LogicaCMG and Airbus reach new heights in RFID

LogicaCMG announced today a new Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) collaboration with Airbus, at the Global Aviation RFID Forum taking place in Hong Kong 10 – 11 August. LogicaCMG, a silver sponsor of the forum, will be collaborating with Airbus on a fully integrated RFID solution for wireless tracking and tracing of spare parts, tools and instruments that enables Airbus to generate significant cost savings and improve security.

Interchangeable parts on aircrafts are replaced regularly, representing a huge ongoing administrative task for manufacturers such as Airbus. According to recent research from analyst organisation AMR Research, airline mechanics can spend up to 70 per cent of their time locating parts. Through RFID technology, Airbus can benefit from faster inventory management, improved parts identification and the ability to record specific data to parts.

The strength of LogicaCMG’s RFID solution lies in the cutting-edge chip, supplied by Kortenburg Incorporated with whom LogicaCMG has an exclusive partnership agreement worldwide, and the solution’s integration with SAP. The Kortenburg Master-ID chip is the only one in the world that has achieved airworthiness from the Luftfahrtbundesamt, Germany’s aerospace regulator. The chip can cope with extreme differences in temperature, enabling it to withstand the wide range of rapidly changing temperatures aircraft experience on a daily basis. Its heat resistance also enables Airbus to attach it directly to parts, making it both robust and secure against any potential tampering.

LogicaCMG and SAP worked together to extend the capability of the Kortenburg chip using the SAP Netweaver exchange infrastructure and the web-based SAP supply chain event manager - both linked to the SAP-R/3 4.6C System. Changes to the tag throughout its lifecycle can be tracked with this solution, resulting in faster workflow processes, reduced paperwork, and the elimination of error-prone data entry with automatic tools and parts tracking.

Airbus chose to collaborate with LogicaCMG on this initiative after the supplier proved over several years their capability to deliver demanding projects on time and to budget. LogicaCMG’s RFID expertise, combined with Kortenburg’s leading technology can deliver the solution that Airbus needs.

The RFID chip features two-way interaction with a read and write capability. Where historically inventory and logistics have been managed by read-only systems such as bar codes, LogicaCMG’s RFID solution enables the writing of data to the chip. The read-write capability also makes the whole industry more secure by preventing counterfeiting through parts that are traceable right from their point of manufacture.

Peter Spruijt, director of the transport travel and logistics sector at LogicaCMG, said: “Our partnership with Kortenburg means we are supporting the cutting edge developments in the aircraft industry and its supply chain processes. In areas of maintenance and service history, condition and even manufacture location, information is attached to the part itself. We are seeing the supply chain of the future today at Airbus.”

At the Global Aviation RFID Forum in Munich 19 – 20 October 2004 LogicaCMG will be a gold sponsor and will be speaking on RFID Requirements Integration. In addition, Airbus and Boeing will be co-hosting a series of informational forums, which will offer detailed background information on recently completed in-service evaluations of RFID technology. The forums will also provide an opportunity to ask questions and discuss next steps as Airbus and Boeing move towards RFID implementation in the aviation supply chain.

About Airbus

Airbus is a leading aircraft manufacturer whose customer focus, commercial know-how, technological leadership and manufacturing efficiency have propelled it to the forefront of the industry. With a turnover of 19.2 billion euros in 2003, Airbus today consistently captures half of all commercial airliner orders. The company also continues to broaden its scope and product range by applying its expertise to the military market.

Headquartered in Toulouse, France, Airbus is jointly owned by EADS (80%) and BAE Systems (20%). It is a truly global enterprise of some 50,000 employees, with fully-owned subsidiaries in the United States, China and Japan, spare parts centres in Hamburg, Frankfurt, Washington, Beijing, and Singapore, training centres in Toulouse, Miami, and Beijing and 120 field service offices around the world. Airbus also relies on industrial co-operation and partnerships with major companies all over the word, and a network of some 1,500 suppliers in 30 countries.

For more information or to request an interview with LogicaCMG and Airbus:

Press contacts

Isabell Horvath
+44 (0) 20 7446 1259
Mobile: +44 (0) 7739 774512
isabell.horvath@logica.com

Ross Bethell / Pete Hendrick
+44 (0) 20 7419 7000
ross@bbpr.com / pete.hendrick@bbpr.com