NYK Logistics Expands Use of WhereNet Active RFID System; Installation in New High-Volume, Transload Facility

Will Optimize Shipments for Target Stores

Based on Overwhelming Success at Its Long Beach Facility, NYK Logistics Deploys First East Coast Installation of WhereNet Business Rules-Based Yard Management System in Norfolk, Virginia

SANTA CLARA, Calif., June 29 -- WhereNet Corp., the leader of wireless solutions for tracking and managing enterprise assets, announced today that NYK Logistics Inc., a leading third-party logistics provider, is deploying the WhereNet(R) active RFID, real-time locating system (RTLS) and business rules-based WhereNet yard management solution at its new transload facility in Norfolk, Virginia, to help automate and expedite shipments for Target stores. The NYK Logistics Norfolk facility will process more than 28,000 inbound ocean freight containers and 20,000 outbound trailers each year.

Based on the overwhelming success of the standards-based WhereNet system at NYK Logistics' Long Beach, California, facility, Target recognized NYK Logistics as its Deconsolidator of the Year in 2004 and requested that the company open a similar, state-of-the-art, WhereNet-powered transload operation to process the increasing volume of imports arriving on the East Coast.

"The WhereNet system provides us with a key differentiator in delivering premier service to Target. Target made it very clear it wanted our Norfolk facility to provide the same premium levels of efficiency and productivity as it has enjoyed at our Long Beach facility," said John Amato, senior vice president, warehouse division, NYK Logistics. "The benefits of the WhereNet system extend well beyond Target -- the carriers and drayage truckers also love the system, because it enables them to turn loads in a matter of minutes."

Having deployed its technology at more than a dozen marine terminal and transload facilities on the West Coast, WhereNet is building a similar ecosystem of installations on the East Coast, starting with customers like NYK Logistics Norfolk that help service shippers and steamship lines using the Port of Virginia -- the largest intermodal facility in the region.

NYK Logistics Expects 60-Day Go Live and Rapid ROI

Spanning more than 25 acres, NYK Logistics' Norfolk facility includes more than 500 parking slots and a 500,000 square-foot cross-dock building with 92 dock doors. During peak season -- late summer through early fall -- NYK Logistics Norfolk will process more than 800 gate transactions a day.

NYK Logistics will rely on the WhereNet wireless "command and control center" and automated yard management solution to expedite shipments to more than 20 Target distribution centers across the country. The WhereNet installation at NYK Logistics Norfolk commenced this month, and the system will go live the first week of August.

"When you operate such high-volume, high-velocity facilities for one of the world's largest retailers, it is imperative that you mitigate risk by removing the potential for human error as much as possible," explains Amato. "WhereNet helps us achieve that. With very little human intervention, the WhereNet system gives us completely accurate, real-time data about every mobile asset in our facility and the unique ability to automate time-sensitive yards moves based on that intelligence. With WhereNet, we can process more shipments with fewer resources than ever before."

Based on its experience in Long Beach, NYK Logistics expects the following benefits from its WhereNet installation in Norfolk and a complete return on its investment in less than nine months:

  -- Elimination of all costs associated with manual yard searches and data
     collection
  -- A 70 percent increase in efficiency in cross-docking operations
  -- More than 30 percent increase in daily throughput
  -- At least 50 percent improvement in gate personnel and hostler
     productivity
  -- A reduction in the time drivers spend on site to complete a double
     transaction (dropping a trailer in one location and hooking a new
     trailer at another location)

"We have become the de facto standard wireless location solution for the marine terminal and transload industry on the West Coast, and we expect to have the same success on the East Coast," said Dan Doles, president and CEO of WhereNet Corp. "Like several of our other customers, NYK Logistics has recognized the proven value of WhereNet technology and is taking steps to capitalize on its return by installing our system in multiple facilities. NYK Logistics is to be commended as an industry thought leader that is operating the two most sophisticated and efficient transload facilities in the world."

About WhereNet Corp.

WhereNet is the first company to deliver a single wireless location and communication infrastructure that reliably and cost-effectively manages valuable mobile resources and delivers a complete return on investment within 6-12 months. Based on patented, standards-compliant technology resulting from a collective 100+ years of development, the WhereNet real-time solutions enable companies such as BMW, Ford Motor Company, and NYK Logistics to reduce inventory, lower operating costs, and improve operations. The company has received the Henry Ford Technology Award; was recognized for strong ROI by Computerworld; was ranked among the top 10 in the InfoWorld 100; and has been recognized as a wireless innovator by Forrester Research, Computerworld ROI, Frontline Solutions, Plant Engineering, and Supply Chain Systems magazines. Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, with offices throughout the United States and Europe, WhereNet is funded by Crosspoint Venture Partners, Foundation Capital, Bay Partners, Crescendo Ventures, and Sun Microsystems. For more information, visit the WhereNet Web site at www.wherenet.com, or call 408-845-8500 (in the U.S.) or +32 3 286 84 50 (in Europe).

WhereNet is a registered trademark of WhereNet Corp. All other brands, products, or service names are or may be trademarks or service marks of their respective owners.