Firetide’s wireless mesh/RFID helps Auto Dealer
27 July, 2006
category: RFID
More and more car dealers are getting into RFID to keep tabs on any vehicle on the lot.
Los Gatos, Calif.-based Firetide Inc., a developer of wireless mesh networks, today announced the deployment of its wireless mesh technology for the Bob Lewis Automotive Family in Silicon Valley.
Bob Lewis Automotive, which has dealerships in San Jose and Newark, California, is using wireless mesh to enable outdoor operation of its key and inventory management system. The system utilizes the wireless mesh to create a property-wide wireless infrastructure to support the dealership’s new KeyWhere(TM) RFID tracking system.
The KeyWhere system, developed by Performance Analytics Inc., consists of portable electronic lockboxes attached to each automobile, enabling sales personnel to instantly access ignition keys for test drives by swiping a personal RFID card and entering a PIN on a lockbox keypad. The ignition keys also have RFID tags to indicate each time they are removed from or returned to the lockbox.
Firetide Announces Wireless Mesh/RFID Solution for Automobile Dealerships
Tuesday July 25, 9:00 am ET
Bob Lewis Dealerships Utilize Firetide Mesh Network and Performance Analytics RFID system for key control and sales tracking
LOS GATOS, Calif. and SAN JOSE, Calif., July 25 /PRNewswire/ – Firetide Inc., a leading developer of wireless mesh networks, today announced the deployment of its wireless mesh technology for the Bob Lewis Automotive Family in Silicon Valley. Bob Lewis Automotive, which has dealerships in San Jose and Newark, California, deployed Firetide’s wireless mesh to enable outdoor operation of its key and inventory management system. The system utilizes the wireless mesh to create a property-wide wireless infrastructure to support the dealership’s new KeyWhere(TM) Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tracking system that maintains live data on any vehicle on the lot.
The KeyWhere system developed by Performance Analytics Inc., consists of portable electronic lockboxes attached to each automobile, enabling sales personnel to instantly access ignition keys for test drives by swiping a personal RFID card and entering a PIN on a lockbox keypad. The ignition keys also have RFID tags to indicate each time they are removed from or returned to the lockbox.
A Wi-Fi or ZigBee wireless interface in each lock box transmits the collected data to access points attached to the Firetide wireless mesh network. The mesh is also connected to an Internet gateway inside the dealership office. All of the data and reports are maintained on a web-based database application developed for the automotive industry by Performance Analytics.
“The KeyWhere system fully automates the information process providing the dealership with very detailed data on the performance of their sales personnel and the movement of cars on the lot,” said Dennis McGinn, CEO of Performance Analytics. “The previous system required manually signing out keys inside the office resulting in longer sales cycles, fewer test drives, very little data, and many lost or misplaced keys.”
By keeping the keys with the automobile at all times, the dealership was able to increase the number of test drives, leading to higher sales and faster inventory turnover. “The system also identifies cars that are not getting many test drives so the dealership can easily adjust its pricing and promotional strategy on a per vehicle basis,” said McGinn.
“This deployment demonstrates how flexible Firetide’s multi-service mesh infrastructure is and how it can work seamlessly with RFID, ZigBee, Wi-Fi and other industry technologies,” said Firetide CEO Bo Larsson. “There are literally tens of thousands of industrial and enterprise applications that can benefit from mesh networking. Automotive dealerships are just one example where a tailored wireless mesh solution can increase sales volume and data collection without adding additional employees.”
“The faster we serve our customers, the more likely we are to build a relationship with potential car buyers and help them find their dream car,” said Steve Lewis, President and Partner of the Bob Lewis Automotive Family. The Firetide/KeyWhere solution streamlines our sales process and car inventory tracking, which translates into happy customers and profit.”
Firetide’s solution was chosen for its flexible mesh infrastructure as well as its ability to eliminate the need for network cabling and to be installed quickly without disrupting business or defacing buildings with conduit and network cabling. Multiple Wi-Fi access points connected to the Firetide mesh were placed throughout the dealership to ensure full coverage across the property. The dealership’s wireless mesh network includes the capacity to support future applications such as video surveillance and Internet access for the showrooms.
About Firetide Inc.
Firetide is a privately held wireless mesh technology company that develops equipment for deploying high performance, scalable wireless mesh networks quickly, easily and affordably. Firetide’s multi-service mesh networking solution is ideal for building a backbone infrastructure for video surveillance, Internet access HotZones, public safety networks and temporary networks in a variety of environments such as, airports, hotels, campus environments or other locations where wiring is too difficult or expensive to install. For more information, visit www.firetide.com.
About Performance Analytics Inc.
Performance Analytics, Inc. (PAI) was founded in 2002 to develop a wireless solution for dealerships that delivers the convenience of lockboxes and the security of a centralized electronic key system. At the same time, the company also engineered into its design, the ability to capture customer activity data that can be used to improve sales processes and accelerate vehicle inventory decisions. The company is a privately held California Corporation with backing from business executives in automotive, software, communications and finance.
© 2006 Firetide Inc. Firetide, HotPort and Instant Mesh Networks are trademarks of Firetide Inc.
