Savi Wins $6.6 Million Order from U.S. Defense Department for RFID Supply Chain Tracking Technologies

(Business News & Technology News, 26 Oct 2009)

Savi®, a Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] company and provider of RFID-based supply chain products and solutions, has been awarded orders totaling $6.6 million for standards-based active Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tracking technologies and accompanying services under the U.S. Department of Defense’s (DoD’s) RFID III procurement contract. The RFID tags, which are affixed to cargo containers and other supply chain assets, comply with the ISO 18000-7 standard (also called DASH7), enabling near real-time supply visibility and interoperability with allied defense forces and government organizations.
The U.S. Army Information Technology, E-Commerce and Commercial Contracting Center (ITEC4) issued the procurement orders utilizing competitive procedures under the RFID-III contracting vehicle, which is a multiple award, indefinite-delivery-indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract with a total value of $429.4 million. RFID III was established for active RFID hardware, software and engineering services, and is open to all U.S. military Services, U.S. Federal Agencies and non-U.S. defense forces.
“This initial order of DASH7 RFID devices marks the DoD’s conversion of RFID products to an open global standard that will support multi-national interoperability and innovative solutions that can leverage sensor-rich networks,” said David Stephens, chief executive officer of Savi Technology. “We’re gratified to be both a long-term supplier of RFID solutions to the DoD, and now a pioneering supporter of its transition to standards-based technologies that will help provide war fighters with the right supplies at the right time to get the job done.”
Savi received three orders with staggered delivery dates with the final deliveries due in three months. The contract includes orders for the Savi ST-654, which is an ISO 18000-7 compliant high-performance, data-rich active RFID tag widely used to track shipping containers, vehicles and other large and valuable assets; and, the Savi ST-621, (also ISO 18000-7 compliant), which is a lower-cost, license plate tag designed for quick commissioning that is ideal for tracking shipping containers, rolling stock and other conveyances.
For the past dozen years, Savi has helped to build the DoD’s In-Transit Visibility network, which is the world’s largest active RFID-based cargo tracking system spanning more than 4,000 nodes across more than 40 countries. Savi RFID-based solutions also support other government agencies and international defense forces such as NATO, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Sweden, Denmark, Spain, Poland, and others.
RFID III calls for “state-of-the-art” active RFID products compliant with ISO 18000-7 that provide “logistics tracking, locating, and health monitoring of commodities and assets.” Savi actively participated in the development of ISO 18000-7, and offers a reasonable and non discriminatory licensing program for patent-protected protocols included in the international standard. Several commercial companies have licensed Savi’s technology, including companies selected for possible awards under the RFID III contract.