Horizon lines introduces first intermodal RFID program to Alaska: radio frequency identification to provide real-time shipment visibility.

• Author: Orr, Vanessa
• Position: ALASKA BUSINESS MONTHLY'S 2007 TRANSPORTATION SECTION - Cover story

In the cargo business, knowing where a particular item is and when it will reach its destination is paramount in running an efficient supply chain. Yet for many years, businesses that shipped containers within Alaska have had no way of locating their shipments in real time.

In September 2006, Horizon Lines introduced the first fully functional intermodal active radio frequency identification (RFID) solution to the 49th State. This tracking system, wedded to Horizon Line's Web-based event management system, allows shippers to have unparalleled shipment visibility from the time a container leaves the loading facility until it arrives at its final destination.

"What we did was an ocean-container shipping industry first," said Ken Privratsky, vice president and general manager of Horizon Lines. "We've set a precedent, on a national and international level, for providing greater visibility of deliveries and more efficiency in supply-chain operations. Using RFID technology, we are enabling our clients to better utilize the assets that they have.

"While some companies have used RFID technology to drive efficiencies in their own operations, it was our goal to use the technology to enable our customers to drive efficiencies into their operations," he added.

"Based on the positive responses we've had so far, we are already looking at expanding RFID technology further in Alaska to serve even more of our customers, as well as enhancing our capabilities to expand this technology into our other trade lanes of Hawaii/Guam and Puerto Rico."

HOW RFID WORKS

Radio Frequency Identification is an automatic identification method that stores and remotely receives data using RFID tags, or transponders, and RFID readers, or receivers. While some tags have the ability to store data, the majority of RFID tags transmit a unique serial number, such as that of a shipping container, to a user's supply chain management system.

"There are two types of RFID tags-passive and active," explained Applications Group Manager Greg Skinner of Horizon Services Group, the information technology subsidiary of Horizon Lines Inc. "While passive RFID has traditionally been targeted toward item-level product tagging, these tags require a close-proximity read. Active RFID tags, on the other hand, have a larger read-range distance, and can also be read at higher speeds on the highway.

"Active RFID tags are also more reliable in an environment like Alaska's where they have to survive in a...