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Vizional to Support Sun's RFID Infrastructure Software; Retailers Benefit From Distribution Center To Store Shelf Inventory Tracking

Posted on: Monday, 12 January 2004, 06:00 CST

RFID services and software pioneer, Vizional Technologies, Inc. today announced its support of Sun Microsystems' RFID infrastructure software, which will be available in the second quarter of 2004. The benefit to the customer is competitive real-time retailing.

"Through a successful partnership that has lasted years, Vizional and Sun continue to complement each other's technology offerings, ultimately benefiting our retail customers," said Vizional CTO Eddie Shek. "Vizional's long standing expertise in providing RFID enabled supply chain solutions is well aligned with Sun Microsystems' new RFID infrastructure software and will allow our customers to get the most out of an RFID implementation and have the competitive edge necessary in today's retail environment."

Vizional's applications combined with Sun's hardware and software have the potential to transform the retail supply chain. Benefits will include greater visibility of assets and inventory and the ability to react quickly to disruptions in the supply chain. Tracking cases and pallets as they move through the supply chain will give retailers unique opportunities to be more productive and to minimize the risk of product shrinkage and misplaced product.

Sun's open and scalable RFID infrastructure software based on Java(TM) technology provides robust and seamless integration with every device, everywhere, every time. This is especially important in environments where multiple devices such as RFID readers, scanners, or other handheld devices need to reliably and accurately collect and forward information with minimal supervision and down time. The Sun platform also facilitates secure and seamless integration with legacy systems and other best-of-breed enterprise applications and solutions.

"Vizional has proven expertise in delivering real-time inventory management from distribution centers to store shelves," said Julie Sarbacker, director of the Auto-ID Business Unit at Sun Microsystems. "Sun is an acknowledged leader in the development of the Auto-ID RFID standards, and together we are developing the network infrastructure that companies will need to implement these systems. We are very excited that retailers will be able to look to Sun and Vizional for a standards-based RFID solution that will synchronize supply with demand, minimize shrinkage and streamline operations."

Two recent additions to Vizional's adaptive supply chain software line are Asset RFID(TM) and Inventory RFID(TM). Both packages are designed to leverage the potential of RFID tracked items to provide a more visible and productive supply chain. Part of the development of these applications has been the inclusion of support for Sun's RFID infrastructure software that will effectively transmit tag information from reader networks into the Vizional applications.

"Having a partner like Sun allows us to assure customers excellent hardware and software to help them manage their supply chains," said Vizional President and CEO Joe Dugan. "We are very pleased to support Sun's efforts in this emerging RFID technical space."

About Vizional Technologies, Inc.

Vizional Technologies, Inc., headquartered in Santa Monica, California, is an RFID Product and Services organization with solid grounding in Adaptive/Collaborative Supply Chain and Visibility software. In recognition of the growing need for RFID adoption throughout the supply chain, Vizional has developed a suite of RFID enabled Asset and Inventory management applications that deliver improved efficiencies and reduced costs to our customers.

As an active member of EPCglobal, formerly the MIT Auto-ID Center, Vizional is involved in leading the design and specification of standards surrounding the application of emerging RFID technology. Fully supporting the efforts of EPCglobal, Vizional will continue to ensure that its RFID solutions are compliant to the various industry standards being established.

For more information call (866) VIZIONAL (849-4662) or visit the Vizional Web site at www.vizional.com.

About Sun Microsystems, Inc.

Since its inception in 1982, a singular vision -- "The Network Is The Computer" -- has propelled Sun Microsystems, Inc. (Nasdaq: SUNW) to its position as a leading provider of industrial-strength hardware, software and services that make the Net work. Sun can be found in more than 100 countries and on the World Wide Web at http://sun.com.

About Sun Microsystems' Work With RFID

Sun Microsystems' industry-leading, standards-based, RFID solution is a comprehensive end-to-end offering that includes hardware, software, services and best-in-class partnerships. For over three years Sun has been working to make RFID technology an extension of web services and a seamless part of software infrastructure such as the Sun Java Enterprise System. Sun has been a leading member of and advisor to the MIT Auto-ID Center - the driving force for Auto-ID standards, and has participated in numerous successful pilots and deployments. Sun is opening RFID Test Centers around the world to help companies test their RFID implementations before they invest - from tagging products, integrating data into back-end systems and sharing this data with supply chain partners. For more information on Sun's leading role with RFID visit http://www.sun.com/rfid. To start testing in a Sun RFID Test Center and learn how to get the competitive advantage necessary, email rfid-testcenter@sun.com today.

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