is intended to help enterprises reduce labor tied to manual scanning, improve inventory accuracy, increase workflow throughput and accelerate automation initiatives without major facility redesigns.
“Wachter’s experience in enterprise system deployments provides our customers the means to meet their operational needs,” said Tom Ellinwood, Co-Founder and CEO of RF Controls. “This partnership delivers a seamless path for organizations to transform their operations with real-time visibility and intelligence.”
Matt Tyler, vice president of strategic innovation at Wachter, said the collaboration allows Wachter customers to take advantage of real-time item visibility and automation technologies designed to improve productivity and decision-making across operations.