SUCCESS CASES

An important initiative involving RFID is happening in Brazil. HP chose the country as the world pilot to apply the technology to manufacture equipments of its Image and Printing unity in the factory of Sorocaba (SP).

To use RFID at the item level is something that most of the companies will only be ready to do in many years. However, HP has gone beyond the phase to just tag pallets or boxes and has been using the RFID technology to tag each product manufactured in the Brazilian factory.

Unlike other implementation, for the first time the tag memory user is used. Unique product information is stored in this extra memory during the manufacturing process. The information stored includes HP serial number, product testing results, product firmware, cartridges “install by date” and product destination. This implemented approach enables the creation of a “product DNA” that travels with the printer across the entire supply chain. With this, HP controls each one of the manufactured unit, which helps the work of technical support and equipment recycling, since a unique RFID tag that interacts in all transactions contains the individual information of the products.

HP Brazil implementation is internationally recognized as an outstanding Best RFID Implementation, having won from the world's leading media company covering radio frequency identification technology, RFID Journal, the first RFID Journal Awards – Best RFID Implementation. In the same way, the Supply Chain Council (SCC) also recognized its excellence, awarding HP the second place in the 2007 Supply-Chain Excellence Awards in the category Technology Excellence.

HP Brazil also received the APICS Innovation Award of Excellence by APICS (Association for Operations Management). The winners were presented during the International Conference and Exhibition of APICS 2007.

The HP implementation was also considered one of the best I.T. projects in the year and was listed at "2007 InfoWorld 100 - "The Best IT Projects of 2007". This annual awards honor IT projects that demonstrate the most creative use of cutting-edge technologies to further their business goals.

HP Brazil RFID implementation was also listed among the "TOP 25 Brazilian innovation projects of the last decade" in a research from Monitor Group and one of the most important business magazines in Brazil, Exame, which evaluated 228 different projects.

HP received the award for the RFID-enabled Manufacturing & Supply Chain Management project, in the category Innovation Mastery. This award is granted to companies that have achieved a significant advance or breakthrough in product concept, design,production or ability to deliver to customers.