Chris Fennig of Odin, who provided a general overview of the RFID-enabled cabinets market, noted a growth trend in the segment over the past 18 months. According to Fennig, the growth is from two drivers: liability and patient care, and inventory visibility. The use of the technology also presents a safety aspect, including monitoring for expiration as well as temperature tracking.
Unlike other methods, including conventional manual tracking, RFID-enabled cabinets are monitored 24/7, have a high degree of accuracy, permit access-level management and control, offer chain of custody verification, and minimize counterfeiting.
Fennig explained that cabinets’ basic features include the ability to read all tags at once, ensuring that there are no null spots inside the cabinet, and that tags can be near each other on the products protected.
Lastly, he pointed out that there are a number of suppliers of customized cabinets, while Terso is part of a short list of off-the-shelf providers of such units.
Gordon Hamnett of Promega Corp., a life sciences reagent supplier, oversees PromegaExpress, an RFID-enabled inventory management and delivery solution powered by Terso Solutions for on-site stocking. It has 500 Internet-enabled smart cabinets deployed worldwide, which are used to store its “smart-tagged” reagents that are otherwise difficult to restock via error-prone manual systems. Hamnett says benefits include automatic replenishment, 24/7 service and support, efficient shipments, and hourly inventory checks done automatically. “Supplies are reviewed to remove or add products based on demand,” he added. “We’re not the biggest player in our market, but this capability distinguishes us with an [unmatched] state-of-the-art solution.”
Ryan Butterick of medical device provider Medtronic spoke regarding the use of RFID-enabled smart cabinets for its pouched, “heavily regulated” thoracolumbar products from its Memphis, TN-based Spinal and Biologics business unit. The products, used by surgeons, need to be kept within certain temperature thresholds. A pilot program using Terso’s temperature-controlled cabinets at a hospital and distributorship replaces a labor-intensive verification methodology that involved manual-made photocopies, scans, uploads to its ERP system, and regular use of FedEx delivery. “The temperature controls information required by the FDA is collected automatically,” Butterick says. “Our sales staff is very happy with the program because they can now spend more of their time promoting our products.”
