DeRoyal, TEKLYNX, Infratab & HID Win 2019 AIM Case Study Competition

AIM, the trusted worldwide industry association for the automatic identification industry, providing unbiased information, educational resources and standards for nearly half a century, announced the winners of its 2019 Case Study Competition today. The Class of 2019 includes industry leaders DeRoyal, HID Global, Infratab and TEKLYNX.

Presented annually by AIM, the Case Study Competition recognizes those who have developed and delivered compelling solutions that contribute to the growth and advancement of automatic identification and data capture (AIDC) through innovation and technologies which provide benefits that decrease risk, increase the demand and accelerate the advancement and adoption of automatic identification around the world.

Taking the top prize in the Automatic Identification & Data Capture (AIDC) category was Glendale, Wisconsin based TEKLYNX for Aspen Medical Products Improves Labeling Accuracy, Reduces Label Approval Time & Simplifies Labeling Compliance. In this initiative, a leader in upper and lower spinal orthotics for the healthcare industry needed a labeling system that could better manage labels, not just design and print them. This was particularly important as much of the company’s recent growth was coming from expanded distribution in international markets where a labeling system that could handle language transition demands was critical. In addition, Aspen Medical Products was looking to implement a stand-alone labeling system that would eliminate manual entry and integrate with its existing IQMS ERP system as well as find a solution that could improve its ability to meet the vast and ever-changing medical device compliance standards.

DeRoyal, located in Powell, Tennessee, received this year’s honors in the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) category for Improving Quality of Care & Reducing Cost Burdens Through NPWT Management Automation, which demonstrates patient care benefits of an automated Negative Pressure Wound Therapy (NPWT) inventory management system. The study, completed over a 43 month period at a Level 1 Trauma Center affiliated with the University of Tennessee Medical Center, introduced a “One Patient = One Pump” protocol using GPS and RFID enabled NPWT units to streamline workflow, secure tracking for both inventory and medical information to durable medical providers and insurance companies and decrease hospitalization duration for patients by automating discharge process, resulting in improved care efficiencies, real-time usage monitoring, significant cost savings and a better patient experience.

Infratab, headquartered in Oxnard, California, was chosen as the top entry in the Blockchain category for their submission, RFID Tags & Blockchain for the Seafood Cold Chain, a project for a leading supermarket chain in Greece evaluating a temperature monitoring tag and software solution to provide real‐time temperature and shelf life data to maintain the cold chain from harvest to point-of-sale for highly perishable fresh fish. Working with researchers from the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), Infratab designed and tested an analytical model to predict shelf life used and remaining for seafood by comparing microbiological evaluations of fish at regular intervals during distribution. Using a mobile application only, temperature alerts are set to notify specified participants if a threshold has been breached. A report shows what happened, where it happened and indicates the shelf life left, minimizing losses in the supply chain and further losses at retail.

Austin, Texas based HID Global was chosen as the top entry in the Internet of Things (IOT) category for their submission, Tasmanian Distillery Knocks Out Counterfeiters. Protecting brands against counterfeit goods is a global challenge. Old Kempton Distillery, located in Tasmania, an island state of Australia, produces some of the finest single malt whiskey in the country. Aside from lost sales, damaged reputation and a poor customer experience, counterfeiting is a potential safety issue, as counterfeit liquor sometimes contains toxic contaminants. Old Kempton was seeking a solution to guard against grey market activities by allowing customers to authenticate their product when purchased. A secondary goal was to drive personalized engagement with customers post-purchase. HID was able to deploy a powerful cloud product authentication service that embeds a cryptographically secure near field communication (NFC) tag into the label of every bottle, allowing the customer to activate a secure channel and verify authenticity with a tap of an iPhone or Android phone. It also offered a powerful avenue to stay connected to customers and build brand loyalty via personalized communications.

AIM will recognize and honor each of the 2019 winners during upcoming award events. Winners will be presenting their respective case studies at major industry events in addition to AIM virtual events throughout this year and in 2019.

For more information on the 2019 winners, visit AIM Case Study Competition on the AIM website (www.aimglobal.org). Interested parties wishing to download specific case studies can also find them in the AIM Store, an online resource, or contact AIM Headquarters via email ([email protected]) or phone (+1.724.742.4470)