Business Challenges
Manufacturers and OEMs expend considerable time and resources to create devices and consumables that work in concert with one another. The result is a well organized system that provides an optimum experience for the customer and maximizes revenue for the Manufacturer over the lifetime of the system. Once the device ships, however, Manufacturers lose control of what consumables get used. End-users both knowingly and unknowingly compromise product reliability and jeopardize the Manufacturer’s recurring revenue and cost structure through the use of unauthorized consumables or the improper use of authorized consumables.
RFID-based Solution
Embedded RFID allows product manufacturers to control what consumables get placed in their products and manage how those consumables get used. Manufacturers can now embed RFID reader modules seamlessly into virtually any device and control the point of use by reading tagged consumables and authenticating their identity, type, and usage policy.
How the Solution Works
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SkyeTek’s RFID Smart-Device Solution is comprised of a SkyeTek RFID reader module (SkyeModule) embedded inside of a machine or device and RFID labels placed on consumables, disposables, or replacement parts. When one of these items gets placed inside or near the machine, the SkyeModule embedded in the machine reads the RFID tag and applies an authentication policy (previously defined during tag / reader provisioning) to determine acceptability based on criteria such as brand / model / serial number, placement / orientation, and physical characteristics (eg, age, wear, temperature, etc). The results of the authentication process tell the machine whether or not the tagged item is usable and how to properly use the item.
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Business Benefits
OEMs and product designers that have implemented SkyeTek’s RFID Smart-Device solution have been able to realize the following benefits:
- Product Reliability: Improve reliability by ensuring products only interact with acceptable consumables / disposables matching manufacturer, type, age, origin, and other manufacturer-definable criteria.
- Revenue Preservation: Recurring sales from consumables / disposables can be a vital source of revenue for manufacturers – SkyeTek’s solution ensures that only manufacturer-sanctioned consumables / disposables are used with the product.
- Brand Enhancement: Increase brand equity with customers by optimizing how the device gets used and disallowing counterfeit, generic, and substitute consumables / disposables that degrade product operation / reliability.
- Cost Reduction: Ensure proper device and consumable usage eliminating unnecessary support calls and expensive Return Merchandise Authorizations (RMAs).
- Customer Knowledge: Collect data about device and consumable usage in order to understand demand and usage patterns that influence inventory stocking and future product development.