Possible alternative to RFID

Bizerba Niche Systems Partnership has collaborated with Image ID to integrate the two companies' order processing and traceability solution for the food industry.

Image ID's Visidot is a system for identifying products or containers tagged with industry-standard barcode, or data matrix labels, or the company proprietary ColorCode tags. This is now being tied together with Niche's Nucleus sales order processing system and weighing and labelling technology.

The companies claim that Visidot achieves full accuracy in actual installations and provides a cost-effective alternative to radio frequency identification (RFID) technology for food manufacturers and processors. The Visidot system, takes a single-shot capture of the data, speeds up the process compared to traditional hand-held scanning to seconds from minutes.

The capture device also delivers an image of the captured assets for archiving purposes, to be used as a proof in case of a dispute or insurance claim. It can also be used to verify the assets' presence or condition, ensuring that shipping errors are eliminated.

Companies deploying Visidot will be able to identify and track every item entering and leaving the supply chain, achieving compliance with European legislation, including EU General Food Law Regulation 178/2002 [PDF].

"The integrated solution will enable manufacturers to realise the full benefits of compliance with food traceability legislation and meet retailer mandates, while achieving greater supply chain efficiencies," commented Mark Haworth of the Bizerba Niche Systems partnership .