Zebra Technologies, Checkpoint Systems Announce Agreement to Extend Zebra Location Solutions with OATSystems Passive RFID Capabilities

Zebra Technologies Corporation and Checkpoint Systems (NYSE: CKP) announced they have entered into a cooperative relationship and licensing agreement. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

This relationship brings together Zebra’s active location solutions with the passive radio-frequency identification (RFID), auto-identification (auto-ID) and sensor capabilities of Checkpoint division OATSystems to give customers in key industries – including retail, industrial manufacturing, automotive, aerospace and process – increased visibility of their assets across the enterprise.

The agreement, which is a non-exclusive contract, provides Zebra with an OEM software license for OATxpress, which is part of the most widely deployed RFID middleware platform, OAT Foundation Suite. This industry-leading software platform is designed specifically for capturing, filtering and managing high volumes of auto-ID and sensor data from a single facility – such as a manufacturing plant, distribution center or retail store – to an enterprise deployment across hundreds of locations.

“This relationship is an important part of Zebra’s RFID and real-time location solutions strategy,” said Anders Gustafsson, CEO at Zebra Technologies.

According to Phil Gerskovich, senior vice president, new growth platforms at Zebra Technologies, “While Zebra’s active RFID location solutions today provide organizations with real-time visibility into their business operations, the addition of OAT’s passive RFID and other auto-ID technologies capabilities will enable Zebra to play a larger and more meaningful role in helping organizations to make smarter decisions in managing their operations. We selected OAT as our partner based on its mature, well-architected platform, enterprise capabilities and the experience of its team, which has deployed hundreds of RFID solutions over the past decade.”

In the coming months, Zebra will announce details around its first product with the capability to implement applications that combine both active and passive RFID. The OAT Foundation Suite will provide support for a broad range of auto-ID technologies in a scalable framework, making it easy to add more device types and technologies to the platform in future phases.
“We are proud to be selected by Zebra as a strategic RFID software platform,” said Rob van der Merwe, chairman, president and CEO at Checkpoint Systems.

According to Prasad Putta, general manager, OATSystems, and executive vice president Merchandise Visibility at Checkpoint Systems, “We are excited to work with Zebra to expand the capabilities of active and passive RFID solutions in the marketplace and the distribution of OATSystems software through Zebra’s worldwide channel and enterprise partners.”

Zebra’s key markets include retail, industrial manufacturing, automotive, aerospace, process industries such as oil and gas, government and maritime. Zebra and Checkpoint are holding briefings at the National Retail Federation’s annual conference from Jan. 15-18, 2012, to discuss the partnership.