Innovative solutions from i-Rose at Drinktec fair

(Delo, 26.9.2009)

In the middle of September, one of the most important fairs of beverage technology Drinktec took place at the new fair premises in Munich. At the fair, taking place every four years, there were 1405 exhibitors, among them also seven Slovene companies - the most noticeable one of them being the company i-Rose from Laško.

Traceable by means of radio waves

A company from a small town near Savinja presented at the fair their solution i-Track, intended for tracking and efficient asset management, using RFID technology; the technology was efficiently integrated with software. We probably do not need to mention that this solution was based on their domestic knowledge. According to the company, their i-Track solution can be used in different branches where asset management is needed. The company highlighted usage in the brewing industry, especially in the area of beer kegs – this solution was also presented at Drinktec – but it can be used for tracking waste containers or gas bottles as well. The assets, integrated in the system, can be traceable at any time and as a result the economy improves considerably. According to Miha Mirt, the head of marketing in i-Rose, the main advantages of their solution are not only in lower costs, but also in management improvement, better responsiveness, the reduction of unmarketable stocks and what is most important, they improve the business partners' satisfaction. And how is the company satisfied with the number of visitors of their exhibition premises at the Munich fair? Mirt adds that there was a considerable interest in the i-Track solution at Drinktec. "Our exhibition premises were visited by businessmen from all over the world, which was a pleasant surprise. Nevertheless, it is true that i-Track was presented in the time when the industry tries to optimise all aspects of their management and is willing to invest in such solutions."

How i-Track works

The most essential part of the i-Track system is the so called service-oriented architecture (SOA) which is in charge of the integration of the local ERP system, monitoring the business process, analysis and the integration of a special hardware.

I-Track is made up of three basic parts – modular software solution, tracking terminals and RFID tags. The latter can be active and/or passive; the active ones are used in the case where assets are relatively large (waste containers, bins). Passive RFID labels are small, only a few millimetres big. They are able to identify the assets to which they are attached, by means of radio waves. These labels are followed by special terminals – we distinguish between basic and mobile sensors. The latter can be connected to a GPS receiver which enables to determine the location; with the help of the GPRS technology they can communicate with i-Track. BlueTooth, furthermore, enables communication with users' mobile devices.

i-Track enables a support to business processes and also analysis and business reports, where information, offered by the system, are divided in several spheres: management is interested in different information than field workers. We should also add that the i-Track system can be used where the internet access is available.