Two Tech Companies Collaborate on New Auction Inventory Tracking Platform

Two technology companies are aiming to harness the capability of radio frequency identification tags to help auctions track vehicles more efficiently before and after going through the lanes.

Alli-Solutions formed in 2007 to help the auction industry meet the challenges of using RFID technology.

“We wanted to know where vehicles are, where they’ve been and who moved them,” said Barry Howard, president of Alli-Solutions. “And we needed a way to do that efficiently.”

Howard’s solution was to connect with Metalcraft, a manufacturer of RFID applications.

Before going into details about the connection between Alli-Solutions and Metalcraft, the technology manufacturer with a facility in Mason City, Iowa, explained what RFID is.

Metalcraft’s standard RFID Windshield Tag is a 4-inch by 1-inch label that can be placed on the interior of a windshield and is printed on both sides. One side contains variable copy like a bar code and the other with consistent content like a logo or disclaimer.

A corresponding device can pick up the passive RFID label, which can provide a read range of more than 30 feet and can support 496 bits of EPC memory and 512 bits of user memory.

Metalcraft went on to explain the label’s construction encapsulates the inlay between thin layers of polyester adding a bar code and human readable information to one side and a windshield-compatible adhesive to the other. The company said this encapsulation process can protect the inlay and reduces the effects of electrostatic discharge (ESD), while the windshield-compatible adhesive protects against the harmful UV rays.

Furthermore, the RFID label does not require a foam standoff like other windshield tag designs, according to Metalcraft.

With those functions and capabilities in mind, Alli-Solutions worked for more than a year to create the DogBone Vehicle Tracking System, a platform designed to track, locate and manage storage in large areas such as auctions.

Alli-Solutions contends its system can track inventory locations and movements within a facility, identify and locate any singular vehicle or groups of units and readily interface with most existing inventory management systems.

Howard stressed DogBone was designed to be a low-cost, packaged solution, including desktop and mobile software and the necessary RFID hardware.
During development, Alli-Solutions found what it believes to be a key RFID component — Metalcraft’s low-cost, durable RFID labels for vehicles — at an RFID trade show in 2008.

The two companies worked to find standardized, passive RFID labels that would withstand the application environment without raising the cost of the solution requiring thousands of labeled vehicles.

“Metalcraft had the best RFID label solutions for my application,” Howard insisted.

“And Metalcraft had the expertise to help me make decisions. I’ve been real impressed with Metalcraft,” he continued.

With all of the components in place and tested, Alli-Solutions began deploying DogBone at auctions in the fall 2008.

What was the result? Howard insisted it was the paperless, real-time tracking of wholesale inventory

Immediately, Howard said auctions were enjoying paperless, real-time tracking of vehicles and the associated time and cost savings.