PublishedNovember1,2002.DistributionrestrictedtoSponsorsuntilFebruary1,2003.auto-idcentermassachusettsinstituteoftechnology,77massachusettsavenue,bldg3-449,cambridge,ma02139-4307,usaMichaelBoushka,LyleGinsburg,JenniferHaberstroh,ThaddeusHaffey,JasonRichard,JosephTobolskiAuto-IDontheMove:TheValueofAuto-IDTechnologyinFreightTransportationAuto-IDtechnologyhasleftthelabandisoutintherealworldsoit’snotamatterofif,butwhen.Willyoubereadytotakeadvantageofthefuturescenariodescribedabove?AccenturehasavisionforRFIDandbroaderrelatedtechnologies,calledSilentCommerce.SilentCommercecreatesunlimitednewbusinessopportunitiesbymakingobjectsintelligentandinteractive.Itis“silent”becausecommunicationandcommercecantakeplacebetweenobjectssuchascasesofpapertowels,dockdoorsandwarehousemanagementsystems.ForseveralyearswehavebeenexploringthebusinesspotentialoftheseinnovativetechnologiesatAccentureTechnologyLabs’SilentCommerceCenterslocatedinChicago,IL;PaloAlto,California;andSophiaAntipolis,France.Wehavebuiltworkingbusinessapplicationsandindustryprototypes.Wehosthands-onworkshopswherecompaniescanexplorenear-andlong-termbusinessandindustryimplications.ThisyearinconjunctionwiththeAuto-IDCenter,we'vecollaboratedwithretail,consumergoodsandfreighttransportationindustryleaderstobringyouaseriesofwhitepapers,focusedonthisexcitingnewvaluecreationopportunity.Auto-IDtechnologyisaninnovationthatwillrevolutionizeyourbusinessasyouknowittoday.Weinviteyoutoexplorethepossibilities.Readon!CHICAGO–AsoneofthefirsttruckingcompaniestobecomeanearlyadopterofAuto-IDtechnology,AIDCFreightwaysisnowreapingsubstantialbenefits.Afterathoroughanalysisoftheirsituationandthedevelopmentofasolidbusinesscase,AIDCFreightwaysdecidedtoinvestinelectronicproductcode(EPC)™andradiofrequencyidentification(RFID)technologies.Almostimmediatelyafterimplemen-tation,AIDC’sexpectationswereexceeded.Theyinstantlyimprovedtheiryardmanagementandfleetmon-itoringprocesses.Timetolocateacontainerinoneoftheirmanyyardsusedtobemeasuredinhours.Nowequipmentcanbequicklylocatedforshipmentormaintenance.Asprocess-eshavebecomeautomatedandstreamlined,AIDCFreightwayshasbeenabletoreducelaborcostsandre-deployworkerstoimprovecustomerservice.Theynowplantoselloffselectassetsandpostponeplannedpurchasesofnewequipment.WhileAIDCFreightwaysisextremelysatisfiedwiththeirinvestmentinAuto-IDtechnologies,theyrealizethatmanyofthesignificantbenefitsthetechnologycandeliverwillcomewhentheirtradingpartnersalsobegintoimplement.Inthemeantime,they’vebecomeanadvocateforAuto-IDtechnologyencouragingotherstofollowasimilarpathtoadoptionandbenefitsrealization.EarlyAdoptionofAuto-IDTechnologyMakesFreightFlyatTruckingCompanyAccentureSilentCommercewww.accenture.com/SilentCommercePublishedNovember1,2002.DistributionrestrictedtoSponsorsuntilFebruary1,2003.ACN-AUTOID-BC-003©2002Copyright1MichaelBoushkaPartnerMichaelBoushkaisapartnerinAccenture’sProductsOperatingGroupandtheTransportation&TravelServicesindustrygroup.MikereceivedhisundergraduatedegreeinmechanicalengineeringfromtheUniversityofNotreDameandhismastersofbusinessadministrationdegreefromKansasUniversity.Sincejoiningtheorganizationin1987,hehasbeenprimarilyinvolvedintheplanning,designandinstallationofcustomerserviceanddistributionsystemsforrail,less-than-truckload(LTL)andsmallparceldeliverysegmentsofthetransportationindustry.Hespecializesin...
