Datanet crafts Zebra RFID solution for BE Switchcraft

Barcode, RFID and wireless consultancy Datanet has deployed a Zebra Technologies radio frequency identification (RFID) solution for Adelaide-based customised electrical switchboards manufacturer BE Switchcraft. 

Datanet introduced the RFID solution, which included Zebra’s FX9600 Fixed RFID readers, Zebra-compatible RFID antennas and an RFID label printer. 

The solution helped the BE Switchcraft team gain real-time visibility into each stage of its switchboard manufacturing process.

Collected data is integrated with BE Switchcraft’s MYOB enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution to provide valuable updates on the status of each project and financial data associated with the projects in production.

BE makes customised electrical switchboards for large building applications such as the Parliament House Canberra, Adelaide Convention Centre and Port Moresby Football Stadium.

Each switchboard is tailored to the customers’ requirements based on the needs of their respective building projects, which makes it a critical component. Therefore, BE Switchcraft needs to constantly update its customers on their switchboards’ manufacturing progress. 

With its business undergoing rapid growth, BE Switchcraft’s manual tracking process could no longer keep up with the increased workload. It needed to enhance its existing tracking process with automation to make updates timelier and more accurate. 

“We needed real-time visibility into what was happening on our manufacturing floor,” said Anthony Spadavecchia, managing director at BE Switchcraft. “We started off with manual processes which were ineffective because the data collected became outdated before we could even analyse it. 

“We then upgraded to a barcode scanning solution. While this had its merits, it required physical scanning of the switchboards and their accompanying documents by our staff, which was not fully optimised for our manufacturing workflows. To continue our rapid growth rate, we needed to find an innovative partner who could help us deploy an even better solution.”

Datanet state manager and RFID consultant Steve Jenkins said the consultancy worked closely with BE Switchcraft to understand its challenges before recommending Zebra’s RFID solution and subsequently helping with the implementation.

Zebra Technologies promoted sales VP for Australia and New Zealand (A/NZ) Tom Christodoulou in March to Asia Pacific (APAC) lead for its software-as-a-service (SaaS) business.

“With this robust automated data capture solution in place, BE Switchcraft can now further differentiate themselves in the eyes of their customers while simultaneously supporting their continued rapid growth," he said.