Technology: Polish Ministry of Defence deploys Savi`s Wireless supply chain

Mountain View, California, (ANTARA News/PRNewswire-AsiaNet) - To support NATO peace keeping in Afghanistan and elsewhere, the Polish Ministry of Defence (PMD) is deploying a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)-based solution provided by Savi, a Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) company, to automate tracking and management of military supplies.

This marks the second largest NATO-related installation of Savi's RFID networked solution and the eighth separate defense force deployment of it worldwide.

Savi's RFID-based supply chain solutions are actively operational with defense forces at NATO headquarters, the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Sweden, Denmark, and Spain.

"Savi's innovative solution has been battle-tested for more than a decade, and we anticipate that it will help us to collaborate more closely with our allies, while creating a more reliable and efficient supply chain in support of the soldier," said Col. Artur Malinowski, PMD's Generalny Zarad Logistyki, P-4.

"The Savi solution will be used to track and manage consignments in the Polish Ministry of Defence's extended supply chain through depots, bases, airfields and other military installations."

"Poland has an important role in NATO to support peace keeping in Afghanistan, and Savi's tracking solution enhances supply chain visibility and accuracy to ensure that the right supplies get to the right place at the right time," said Bruce Jacquemard, managing director-International, for Savi Technology.

PMD's Military Property Agency contracted with the Netline Group to procure the Savi Consignment Management Solution (CMS), which provides near real-time information on the location of supplies through a network of RFID readers linked to enterprise-level, decision-support software. The Netline Group has partnered with Hertz Systems for services to help install hardware and software.

CMS is based on NATO asset tracking standards that enable it to be interoperable with NATO-allied defense forces. As a result, both national and multi-national consignments can be tracked and managed through networks operated by multiple defense forces when using the standards-based solution.

Consignments tagged with active, battery-powered RFID devices are monitored by fixed and mobile readers, while the Savi CMS software platform enables users to manage the consignments while in-transit throughout their supply chain journey. CMS also processes real-time data transmissions from other types of Automatic Identification Technologies, such as bar codes, passive RFID and GPS satellite location systems.

Founded in 1989, Savi is a wholly owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin, with headquarters in Mountain View, Calif., and offices in London, Melbourne, Singapore and Washington D.C. For more information, visit http://www.savi.com.

Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin employs about 140,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. The Corporation reported 2007 sales of $41.9 billion.

For additional information, visit http:/www.lockheedmartin.com.

SOURCE: Savi Technology - Lockheed Martin
CONTACT: Mark Nelson of Savi Technology, +1-650-316-4872,mnelson@savi.com
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Web site: http://www.savi.com
http://www.lockheedmartin.com

Trust deepens for U.S.-India defense cooperation

New Delhi, (ANTARA News/PRNewswire-AsiaNet) - The U.S.-India Business Council (USIBC) today arrived at Indira Gandhi International Airport leading the largest-ever U.S. Executive Defense Mission to India in the 33-year history of this premier business advocacy organization whose mandate is to deepen U.S.-India commercial ties.

Comprised of America's top defense companies, including GE Aviation, General Dynamics, ITT, Lockheed Martin, The Boeing Company, L-3 Communications, Northrup Grumman, Oracle, Raytheon, Sikorsky, Stonebridge International, BGR Holdings, The Cohen Group, Tri Polis, EP Team, The Fremont Group, and DRS Technologies, this broad-based Executive Defense Mission will be led by USIBC Board Member, William S. Cohen, Former U.S. Secretary of Defense, and by Admiral Walt Doran and General Paul Kern -- both retired four- star officers from the U.S. Armed Services.

"As the U.S. prepares for its largest-ever Foreign Military Sale to India of C-130 J Transport Aircraft, as well as direct commercial sales of P-8 Naval Reconnaissance planes, the promise of deeper U.S.-India defense cooperation is now reality -- with collaborations and joint ventures between U.S. and Indian firms already underway. U.S. companies are looking forward to being a reliable supplier and trusted partner for the long term," said former Secretary of Defense, William S. Cohen. Cohen is Chairman of The Cohen Group, a strategic consulting and advisory firm based in Washington, D.C.

"As the United States and India deepen their partnership in defense cooperation, jobs are being created in India as well as in the U.S., spurred by technology trade and high-end manufacturing. This is a true 'win-win' for both sides," said Ron Somers, President of the U.S.-India Business Council, speaking about U.S.-India high technology collaborations.

U.S. defense companies under the USIBC banner have launched eight consecutive Missions to India over the past three years advocating for more robust defense cooperation.

Bilateral dialogues between the two governments have taken place in rapid succession ever since India's erstwhile Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, initiated a new era of cooperation with the United States under the Next Steps in Strategic Partnership (NSSP), beginning in 2001.

Since that time, U.S. defense companies have opened offices in New Delhi in pursuit of collaborations with partners in the Indian defense sector.

The U.S.-India Business Council is the premier business advocacy organization representing 275 of the largest U.S. companies investing in India, joined by two dozen of India's largest global companies. Chaired by Indra K. Nooyi, Chairman of PepsiCo, USIBC's mandate is to deepen two-way trade and strengthen U.S.-India commercial ties.

The U.S.-India Business Council (USIBC), formed in 1975 at the request of the Government of India and the U.S. Government to advance commercial ties between the world's two largest free-market democracies, is hosted under the aegis of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world's largest business federation representing more than 3 million businesses and organizations of every size, sector, and region. The U.S.-India Business Council celebrates its 33rd Anniversary at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on June 12, 2008 in Washington, D.C.

SOURCE: U.S.-India Business Council
CONTACT: Nikhil Khanna, +1-202-230-3732 (in Delhi),
nkhanna@uschamber.com
Web site: http://www.usibc.com

COPYRIGHT © 2008 - ANTARANEWS

Land Rover, Savi launch RFID pilot to track auto parts

Land Rover and Savi Launch RFID Pilot to Track Auto Parts Between Suppliers and Assembly Plant

Solihul and Mountain View, California (ANTARA News/PRNewswire-AsiaNet) - Ford Motor Company's Land Rover division and Savi today announced they have launched a pilot program that deploys an active Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) solutions that better synchronizes the delivery of auto parts from multiple suppliers to Land Rover's key assembly plant in the West Midlands (U.K.). The pilot is made possible through a U.K. central government grant administered by the University of Warwick.

Savi, a Lockheed Martin company (NYSE: LMT) and provider of RFID-based total asset management solutions, is supplying RFID hardware and software to enhance visibility, inventory management, and asset utilization, and to reduce losses, assembly plant disruptions, and time spent locating assembly parts.

Phase 2 of this pilot enables 18 suppliers and Land Rover to better locate, track, and deliver stillages (specialized steel conveyances) that carry bumpers, front grills, suspension parts, moon roofs, and vehicle bodies, among other parts. Real-time information on RFID-tagged assets is shared among the partners and is automatically transmitted to cell phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and web-based tracking software.

"On-time, precision delivery of components is integral to our plant's efficiency because disruptions in the supply chain can slow or even halt vehicle assembly, and we believe Savi's complete RFID solution can improve these operations," said Jonty Cook, Land Rover's head of Inbound Logistics.

"With its total solutions approach and proven track record, Savi was head and shoulders above the other providers we evaluated during the 18-month review process," said Phillip Foster, investigator fellow at the University of Warwick. "Savi's total solutions approach is perfectly suited for a complex supply chain such as Land Rover's, and can be easily scaled throughout their global operations," said Bruce Jacquemard, Savi Technology's managing director of International Business.

Savi active RFID tags are applied to stillages as they leave supplier facilities, and the tags are associated with the car parts carried by the conveyance. Fixed readers are placed at loading and unloading docks, entrances and exits of the suppliers and Land Rover's assembly plant. Whenever a tagged stillage passes by a reader, the shipment is logged and location information is transmitted to designated users.

Exception alerts are sent when stillages do not arrive when and where they are expected.
For more information about Savi, visit http://www.savi.com

SOURCE: Savi Technology; Lockheed Martin
CONTACT: Mark Nelson of Savi Technology, +1-650-316-4872,
mnelson@savi.com
Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080123AQW081LOGO
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Web site: http://www.savi.com

COPYRIGHT © 2008 - ANTARANEWS