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Hoover Announces the Implementation of iTRAM For Genei Industries

8 September 2000

Hoover Announces the Implementation of iTRAM For Genei Industries, Inc.; Internet-Based Tracking Program to Manage and Recover Returnable Packaging

    ALPHARETTA, Ga.--Sept. 8, 2000--Hoover Materials Handling Group, Inc. announced today the introduction of a tracking program that was implemented for Genei Industries, Inc. Hoover's new web-based application service (ASP) technology, Internet Tracking Resource and Asset Management (iTRAM(TM)), is currently being used to track reusable containers for automotive parts--three different steering columns--as they travel through the distribution cycle.
    Hoover and Genei are working together in an effort to provide the automotive industry a reliable, cost-effective solution for tracking commodities, using bar code technology as the primary data acquisition system.
    iTRAM utilizes the Internet, through which users can access Hoover's software. Standard bar code technology and radio-frequency identification (RFID) communications systems track any product and returnable package throughout the entire distribution chain. This technology enables companies to manage returnable packaging assets through manufacturing, storage, distribution and recovery. The iTRAM process encompasses asset tracking, inventory management and dwell time. Controlling all assets throughout the distribution chain helps prevent product loss, thereby lowering distribution cost.
    "This is the beginning of a full-blown production tracking operation," said Gerald L. Backus, vice president, supply chain technology of Hoover Materials Handling Group, Inc. "For Genei, Hoover is tracking one product in one area. Over time, we will incorporate the iTRAM system to expand to full production and track every product from multiple plants to multiple locations."
    "Genei's motivation behind implementing iTRAM was to improve services to our customers," said Matthew Hewitt, operations manager of Genei Industries, Inc. "We saw a lot of container loss throughout the automotive parts industry distribution process. After researching other industries such as chemical, retail and the food processing market, we found that those industries actually used the reusable container to track products they were shipping. In the automotive industry, companies were tracking the product, not the container. We feel that by tracking both the container and the products as a unit, it will make it possible for our customers to know vital information throughout the shipping life cycle and get an established history of how long it takes for containers and products to move through the distribution chain."
    "Our expectation within the next few months is to have substantial tracking history developed that will enable us to identify which plants are guilty of not shipping containers back and identifying loops as to where containers are being lost," said Hewitt. "The ultimate goal is to have a more productive and efficient operation."