When Wilson Sporting Goods needed to implement an RFID compliance system, Ed Matthews, director of information technology for Wilson, turned to Zebra Technologies. The company recently installed four Zebra R110Xi printer/encoders to label shipments that require RFID compliance tagging - all while undertaking a major SAP ERP migration. "I had worked with Zebra before and knew their equipment was very reliable," says Matthews. "So, we moved right past that concern and got down to the project details."
Because the compliance system had to be running before the SAP migration would be complete, Wilson chose to run its RFID labeling system independent of SAP with plans to migrate to the new infrastructure upon its completion. Since the Zebra R110Xi printer/encoders support Auto ID Infrastructure (AII) and have exclusive features that allow a direct connection to SAP systems, Wilson will be able to integrate the printer/encoders to the SAP system following the upgrade.
When the new SAP system is complete, Wilson plans to integrate RFID data further into its operations so that it can encode additional information into its shipping labels, such as ship-to address, SKU number and item quantity. "As the system grows and we make additional use of the RFID data that is captured, we plan to install more Zebra printer/encoders at other facilities," says Matthews. "We've had a good relationship with Zebra and excellent support, so I am confident that the products will be seamlessly integrated into any future RFID protocols we implement."
