Lowry tech advances RFID process, adds jobs

If you haven't heard of radio frequency identification (RFID), odds are you will soon. The term is a catch-all for technology that allows cases, items or pallets to be identified through the use of radio waves, and it's becoming more prevalent in the marketplace - and Lowry Computer Prodcuts, Inc., of Brighton is at the leading edge of this technology, with a new out-of-the-box retail RFID solution.

Large-scale retailers like Sam's Club and Wal-Mart are mandating that suppliers' pallets be tagged with RFID, driving market demand for easy-to-use tech, explains Jeff Tazelaar, Lowry's RFID product manager.

And retailers aren't the only entities driving demand - the U.S. Department of Defense is also requiring suppliers to use RFID chips.

"RFID gives you an ability to see into the supply chain that you didn't have before," Tazelaar says.

Lowry's product, he says, differs from other RFID products available because it sits underneath an existing system, adding the RFID serialization with a Microsoft application. Labels can be printed and applied in-office.

For the Defense Department, security is the key issue, but for retailers, it's simpler, Tazelaar says: "Reducing out-of-stock is the number one goal, reducing inventory, getting as lean as possible so you don't have inventory that's not being sold."

The company says that it has added positions over the last year and expectes further growth but was reluctant to share any specifics.

Source: Jeff Tazelaar, Lowry Computer Products
Writer: Nancy Kaffer