RFID - Resurgence in Mining Industry

Mining operations around the world are beginning to realize the tremendous benefits of real-time tracking systems utilizing RFID technologies. Here are just some of the benefits already being enjoyed today:



Safety: Real-time visibility of the accurate location and status of employees is
paramount at all times, but especially in emergencies. RFID systems can remain
operational during accidents, allowing you to know the precise location of personnel
during an emergency, thus greatly reducing respondent response time. RFID can also
be used to quickly locate emergency equipment such as respirators, first-aid kits and
fire suppression equipment.



Asset Management: Manage materials, equipment and personnel more efficiently with
automatic identification solutions. Accurately account for the status and location of all of
your equipment, thus dramatically improving asset utilization, and streamlining the
maintenance and repair process.



Collision Avoidance: NIOSH studies calculate that collisions between haulage
equipment and pedestrian workers or other vehicles claim an average of five lives each
year in surface and underground metal/nonmetal mining operations. Many more
workers are severely injured. New developments in RFID systems can significantly
reduce the risk of collisions, by providing automated alerts when problems appear likely.



Security: RFID can be used to limit workers from using unauthorized equipment as well
as prevent access to unauthorized areas.



No single solution works for every mining operation and a fit gap analysis is recommended so as to ascertain the cost, benefits and best technology and partners to utlise.

Appealing to the Imagination

Extract from a recent article from Jon Bird.

Harry Gordon Selfridge, the founder of the legendary London department store which now bears his name, once said that “the whole art of merchandising consists of appealing to the imagination. Once the imagination is moved, the hand goes naturally to the pocket. But if the first appeal is to the purse, the imagination is apt to revolt and raise barriers against buying.”

Arguably, much of Australian retail is about appealing “to the purse” rather than “the imagination”. Hence we can end up with relatively sterile retail environments plastered with cardboard screaming about “this week’s offer”. The great retailers of the world, however, have always understood the importance of getting the customer’s juices going before asking for the order. And a big part of the stimulation has been in the form of exciting visual merchandising (VM).

According to David Jenkin in “What Great Retailers Do”, VM is a simple concept; “it’s all about presenting merchandise in the most eye-catching way.”UK and US retailers tend to put more emphasis on the importance of really inspiring VM. UK creative director and retail commentator Mary Portas resurrected Harvey Nichols in the UK by creating highly memorable shop windows and calls them “the art of the high street”. Mickey Drexler (now CEO of American apparel retailer J.Crew) built The Gap/Banana Republic/Old Navy empire on clever VM.
...
It’s time for Australian retailers to lift their sights and embrace VM on a more sophisticated level. By appealing to “the imagination” first and “the purse” second you might just find wallets opening automatically. Jon Bird is CEO of retail marketing specialist IdeaWorks (www.ideaworks.com.au). He can be contacted at jon.bird@ideaworks.com.au.

A fingertip away from desire

A recent article by Jon Bird

In 1923, Robert Woodruff, then President of Coca-Cola, first stated that the iconic soft drink should always be “within an arm’s reach of desire”.Over the next half century or so, Coca-Cola met and exceeded Woodruff’s vision, popping up across the globe in convenience stores, supermarkets, restaurants and vending machines. Wherever thirsty consumers found themselves, there was bound to be an ice-cold Coke close by.Coke took 50 years to achieve its ubiquitous presence.
These days however, retailers can reach the same goal in the twinkling of an eye with relative ease, first via the internet and now the mobile phone. As I’ve written in several columns, the device in the palm of the shopper’s hand really does change everything. Suddenly, as the US consultancy Retail Forward notes, the “store” is no longer a location, but omnipresent. We are rapidly shifting from the concept of “place” to “anyplace” and retailers who recognise and capitalise on this fact will be winners in the future.

In a presentation last month in the US, Dan Stanek, executive VP of Retail Forward, identified that mobility = opportunity. Stanek said that transit, queues or the car can become shopping trips. With the right iPhone App, downtime can be turned into shopping time. The trick is to place your offer within a fingertip’s reach of desire during a customer’s idle moments.
Already, you can purchase music on the move from iTunes with just four clicks. Hear it, want it, click, click, click, click, it’s yours. It’s frighteningly simple... and personally, I love it.

Amazon is at the vanguard of m-commerce (mobile commerce), as they were with shopping via the web. Their new iPhone application elegantly allows you to fill a shopping cart with your fingertips no matter where you are. The app also features a neat function called “Amazon Remembers”. See something you like – say a chair that takes your fancy at a beach cafe – hit the Remembers button and your iPhone camera opens so that you can take a snap and automatically send it to Amazon. Then Amazon analyses the photo and tries to find an item just like it to offer you for sale. Clever stuff.Tesco in the UK is developing its own iPhone app to allow customers to do their supermarket shopping on the move. So you could fill your trolley on the bus, or perhaps even buy your groceries in the middle of a meeting.

US discount department store Target doesn’t yet allow you to easily purchase products from its application, but you can search for items on your mobile, check if they’re available before you shop (what’s increasingly called “know before you go”) and even get the in-store aisle location. Plus the latest deals in the Target Weekly ad are just a click away. And if you do see a product you’d like to purchase, you are linked through to Target’s online site.

Australian retailers are just starting to get their heads around e-commerce, and we can expect a rash of shopping-enabled sites in the next 12-18 months. But it’s worth starting to plan for an m-commerce world. Ask yourself this question: when customers desire your product or service during an idle moment, will you be there at their fingertips?

Top 10 brand and marketing trends for 2010

By Robert Passikoff president, Brand Keys Oct 2009
Niels Bohr once noted that "prediction is very difficult, especially about the future," but then he didn't have access to predictive loyalty metrics. Happily, we do. And, as they measure the direction and velocity of consumer values 12 to 18 months in advance of the marketplace and consumer articulations of category needs and expectations, they identify future trends with uncanny accuracy.

Having examined these measures, we offer 10 trends for marketers for 2010 that will have direct consequences to the success — or failure — of next year's branding and marketing efforts.
1) Value is the new black
Consumer spending, even on sale items, will continue to be replaced by a reason-to-buy at all. This spells trouble for brands with no authentic meaning, whether high-end or low.
2) Brands increasingly a surrogate for "value"
What makes goods and services valuable will increasingly be what's wrapped up in the brand and what it stands for. Why J Crew instead of The Gap? J Crew stands for a new era in careful chic — being smart and stylish. The first family's support of the brand doesn't hurt either.
3) Brand differentiation is brand value
The unique meaning of a brand will increase in importance as generic features continue to plague the brand landscape. Awareness as a meaningful market force has long been obsolete, and differentiation will be critical for success — meaning sales and profitability.
4) "Because I said so" is so over
Brand values can be established as a brand identity, but they must believably exist in the mind of the consumer. A brand can't just say it stands for something and make it so. The consumer will decide, making it more important than ever for a brand to have measures of authenticity that will aid in brand differentiation and consumer engagement.
5) Consumer expectations are growing
Brands are barely keeping up with consumer expectations now. Every day consumers adopt and devour the latest technologies and innovations, and hunger for more. Smarter marketers will identify and capitalize on unmet expectations. Those brands that understand where the strongest expectations exist will be the brands that survive — and prosper.
6) Old tricks don't work/won't work anymore
In case your brand didn't get the memo, here it is: Consumers are on to brands trying to play their emotions for profit. In the wake of the financial debacle of this past year, people are more aware then ever of the hollowness of bank ads that claim "we're all in this together" when those same banks have rescinded their credit and turned their retirement plan into case studies. The same is true for insincere celebrity pairings: think Seinfeld and Microsoft, or Tiger Woods and Buick. Celebrity values and brand values need to be in concert, like Tiger Woods and Accenture. That's authenticity.
7) They won't need to know you to love you
As the buying space becomes even more online-driven and international (and uncontrolled by brands and corporations), front-end awareness will become less important. A brand with the right street cred can go viral in days, with awareness following, not leading, the conversation. After all, everybody knows GM, but nobody's buying their cars.
8) It's not just buzz
Conversation and community is all; eBay thrives based on consumer feedback. If consumers trust the community, they will extend trust to the brand. Not just word of mouth, but the right word of mouth within the community. This means the coming of a new era of customer care.
9) They're talking to each other before talking to the brand
Social networking and exchange of information outside of the brand space will increase. Look for more websites using Facebook Connect to share information with the friends from those sites. More companies will become members of LinkedIn. Twitter users will spend more money on the Internet than those who don't tweet.
10) Engagement is not a fad. It's the way today's consumers do business
Marketers will come to accept that there are four engagement methods including Platform (TV; online), Context (Program; webpage), Message (Ad or Communication), and Experience (Store/Event). But there is only one objective for the future: Brand Engagement. Marketers will continue realize that attaining real brand engagement is impossible using out- dated attitudinal models.

Accommodating these trends will require a paradigm change on the parts of some companies. But whether a brand does something about it or not, the future is where it's going to spend the rest of its life. How long that life lasts is up to the brand, determined by how it responds to today's reality.

Seven ways to cut costs with retail systems integration and roll-outs

Retail technology like digital signage and next-generation POS can generate revenue, increase efficiency and satisfy customers – but it also requires intelligent use of resources to deploy and maintain. In this webinar, you'll learn seven strategies for working with your systems integration and roll-out teams in order to save money, make the most of your assets, and get deployments up and running faster.
Learn the best ways to communicate with front-line tech staff, and how to make sure they have what they need to use their time and resources efficiently.
Discover the hidden costs of an inefficient maintenance plan – and how you can eliminate them.
Find new ways to make deployment launches smooth and painless.

hit the link for details..