IoT supply chain visibility provider Surgere awarded 4th Patent

A pioneer in IoT supply chain management utilizing RFID and GPS technology, the Ohio-based company’s latest patent provides location tracking solutions without the need for structural perimeters. 

Surgere, a pioneer in the evolving i4.0 supply chain management, has been awarded US Patent Number 11138553, Geolocation Specific Asset Tracking with Transmitters. This new technology supports Surgere’s innovative method for combining RFID technology and GPS triangulation with Surgere smart tagging technology and scanners.

With this new technology, items of all sizes can be tracked without the need for permanent structures such as walls and poles as part of the location process.

“This technology has enormous benefits to our current customers with finished goods storage and tracking requirements,” says Robert Fink, Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer. “Manufacturing facilities that produce cars and trucks or other heavy pieces of equipment need to store the finished goods outside. Other similar outdoor solutions for localization often require being embedded under the asphalt or ground, in walls or permanent objects like posts, requiring sensors or reference tags that must be dug up and moved if there are any yard or lot configuration changes. This offers no flexibility and can increase costs.”

The Surgere process allows for infinite yard configuration and tracking capabilities. The system can map individual parking spaces and provide accurate data on vehicles or objects stored, making it connectivity dependent not infrastructure dependent.

Many industries have first in first out (FIFO) quality rules, but these can be difficult to enforce if you can’t easily locate the items, or if they are moved and not recorded. 

“For auto manufacturers that store cars in large yards, this system would tell the maintenance teams how long a car was in storage and help maintain a schedule to check battery health and other details,” says Fink.

This new technology will be integrated into the Surgere InteriusTM software suite that allows manufacturers and companies full visibility in their supply chain. The patent, Surgere’s fourth, is part of the company’s continuous engineering work to expand their expertise with IoT supply chain solutions with devices that deliver unparalleled end-to-end supply chain analytics, high-fidelity data, and sensor-based solutions throughout a company’s entire enterprise.