InSync Software, IBM Collaborate on Food Safety

SAN JOSE, CA and ARMONK, NY /PRNewswire/ -- InSync Software, Inc. announced it has signed an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) agreement with IBM that will allow the company to integrate IBM open technology into its own Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) and sensor-driven food safety and asset management products. InSync will offer IBM's InfoSphere Traceability Server software as part of its food safety solutions for customers worldwide.

Food safety is a top-of-mind issue around the world today. In the U.S. alone, the Centers for Disease Control estimates that 76 million Americans become ill, more than 300,000 are hospitalized, and 5,000 die each year from food-borne illness. President Obama's budget proposal included $1 billion for the Food and Drug Administration to spend on improving food safety, and legislation was recently introduced in the U.S. Senate to address this issue. Sensor technologies can also play an important role creating a safer food supply.

Aimed at companies in the fresh and processed foods, meat and poultry, construction, and chemical industries, InSync's products use sensor technologies to locate and track assets and processes, improve efficiencies, and manage risk. The software integrates and makes sense of data collected from networks of sensors including Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) or bar code readers, and mobile handheld devices. The software helps businesses reduce costs by identifying and eliminating logistical bottlenecks in areas such as shipping and receiving, warehousing and more. InSync's products can report on an item's location and its condition in real-time, and automate time consuming and error-prone manual processes. Under this OEM agreement, IBM enables InSync to decrease development time and speed time to market by providing software that serves as a key building block of the InSync solution.

"Our collaboration with IBM allows us to offer our customers a complete and standards-based smart food traceability solution they can use with their trading partners," said Ravi Panja, CTO of InSync Software, Inc. "Using IBM's traceability software, we can reduce complexity for customers who want to get up and running in quickly and at a cost that makes sense for their business while ensuring consumer safety, a key challenge in the market today."

To enable food producers to share information with trading partners outside their four walls, InSync is embedding IBM's InfoSphere Traceability Server into its applications. InfoSphere Traceability Server is industry-standard software that allows trading partners to track their products as they move through the global supply chain. The product is fully compliant with GS1 EPCglobal's Electronic Product Code Information Services (EPCIS) standard for capturing and sharing information on a product's location, temperature, and other relevant data. The IBM software will allow companies to use InSync's software to share information concerning food origins or other important information with any trading partner that is also using an EPCIS compliant solution.

"Our software gives each food item or pallet a unique serial number for easy traceability at any point in the supply chain," said Christian Clauss, director of sensor network solutions, IBM. "Together, InSync and IBM can help food producers use innovative sensor solutions to boost efficiency while creating a smarter, safer food supply for all of us."

InfoSphere Traceability Server is used across multiple industries to solve a variety of challenges. In the food industry, it is used by Metro Group and Matiq, the information technology subsidiary of Nortura, Norway's largest food supplier, to improve food safety and freshness.

InSync's food safety applications, such as GREENTrace, benefit from the added traceability and data exchange features offered in IBM's InfoSphere Traceability. Now food producers and manufacturers can share important product data from GREENTrace with retailers. For partners in the food ecosystem that are connected to the solution, complete traceability from field-to-fork and operational optimization is now achievable creating a more interconnected supply chain.

About InSync Software
InSync Software, Inc. provides software solutions that leverage RFID, GPS, and sensor technologies to locate and track assets, improve operational efficiencies, and manage risks. InSync's innovative software combines sensory data and enterprise information (via ERP, WMS, etc.) to actively manage assets regardless of their location. InSync's solutions provide customers with advanced levels of process governance and collaboration across disparate businesses and significantly reduce application development and deployment times.

InSync is an Intel Capital and Rustic Canyon company. InSync is headquartered in San Jose, CA, with offices in India and Asia.

About IBM
A pioneer in sensor technology and a leader in IT and business strategy, IBM offers sensor solutions that unlock new business value and help drive new insights and innovation.