Podcasts about rfid

Our guest this week is Houston Curtis. Houston is a sleight of hand expert, and executive producer of the live streaming poker show "Live At The Bike." We talk about some of the recent poker cheating scandals and what you can do to protect yourself. He is also the author of Billion Dollar Hollywood Heist, and his experiences playing in "Molly's Game."We welcome your questions - send them to us at gamblingwithanedge@gmail.com, or you can find me at @RWM21 on Twitter or https://www.facebook.com/GamblingWithAnEdge.Show Notes[00:00] Introduction of Houston Curtis, sleight of hand and game protection expert[00:41] GWAE is changing podcast platforms[02:23] Live at The Bike[07:45] Limon[08:46] Cheating in card games[13:28] RFID, hole cards, Mike Postel, home games[20:09] Shufflemaster vulnerabilities in Texas[27:47] South Point Casino July Promotions - $25k and $1k-$2.5k casino wide progressives[28:33] http://BlackjackApprenticeship.com - blackjack training site with analytical software, training guides, members forum, and chat room[29:04] http://VideoPoker.com/gwae - Gold Membership offers correction on most games, free Pro Membership trial for GWAE listeners [30:40] Houston's video content[34:24] Using cheating knowledge to protect games versus to cheat games[35:34] Responses to cheating and proactive measures like limiting dirty money, social media[39:18] Selecting players for Live at the Bike[43:59] Producing 1,000 hours of content per year[44:58] Houston's upcoming book, Million Dollar Mechanics, to be published by The Huntington Press[47:13] Steve Forte[52:09] Recommended - The Old Man on FX and Hulu, How to Tell a Story audiobook by The Moth, Live at The BikeSponsored Links:http://SouthPointCasino.comhttp://BlackjackApprenticeship.comhttp://VideoPoker.com/gwaeGuest Links:http://Twitter.com/houston_curtishttp://Kardsharp.comhttp://Liveatthebike.comBillion Dollar Hollywood Heist https://amzn.to/3AlyhT4Recommended:http://Fxnetworks.com/shows/the-old-manHow to Tell a Story by The Moth https://amzn.to/3xVGBX2http://Liveatthebike.com

 To support independent ski journalism, please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This podcast hit paid subscribers’ inboxes on June 28. Free subscribers got it on July 1. To receive future pods as soon as they’re live, please consider an upgrade to a paid subscription.WhoJonathan M. Davis, General Manager of Perfect North, IndianaRecorded onJune 20, 2022About Perfect NorthClick here for a mountain stats overviewOwned by: The Perfect FamilyPass affiliations: NoneLocated in: Lawrenceburg, IndianaClosest neighboring ski areas: Mad River, Ohio (2 hours, 18 minutes); Paoli Peaks, Indiana (2 hours, 39 minutes); Snow Trails (3 hours)Base elevation: 400 feetSummit elevation: 800 feetVertical drop: 400 feetSkiable Acres: 100Average annual snowfall: 24 inchesTrail count: 22 (1 double-black, 3 black, 3 blue-black, 10 intermediate, 5 beginner)Lift count: 12 (2 quads, 3 triples, 5 carpets, 2 ropetows - view Lift Blog’s inventory of Perfect North’s lift fleet)About Timberline, West VirginiaWhile this podcast is not explicitly about Timberline, Jonathan had an important role in the ski area’s acquisition in 2019. His enthusiasm for Timberline is clear, the opportunity and the investment are enormous, and this conversation acts as a primer for what I hope will be a full Timberline podcast at some future point.Click here for a mountain stats overviewOwned by: The Perfect FamilyPass affiliations: NoneLocated in: Davis, West VirginiaClosest neighboring ski areas: Canaan Valley (8 minutes); White Grass XC touring/backcountry center (11 minutes); Wisp, Maryland (1 hour, 15 minutes); Snowshoe, West Virginia (1 hour, 50 minutes); Bryce, Virginia (2 hours); Homestead, Virginia (2 hours); Massanutten, Virginia (2 hours, 21 minutes)Base elevation: 3,268 feetSummit elevation: 4,268 feetVertical drop: 1,000 feetSkiable Acres: 100Average annual snowfall: 150 inchesTrail count: 20 (2 double-black, 3 black, 5 intermediate, 10 beginner)Lift count: 3 (1 high-speed six-pack, 1 fixed-grip quad, 1 carpet - view Lift Blog’s inventory of Timberline’s lift fleet)Why I interviewed himThere are two kinds of ski areas in the Midwest. The first are the big ones, out there somewhere in the woods. Where 10,000 years ago a glacier got ornery. Or, farther back in time, little mountains hove up out of the earth. They’re at least 400 feet tall and top out near 1,000. They’re not near anything and they don’t need to be. People will drive to get there. Often they sit in a snowbelt, with glades and bumps and hidden parts. Multiple peaks. A big lodge at the bottom. There are perhaps two dozen of these in the entire region, all of them in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. Boyne, Nub’s Nob, Crystal, Caberfae, Bohemia, Powderhorn, Whitecap, Granite Peak, Spirit, Lutsen. This is not a complete list. I’m making a point here.The second kind of Midwest ski area is usually smaller. It claims 200 vertical feet and actually has 27. It has four chairlifts for every run. It has a parking lot that could swallow Lake George. It’s affordable. And it’s close. To something. Metro Detroit has four ski areas. Milwaukee has eight. Minneapolis has six. But pretty much any Lower Midwestern city of any size has at least one ski area in its orbit: Cleveland (Alpine Valley, Boston Mills, Brandywine), Columbus (Snow Trails, Mad River), St. Louis (Hidden Valley), Kansas City (Snow Creek), Des Moines (Seven Oaks), Chicago (Four Lakes, Villa Olivia), Omaha (Mt. Crescent).For Cincinnati, that ski area is Perfect North. It’s actually one of the larger city-adjacent ski areas in the region: 400 vertical feet on 100 acres (accurate numbers, as far as I can tell). Twelve lifts. Twenty-two trails. Indiana has 6.7 million residents and two ski areas. Some winter days, approximately half of them are skiing at Perfect North.I’m just kidding around about the numbers. What I’m trying to say is that urban Midwestern ski areas are terrific businesses. They’re small but handle unimaginable volume in short, intense seasons of 12-hour-plus days. Davis tells me in the podcast that the ski area hires 1,200 seasonal employees for winter. That is an almost incomprehensible number. Killington, the largest ski area in the east, 20 times the size of Perfect North, has around 1,600 wintertime employees.But that’s what it takes to keep the up-and-down moving. Perfect North was a sort of accidental ski area, born when a college student knocked on farmer Clyde Perfect’s door and said, “hey did you know your land is perfect for a ski area?” In almost snowless Indiana, this was quite a wild notion. Not that no one had tried. The state has nine lost ski areas. But Perfect North is one of only two that survived (the other is Vail-owned Paoli Peaks, which survives no thanks to the mothership). I don’t know enough about the ski areas that failed to say why they’re gone, but it’s obvious why Perfect North has succeeded: relentless investment by committed operators. Here’s an excerpt from a case study by SMI snowmakers:[Perfect North] employs 245 snowmaking machines and an infrastructure that pumps about 120 million gallons of water annually, giving the resort a 3-4 foot snowpack throughout the season. The system is so efficient that operators can start as many as 200 snowmakers in about an hour.At its modest start-up in 1980, Perfect North had only rope tows, T-bars and about a dozen snowmakers covering roughly seven acres. But the family-owned operation has expanded each year and now features five chair lifts and six surface lifts serving more than ten times the skiable terrain, as well as one of the largest tubing operations in the entire U.S. …“We knew early on that snowmaking was critical to a great experience on the hills. The snow is the reason people come; everything else is secondary. So we really focused on it right from the beginning, and we’ve enhanced our snowmaking capability every year,” said [Perfect North President Chip] Perfect.All of the snow guns now in use at Perfect North are manufactured by SMI, and every one is permanently mounted on a SnowTower™ (or pole-top unit). Most are the company’s signature PoleCat™ or Super PoleCat™ designs, with either hill air feed or onboard compressors. Unlike some resorts that boast 100% snowmaking on their trails, Perfect North runs enough machines to be able to make snow on virtually the entire skiing and tubing area at the same time.This is not one model of how to make a ski area work in the Lower Midwest – this is the only way to make a ski area work in the Lower Midwest. The region was a bit late to skiing. Perfect North didn’t open until 1980. Snowmaking had to really advance before such a thing as consistent skiing in Indiana was even conceivable. But being possible is not the same thing as being easy. There are only two ski areas in Indiana for a reason: it’s hard. Perfect North has mastered it anyway. And you’ll understand about two minutes into this conversation why this place is special.What we talked aboutA couple kids watching for the lights to flip on across the valley, announcing the opening of the ski season; Perfect North in the ‘80s; a place where jeans and “layered hunting gear” are common; ski area as machine; from bumping chairs to general manager; the pioneer days of 90s tech; moving into the online future without going bust; RFID; the surprising reason why Perfect North switched from metal wicket tickets to the plastic ziptie version; taking over a ski area in the unique historical moment that was spring 2020; staff PTSD from the Covid season; the power of resolving disputes through one-on-one talks; “we lost something in those two years with how we interact with people”; 1,200 people to run a 400-vertical-foot ski area; how Perfect North fully staffed up and offered an 89-hour-per-week schedule as Vail retreated and severely cut hours at its Indiana and Ohio ski areas; Perfect North would have faced “an absolute mutiny” had they pulled the Vail bait-and-switch of cutting operating hours after pass sales ended; how aggressive you have to be with snowmaking in the Lower Midwest; “the people of the Midwest are fiercely loyal”; reaction to Vail buying Peak Resorts; “I want Midwest skiing to succeed broadly”; Cincinnati as a ski town; skiing’s identity crisis; the amazing story behind Perfect North’s founding; the Perfect family’s commitment to annual reinvestment; remembering ski area founder Clyde Perfect, who passed away in 2020; you best keep those web cams active Son; snowmaking and Indiana; the importance of valleys; the importance of a committed owner; potential expansion; where the ski area could add trails within the existing footprint; terrain park culture in the Lower Midwest; the management and evolution of parks at Perfect North; potential chairlift upgrades and a theoretical priority order; where the ski area could use an additional chairlift; the potential for terrain park ropetows; coming updates to Jam Session’s ropetows; Perfect North’s amazing network of carpet lifts; the ski area’s massive tubing operation; why Perfect North purchased Timberline and how the purchase came together; why creditors rejected the first winner’s bid; West Virginia as a ski state; the reception to Timberline’s comeback; “it didn’t take us long to realize that the three lifts on site were unworkable”; how well Perfect North and Timberline work as a ski area network; “Timberline Mountain has got to stand on its own financially”; whether Perfect North could ever purchase more ski areas; “I hate to see ski areas wither up and die”; Perfect North’s diverse season pass suite; “what drives our guest’s visits is their availability”; and whether Timberline or Perfect North could join the Indy Pass.            Why I thought that now was a good time for this interviewYou want to hear something funny? I often put out queries on Twitter or via email, asking people to tell me who they would most like to hear from on the podcast. Or sometimes people just write and say something like, “hey love the pod you should interview…” And the interview they’ve most often requested has been some combination of Timberline and Perfect North. I don’t really understand why. I mean, I think it’s an awesome story. I’ve yet to meet a ski area I wasn’t fascinated by, and this Midwest-buys-Mid-Atlantic storyline is especially compelling to me. But this one has, for whatever reason, resonated broadly. I’ve never once had someone ask me to track down the head of Telluride or Mammoth or Heavenly (I’d gladly talk to the leaders of any of the three), but the Perfect North/Timberline request has been hitting my inbox consistently for years.Well, it’s done. I’d still like to do a Timberline-first pod, but the basic story of the acquisition is there, and we spend about 15 minutes on the West Virginia ski area. Still, I was not just listening to the request line. I tracked down Davis for the same reason that I tracked down Snow Trails, Ohio’s Scott Crislip last month: these are the only two ski areas in Indiana or Ohio that functioned normally last season. And they are the only two ski areas in those states that are not owned by Vail.Paoli Peaks was open 28 hours per week, from Thursday through Sunday, with no night skiing on weekends. Perfect North was open 89 hours per week, with night skiing seven days per week. I found this fairly offensive, and WTIU Public TV in Indiana invited me on-air back in March to talk about it:How, exactly, did Vail get owned by two independent operators with a fraction of the institutional resources? That is the question that these two podcasts attempt to answer. Vail clearly misread the market in Ohio and Indiana. They did not make enough snow or hire enough people. They cut night skiing. In the Midwest. That’s like opening a steakhouse and cutting steak off the menu. Sorry, Guys, budget cuts. You can’t find steak at this steakhouse, but we have beef broth soup and canned greenbeans. And by the way, we’re only open for lunch. Like, how did they not know that? It may be the worst series of ski area operating decisions I’ve ever seen.I should probably just let this go. Now that I’ve said my piece via these two interviews, I probably will. I’ve made my point. But seriously Vail needs to look at what Perfect North and Snow Trails did this past season and do exactly that. And if they can’t, then, as Davis says in this interview, “if they don’t want Paoli and Mad River, we’ll take them.”Questions I wish I’d askedPerfect North has a really interesting pass perk for its highest-tiered pass: Perfect Season Pass holders can go direct to lift. That pass is $356. Gold passholders, who can ski up to eight hours per day, must pick up a lift ticket at the window each time they ski. That pass is $291. While the gold pass is not technically unlimited, eight hours per day seems more than sufficient. I’m ready to wrap it up after seven hours at Alta. I can’t imagine that eight hours wouldn’t be enough Indiana skiing. But I don’t think the ski area would bother with the two different passes if the market hadn’t told them there was a need, and I would have liked to have discussed the rationale behind this pass suite a bit more.What I got wrongI said on the podcast that Snow Trails was open “80-some hours per week.” The number was actually 79 hours. I also stated in the introduction that Perfect North was founded by “the Perfect family and a group of investors,” but it was the Perfect family alone.  Why you should ski Perfect NorthWe’ve been through this before, with Snow Trails, Mountain Creek, Paul Bunyan, Wachusett, and many more. If you live in Cincinnati and you are a skier, you have a choice to make: you can be the kind of skier who skis all the time, or you can be the kind of skier who skis five days per year at Whistler. I know dozens of people in New York like this. They ski at Breckenridge, they ski at Park City, they ski at Jackson Hole. But they don’t – they just couldn’t – ski Mountain Creek or Hunter or even Stowe. East Coast skiing is just so icy, they tell me. Well, sometimes. But it’s skiing. And whether you ski six days per year or 50 largely depends upon your approach to your local.If I lived in Cincinnati, I’d have a pass to Perfect North and I’d go there all the time. I would not be there for eight hours at a time. Ten runs is a perfectly good day of skiing at a small ski area. More if conditions are good or I’m having fun. Anything to get outside and make a few turns. Go, ride the lifts, get out. No need to overthink this. Any skiing is better than none at all.Most of Perfect North’s skiers, of course, are teenagers and families. And it’s perfect for both of these groups. But it doesn’t have to be for them alone. Ski areas are for everyone. Go visit.As far as Timberline goes, well, that’s a whole different thing. A thousand feet of vert and 150 inches of average annual snowfall shouldn’t take a lot of convincing for anyone anywhere within striking distance.Podcast NotesPerfect North founder Clyde Perfect passed away in 2020. Here is his obituary.I mentioned that Indiana had several lost ski areas. Here’s an inventory. My 1980 copy of The White Book of Ski Areas lists nine hills in Indiana. Perfect North isn’t one of them (Paoli Peaks, the state’s other extant ski area, is). Here’s a closer look at two of the more interesting ones (you can view more trailmaps on skimap.org):Nashville AlpsHere’s the 2001 trailmap for Nashville Alps, which had a 240-foot vertical drop. The ski area closed around 2002, and the lifts appear to be gone.If anyone knows why Nashville Alps failed, please let me know.Ski StarlightThe White Book pegs this one with an amazing 554 vertical feet, which would make it taller than any ski area in Michigan’s Lower Peninsula. The map shows trails running along little ridgelines separated by valleys, which would have made this a really interesting spot on the rare occasions it snowed enough to ski the trees.Google maps suggests that this trailmap more or less reflects geologic reality. Here’s a YouTube video from a few years back, when the ski area was apparently for sale. The lifts were still intact (though likely unusable):The White Book says that this place had a double-double and two J-bars in 1980. Just 20 minutes from Louisville, this seems like the kind of little Midwestern spot that could boom with the right operators. The cost to bring it online would likely be prohibitive, however. As with most things in U.S. America, it would be the permitting that would likely kill it in the crib.The Storm publishes year-round, and guarantees 100 articles per year. This is article 70/100 in 2022, and number 316 since launching on Oct. 13, 2019. Want to send feedback? Reply to this email and I will answer (unless you sound insane). You can also email skiing@substack.com. Get full access to The Storm Skiing Journal and Podcast at www.stormskiing.com/subscribe

Get three months of Gusto FREE at: https://gusto.com/wan Get Exclusive NordSecurity deals here: https://nordsecurity.com/wan All products are risk-free with Nord's 30-day money-back guarantee! Timestamps: (Courtesy of NoKi1119 - Note: Timestamps may be off due to change in sponsors) 0:00 Chapters 1:18 Intro 1:51 Topic #1 - Intel's Arc early review 2:44 Performance compared to competitors 6:43 Thoughts on the naming scheme 9:54 Nvidia's impact on GPU box arts 12:30 The graphic's potential ft. Linus agreements 15:08 Support for AV1, YouTube's HDR & suggestions 22:18 Topic #2 - Leaked TikTok audio, data privacy 24:42 Impact on the internet, cybersecurity risks 29:11 LTTStore HDD hoodie, notebook & discounts 36:26 Topic #3 - Amazon's Alexa voice cloning 37:37 Deepfake Linus, ethicality & security risks 45:44 Sponsors 49:28 Merch Messages #1 ft. side discussions 50:16 Inovelli's "Project Linus" 54:24 Bidding on Artesian Builds, Linus's pitch 58:19 Linus bricks a Linux install before ShortCircuit 1:01:21 Steam summer sale, Linus on game displays 1:12:23 400 Stealth hoodies sold, games discussion 1:14:05 What happened to the Blackmagic cameras 1:15:03 Mattress suggestion 1:15:46 Was LTT ever compromised? LMG's finances 1:22:43 Biohacking, RFID implants 1:25:51 Possible LTT handtools after the screwdriver 1:25:58 Topic #4 - PCIE 70 standard 1:26:18 Specifications Do we really need this? 1:29:11 Topic #5 - Lab acoustics update 1:30:28 Crinacle's & chat's response to LMG's video 1:40:57 Priority for lab testing & hiring 1:42:34 Merch Messages #2 1:42:43 ARM processors, emulating X86 for gaming 1:43:43 Best way to handle a hot PC during the summer 1:44:47 Secure alternative for port-forwarding to NAS 1:46:44 Linus's remote hardware configuration 1:48:41 What happened to the $1 million computer series? 1:49:13 Screen protector creases on Linus's Fold 1:51:11 Unified doorbell 1:52:12 Matter smart home feature 1:52:40 Would Luke consider another mineral PC 1:54:42 eLeap OLED technology 1:55:34 Manufacturers moving to smart bulbs, cybersecurity 1:56:00 Aya Neo 2, AIR, Flip & Slide 1:57:06 Machining a solid block of acrylic 1:59:42 Linus & Luke on Steam Deck, comparing to Aya Neo 2:01:17 Recent books to read, Linus discusses reading 2:02:40 Removing the protector on Fold 3 2:04:55 Long-term hearing loss when sleeping with headphones 2:07:45 Linus's decision on the main TV & monitors 2:09:38 Test driving electric motorcycles, Linus's SV650S 2:13:27 Motivation behind switching from Hangouts to Teams 2:16:22 Outro

ACS Group terdiri dari dua perusahaan pemenang penghargaan dengan fokus bisnis yang identik dalam identifikasi otomatis (AIDC & RFID), infrastruktur nirkabel & keamanan, sistem keamanan perusahaan (CCTV, kontrol & Alarm) dan solusi bisnis perusahaan (perangkat lunak). ACS berfokus hanya pada solusi tertentu, kami dapat memberikan manfaat utama bagi pelanggan kami. Kami akan selalu menggunakan pengetahuan dan pengalaman kami untuk menerapkan persyaratan secara langsung dan profesional. Tapi sudah taukah anda, Kami ACS Group memiliki 5 Cabang yang ada di Indonesia Loh ! Clara Tania akan memperkenalkan Seluruh ke 5 Branch Manager Kami. ❯ Simak juga Podcast lainnya dari kami: • Eps. 1 Cybersecurity: https://youtu.be/4rmV9JvjMWw​ • Eps. 2 AMTS (Asset Management and Tracking System): https://youtu.be/Q00_yWfGHN8​ • Eps. 3 RFID Technology: https://youtu.be/kKDv3-fpBaQ​ • Eps. 4 Aruba Access Network: https://youtu.be/DaSxJPFQNm4​ • Eps. 5 Zebra Technologies: https://youtu.be/-l0d_KK20fY • Eps. 6 HPE Aruba: https://youtu.be/o3dp78sbTY4 • Eps. 7 Bosch Security: https://youtu.be/Ig_8_p9mZKA • Eps. 8 Managed Services: https://youtu.be/VxIg3TkKIuk • Eps. 9 AIDC Product Update: https://youtu.be/pdm87Eh_NQA • Eps. 10 Real Time Locations System: https://youtu.be/KQ2NjL9qhWM • Eps. 11 Branch Manager : https://youtu.be/Bc_3hpI9y0k ❯ Jangan lupa Subscribe channel kami, agar tidak kelewatan video solusi terbaru: http://bit.ly/ACSCHANNEL​ ❯ Host: • Clara Tania: https://instagram.com/claratania​ ❯ Connect with me: • Website: https://acsgroup.co.id​ • Instagram: https://instagram.com/acsgroup.co.id​ • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/autojayasolusi ​• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/3027... • News: https://acsgroup.co.id/id/news/​ ❯ Contact Information - Jakarta: 021-4208221, sales.admin@acsgroup.co.id - Cikarang: 021-29612368, adminckg@acsgroup.co.id - Semarang: 024-76638094, adminsmg@acsgroup.co.id - Surabaya: 031-8556277, adminsby@acsgroup.co.id - Denpasar: 0361-4457859, admindps@acsgroup.co.id #ACSGroup​ #BranchManager #CabangACS Branch Manager ACS Group | ACS Group Technology Podcast Eps. 11

GUEST OVERVIEW: In 1972, Kevin Loughrey graduated from the Royal Military College, Duntroon with an honours degree in Mechanical Engineering. For 23 years, four of which were on exchange with the British Army, he served in the Army rising to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. During that time, he was responsible for a number of innovations that significantly added to the defence preparedness and capabilities of Australia. He left the Army in 1991 and held a variety of senior management appointments, ranging from superintendent of engineering for a sand mining company to civil aviation and R&D of RFID technology. He has achieved a number of world-firsts; in the fields of engineering, chemistry, physics, medical, mining, micro-electronics and computer science. Kevin has written many articles on COVID and climate change scams.

In this episode, a returning guest Gabriel Goldstein shares the electronics behind the thrills in escape rooms. He also generously gives some valuable advice on finding your niche and starting your own electronics business. Gabriel was the former owner of Anidea Engineering and Escape Room Tech. Listen to this episode and be inspired by how he married two industries together and become the master of this very unique niche. Watch the episode here Gabriel's background, he is the former owner of Anidea Engineering and Escape Room Tech The business of producing low-volume products - his first big project is an ARM9 with 16 mb of RAM, a PDA style learning device The fascinating technology in the escape room includes off-the-shelf surveillance cameras, keyboards, and maglocks. Gabriel describes the technology behind the “magic doors”They use RFID and developed their RS45-based networking system A successful escape room requires an extreme collaboration of multiple skill sets that include electronics guys, theater guys, and game theory team just to name the least The escape room industry is a marriage of electronics and haunt industry Creating a small, showpiece project could be a gateway to a PCB design career Software engineers have GitHub, while PCB designers have Arduino and Raspberry Pi Gabriel wrote blogs to educate his customers about the business of producing products that sellHe became Mr. Networker hanging out at the Angel Forum groups and the venture capital groups For about 6 years he was out there in the community to help out, give back and help build a business He recommends a book from Martin Gerber – Awakening the Entrepreneur Within “If you're going to take off the engineering hat and try to turn this into a business, please learn how to run a business because it's a completely different skill set” Ending the conversation with a little anecdote from Gabriel, an inspiration to be in the business mindset and going for the American Dream Resources: Connect with Gabriel Goldstein on LinkedIn Visit Escape Room Techs website Read Martin Gerber's Awakening the Entrepreneur Within Watch the previous episode with Gabriel Goldstein - How to Build a New Data Management System Read Gabriel Goldstein's Blog Articles on LinkedIn Connect with Zach on LinkedIn   Full OnTrack Podcast Library Altium Website   Altium 365: Where the World Designs Electronics

GUEST OVERVIEW: In 1972, Kevin Loughrey graduated from the Royal Military College, Duntroon with an honours degree in Mechanical Engineering. For 23 years, four of which were on exchange with the British Army, he served in the Army rising to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. During that time, he was responsible for a number of innovations that significantly added to the defence preparedness and capabilities of Australia. He left the Army in 1991 and held a variety of senior management appointments, ranging from superintendent of engineering for a sand mining company to civil aviation and R&D of RFID technology. He has achieved a number of world-firsts; in the fields of engineering, chemistry, physics, medical, mining, micro-electronics and computer science. Kevin has written many articles on COVID and climate change scams.  GUEST WEBSITE: https://kevinloughrey.com.au/ 

A Textiles engineering professional specialising in advanced e-textiles and Smart textiles.Episode Notes:00:08 – Introduction02:18 – Hobby or Personal Passion04:04 – RFiD Thread Overview05:14 – Challenges in Retail 202107:50 – Challenges in Garment Recycling 202109:21 – Barcodes & RFID Challenges10:18 – What is RFiD Threads12:50 – RFiD Threads Adding Value to Manufacturing14:26 – RFiD Threads Adding Value to Retail18:29 – RFiD Threads Adding Value to Brands19:13 – RFiD Threads Adding Value to Customers20:06 – Adding Value to the Circular Economy22:01 – Global Recognition for RFiD Threads23:00 – What Adetex ID Can Offer23:22 – Current Manufacturing Plans23:47 – Ramp up Plans Post Investment24:06 – RFiD Threads USP24:43 – Additional About RFiD Threads25:33 – Textile's Supply Chain28:09 – What Makes Technology Smart33:33 – How The Technology Achieve That Goal35:12 – Closing Thoughts

Highlights from their conversation include:About Zebra Technologies (1:16)The Mark Wheeler story (1:57)Acquisition of Fetch Robotics (3:31)How Zebra enabled customers through the pandemic (6:40)Intelligent edge solutions (8:06)RFID as a technology (13:39)Outlook for the supply chain (17:34)Advice for entrepreneurs (19:03)Dynamo is a VC firm led by supply chain and mobility specialists that focus on seed stage, enterprise startups.Find out more at: https://www.dynamo.vc/

Imaginary Ventures' Natalie Massenet, and Natasha Franck, founder of digital ID-maker Eon join BoF technology correspondent Marc Bain to discuss Eon, how the technology works and highlight the opportunities digital IDs could create for fashion. Each interaction a brand has with a consumer typically ends when a product is sold. Digital IDs have the potential to extend that exchange, integrating digital initiatives with products' physical lives. A a flock of start-ups and fashion power brokers want every item of clothing, watch or handbag to have a digital twin, meaning, QR code-enabled garments that lead to a website packed with information such as an item's material breakdown or suggestions on how to style it. It's a concept that is well-established in the automobile industry and a few other sectors, but has yet to gain traction in fashion. Proponents believe it could unlock enormous potential for consumers and brands.  “It's moving from this very transactional relationship that brands have with customers into this service-based continuous relationship between brands and customers,” said Natasha Franck, founder and chief executive of Imaginary Ventures-backed digital ID-maker Eon at BoF's Technology Summit. Key Insights: Eon makes digital twins of physical products in the cloud based on information embedded in items using a NFC chip, RFID tag or QR code for partners including H&M, Gabriela Hearst and Zalando.  Massenet compares Eon's work to building railroads at the beginning of the industrial revolution. The tracks are still being laid, but she says digital IDs have the potential to drive more connections and commerce.  Digital IDs represent a first step toward connecting consumers with web3 initiatives like the metaverse, could enable more seamless reselling and re-ordering as well as allow brands and influencers to collect royalties on sales. Additional Resources: The Year Ahead: What Product Passports Will Do for Brands: Brands are adopting new technologies that store and share product information to improve authentication, provide transparency and boost consumer trust. However, for “product passports” to truly gain traction, businesses must coalesce around common standards and engage with pilot projects at scale. What Digital IDs Can Do for Fashion: Proponents of the effort to give every item its own digital identity say they'll unlock numerous benefits for brands and shoppers alike. But for these IDs to work it will require overcoming some big obstacles first. Is Fashion Ready to Put Its Supply Chain on the Blockchain?: H&M and Kering are among the fashion players that have recently launched pilot programmes to trace their supply chains using blockchain technology. Join BoF Professional today using the link here.

To support independent ski journalism, please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Paid subscribers receive thousands of extra words of content each month, plus all podcasts three days before free subscribers.WhoScott Crislip, General Manager of Snow Trails, OhioRecorded onMay 31, 2022About Snow TrailsClick here for a mountain stats overviewOwned by: The Carto familyLocated in: Mansfield, OhioClosest neighboring ski areas: Mad River Mountain (1.5 hours), Boston Mills-Brandywine (1 hour)Base elevation: 1,174 feetSummit elevation: 1,475 feetVertical drop: 301 feetSkiable Acres: 200Night skiing: Yes, 100% of terrainAverage annual snowfall: 30 to 50 inchesTrail count: 17 (20% black, 60% intermediate, 20% beginner)Lift count: 7 (4 triples, 2 doubles, 1 carpet - view Lift Blog’s inventory of Snow Trail’s lift fleet)Why I interviewed himStare at it for a while, and the American ski map teases some captivating storylines. How is it that there are so many ski areas in Southern California? Or New Mexico? Or how about that map dot above Tucson, or, for God’s sake, Ala-freaking-bama? Are those real? Why are there so many ski areas in practically snowless eastern Pennsylvania, and so few (relatively speaking) in snow-choked and mountainous Washington and Oregon?But one of the most curious sectors of U.S. skiing is the lower Midwest. Ohio hosts five public ski areas; Indiana has two; Illinois, four; Iowa, three; Missouri, two. That’s just 16 ski areas across five states. The upper Midwest, by contrast, hosts 90 ski areas across three states: 40 in Michigan, 31 in Wisconsin, 19 in Minnesota. So that 16 may seem low, but the lower Midwest’s ski area count is actually quite impressive if we look at the macro conditions. Take Ohio: why – how – does this windblown flatland host five public ski areas (a sixth, Big Creek, operates as a private club near Cleveland). Eastern Ohio – the western borderlands of Appalachia – is actually quite hilly. But there aren’t any ski areas there. Instead, Ohio ski life is clustered around or between the state’s many large cities – Dayton, Columbus, Cleveland.Most of America’s ski areas, if you pick them apart, exist because of a favorable combination of at least a couple of the following factors: elevation, population, aspect, accessibility, snowfall – often lake effect. North-facing Snow Trails, seated high (for Ohio) in the Possum Run Valley, right off Interstate 71 between Columbus (population 889,000) and Cleveland (population 383,000), combines four of the five. The ski area only averages 30 to 50 inches of snowfall per year, depending upon the source, but there’s plenty of juice (snowmaking) to keep the lifts spinning.The place, in fact, has more skiers than it knows what to do with. Last year, Snow Trails began limiting season pass sales for the first time in its 60 seasons. The outdoor boom hit Ohio as much as it hit New England or Colorado. People wanted to ski. If they live in the north-central part of the state, they’ve got a fine little hill to do it on.What we talked aboutSummertime at Snow Trails; the passing of Snow Trails long-time founder and operator David Carto; the ski area’s founding in the ‘60s; the unique climate of Ohio’s Possum Run Valley; Snow Trails’ novel water source; introducing a “Western” feel to an Ohio ski area; how climate, technology, commitment, and culture work together to make a ski area succeed; the incredible longevity of Snow Trail’s management team; 60 years working at one ski area; Snow Trails’ future as a family-run ski area; don’t let your significant other teach you how to ski; learning to ski on ropetows; the insane grind of a lower Midwest ski season; the Cal Ripken of skiing: 22 years as GM and he’s never missed a day; reflecting on last ski season; “whenever the opportunity comes to make snow, come November, we’re going to do it”; managing volume at a small, insanely busy ski area during the Covid boom; limiting season pass sales; when Snow Trails’ season passes may go on sale; whether Snow Trails has considered joining the Indy Pass; watching Ohio’s collection of independent ski areas slowly consolidate under a single owner throughout the early 2000s; the moment Vail bought four of the five public ski areas in Ohio; Vail’s abysmal performance in Ohio this past season and how Snow Trails rose above skiing’s larger labor and weather struggles to offer 79 hours of operations per week; how Snow Trails will respond to Vail’s $20-an-hour minimum wage; the “gut punch” of Vail’s decision to slash operating hours and days of operation after Epic Pass sales ended; whether the ski area will bring back midnight Fridays; oh man you do NOT take night skiing away from Midwesterners; thoughts on how Vail can turn around the disappointing state of their operations in Ohio; how the installation of carpet lifts transformed the beginner experience at Snow Trails; which chairlift the ski area would like to upgrade next; where the resort is thinking about installing a ropetow; the best location on the mountain to potentially add an additional chairlift; where Snow Trails could potentially expand; the story behind Snow Trails’ glades, an anomaly in the lower Midwest; advancing snowmaking technology and how it increases resilience to climate change; what’s new at Snow Trails for the 2022-23 ski season; and RFID.  Why I thought that now was a good time for this interviewVail stole the show in Ohio this past winter, mostly through a stunning display of callous ineptitude. Their four ski areas, which for decades have spun the lifts seven days per week, 10 or 12 or more hours per day, slashed hours and days of operation. Here’s what you were faced with, this past winter, if you were an Epic Pass holder in Ohio:Alpine Valley: closed Monday-Thursday, 3:30-9 Friday, 9-4 weekends (19.5 hours per week)Boston Mills: closed Monday & Tuesday, 10-3 Wednesday and Thursday, 4-10 Friday, 9-5 weekends (32 hours per week)Brandywine: 4-10 Monday-Friday, 9-5 Saturday and Sunday (46 hours per week)Mad River: 3-9 Monday-Friday, 10-5 Saturday and Sunday (44 hours per week)There were several elements of this modified schedule that were stunning in their complete misapprehension of the local market. First: night skiing, in the Midwest, is everything. Everything. Eliminating it – on Saturdays especially – is baffling beyond belief. Second: curtailing hours after season pass sales are complete is an offensive bait-and-switch, particularly for Midwesterners, who already weather the disrespect of the “flyover country” label. “How dumb does this Colorado, big-mountain company think we are?” was, by all accounts, the sort-of meta-narrative defining local sentiment this past season. Yes, the Epic Ohio Pass – good for unlimited access to all four of the state’s Vail-owned ski areas – started at just $279 for the 2021-22 ski season (it’s $305 right now), but it came with an implied promise that the ski areas would function as the ski areas always had. Crowded? Yes. Frantic? Yes. Existing on the margins of where people can hack a ski experience out of nature’s ferocious whims? Always. But it would be skiing, pretty much whenever you wanted it, for 12 weeks from mid-December to mid-March.Vail did not deliver on that expectation. The company responded to a mild early season and tight labor market not by dumping resources into operations and hiring but by retreating. Not just in Ohio, but in Indiana and Missouri as well. Paoli Peaks operated four days per week. The Missouri ski areas did better, with seven-day schedules and a decent amount of night skiing. But overall, Vail Resorts did not look like Vail Resorts in the lower Midwest during the 2021-22 ski season. The largest ski company in the world – proud, bold, insatiable, domineering Vail – looked bumbling, scared, confused, lost.And they would have gotten away with it, too, were it not for those meddling independent ski areas that carried on as though it were a completely normal Midwest ski season. Vail owns seven of the nine public ski areas in Ohio, Indiana, and Missouri. The other two – Perfect North, Indiana and Snow Trails – absolutely embarrassed Vail, exposing every flimsy excuse the company made for curtailing operations. Perfect North spun the lifts 89 hours per week. Snow Trails went 79, offering night skiing until 9 p.m. seven days per week. How did they do this? “We did what we always did,” Crislip told me in the interview. But what was that, exactly? And what could Vail learn from a little reflection after the humbling that was this past Ohio ski season?Why you should ski Snow TrailsCrislip mused, during our conversation, on the long-term advantages of severely discounting lift tickets for school groups. Those discounted tickets, he said, pay big dividends down the line.No kidding. I only ever tried skiing because 200-vertical-foot Mott Mountain, Michigan offered $6 lift tickets to my high school in the winter of 1992. I think rentals were an extra $5. A bus ride to the hill and back – about half an hour each way – was free.Mott Mountain is long gone, but I think we can conclude that the ski industry’s return-on-investment was sufficient. The amount of money that I’ve spent on the sport in the decades since that first bus ride is all of it. There were winters during which I did little else but ski and purchased almost nothing that was not directly ski related, other than gasoline and Taco Bell.Which is great for kids, right? But why would an accomplished skier ever want to ski a bump like Snow Trails, let alone travel there to do it on purpose? It’s a rhetorical question, asked because the world is still filled with studly chest-beaters, who answer questions like this:With machofest responses like this:Twenty years ago, we’d say that if you wanted someone to expose their true selves, get them drunk or angry. Now, you can just open their social media accounts. I don’t know where this dude lives, but if it’s anywhere near Snow Trails, I’d give him this bit of unsolicited advice: put your ego down (it may require the assistance of a forklift), store it somewhere safe, buy a season pass, and go enjoy yourself. If you can’t have fun skiing a bump like this, then I’m not sure you understand how to have fun skiing at all. Get to know the hill, get creative, nod to the lifties – treat it like your local bar or gym or coffee shop. Somewhere to be in the wintertime that isn’t your couch.  Or wait until your trip to Whistler and be happy skiing six days per year. I can’t tell you how to live. I’m just here to make suggestions. Here in New York, I know plenty of people like this. They wouldn’t dare ski Mountain Creek, New Jersey’s beehive-busy analogue to Snow Trails. “You probably ski Mountain Creek” they’ll type on social media, as though there’s something wrong with a thousand-footer with high-speed lifts and a happy hour-priced season pass. But once you adopt this mentality, it’s malignant. Soon, you’re also too good for Hunter, then Gore, then Killington, then, like the Twitter turkey above, the venerable Jay Peak, the NEK powder palace that averages more inches of average annual snowfall than Steamboat or Winter Park. Before you know it, your ski-day choices are down to Snowbird, Jackson Hole, Palisades Tahoe, and Revelstoke. Anything else “isn’t real skiing.”Or something like that. It’s all a little tedious and stupid. We’re fortunate, in this country, to have hundreds of viable ski areas, pretty much anyplace that hills and cold collide. If you live anywhere near one, there are a lot more reasons to frequent it than to snub it. There are plenty of skiers who live in Florida or Texas or Georgia, places where the outdoor lift-served bump is an impossibility. Not to sound like your mom when you were five years old, but there are plenty of kids in the world that don’t have any toys to play with, so try to be happy with the ones you’ve got. Go skiing.More Snow TrailsA Mansfield News Journal obituary for longtime Snow Trails owner David CartoNear the end of the interview, Crislip says refers to the work that “you and Matt” are doing to promote Midwest skiing. Matt is Matt Zebransky, founder of midwestskiers.com and all-around good dude. The site is comprehensive and terrific, and Zebransky is a really talented video producer and editor, who puts together some knockout reels laser-focused on Midwest skiing. Zebransky introduced me to Crislip after he hosted me for a podcast interview recently (I’ll let you know whenever that’s live). The Midwest Skiers Instagram account is a terrific follow.The Storm publishes year-round, and guarantees 100 articles per year. This is article 60/100 in 2022, and number 306 since launching on Oct. 13, 2019. Want to send feedback? Reply to this email and I will answer (unless you sound insane). You can also email skiing@substack.com.This podcast hit paid subscribers’ inboxes on June 2. Free subs got it on June 5. To make sure you get future pods as soon as they’re live, please consider an upgrade. Get full access to The Storm Skiing Journal and Podcast at www.stormskiing.com/subscribe

R-CALF Loses Appeal On RFID Challenge

इस एपिसोड में सुनिए, कर्नाटक हाई कोर्ट का फैसला नहीं करा पाया हिजाब का हिसाब, अमरनाथ यात्रा पर आने वाले हर तीर्थयात्री को लेना होगा RFID टैग और चीन में भारी बारिश ने मचाई तबाही; 15 लोगों की मौत और तीन लापता।

Cattle News Central May 25 headlines: RCALF loses appeal on RFID challenge. Texas Farm Bureau claims federal mandates will harm the cattle industry. Tyson will open 12 new meat processing plants by 2024. Arby's launches its first-ever hamburger. *Correction: 6:06, disagree with legislation. Sponsored by American Beef Producer, AgRisk Advisors, Circle 5 School for Cattleman, & 4 T Ag Insurance.

#SmartWarehousing #OpenSource #IntralogistikDie 66. Folge des IoT Use Case Podcasts zeigt, wie mit einer RFID-Implementierung in der Intralogistik – genauer in der Ganzkartonabwicklung – die Effizienz in den Prozessen um 40 % gesteigert werden konnte. Vom Wareneingang bis zum Warenausgang wurden die Produktivitäten angehoben, die Prozesszeiten gesenkt und die Durchlaufzeit der Aufträge beschleunigt. Folge 66 auf einen Blick (und Klick):[06:44] Herausforderungen, Potenziale und Status quo – So sieht der Use Case in der Praxis aus[12:25] Lösungen, Angebote und Services – Ein Blick auf die eingesetzten Technologien[29:57] Ergebnisse, Geschäftsmodelle und Best Practices – So wird der Erfolg gemessen[31:41] Übertragbarkeit, Skalierung und nächste Schritte – So könnt ihr diesen Use Case nutzenZusammenfassung der PodcastfolgeDiese Podcastfolge dreht sich um einen E-Commerce-Logistik-Use-Case im Bereich Smart Warehousing. Herausforderung sind die klassischen Prozesse wie Inbound, Storage und Outbound, die sehr personalintensiv sind. Es gibt sehr viele manuelle Vorgänge, wie die Themen Sortieren, Suchen, Scannen und Kartons in die verschiedenen Logistikzonen verschieben. Fehlbuchungen, Packfehler und Leerfahrten gilt es zu vermeiden, um dem hohen Kostendruck standzuhalten. Textilgroßhändler TB International wird in diesen Prozessen von INTRANAV unterstützt. INTRANAV (an Inpixon company) und Experte auf dem Gebiet industrieller IoT-Echtzeit-Lokalisierungssysteme (RTLS), der Ortsbestimmung unterschiedlichster Objekte über Funktechnologien. TB International ist einer der erfolgreichsten Großhändler im Bereich Textil für riesige Modebrands, wie beispielsweise Urban Classics, und führt insgesamt 15 Textil- und Accessoire-Marken mit circa 15. 000 Händlern weltweit.In dieser Podcastfolge geht es um Effizienzsteigerungen in der Intralogistik, Open Sources, Live-Daten, Heatmaps, RFID, Mensch-Technik-Schnittstellen, Hybrid-Cloud, MQTT, SAP, WIREPAS, MESH, Tags, BLE, UBB und vieles mehr.  Madeleine Mickeleits Gäste in dieser Podcastfolge: -       Ersan Guenes (Senior Vice President IIoT for Logistics & Manufacturing (DSC), INTRANAV)-       Johannes Rudenko (Managing Director Logistics & IT, TB International GmbH)www.iotusecase.com/podcast

Bonjour et bienvenue dans la revue de presse hebdo et audio du secteur retail / e-commerce en France proposée par Les Digital Doers. Nous sommes le 20 mai 2022, au sommaire cette semaine, 4 articles : 1) L'e-commerce français ne faiblit pas et atteint 32,5 milliards d'euros au T1 2022 (EcommerceMag)   2) L'avenir du parcours d'achat : le meilleur de l'e-commerce en magasin, et réciproquement ! (EcommerceMag) 3) Comment la RFID façonne la stratégie omnicanale de Decathlon (JDN) 4) Étude retail : deux tiers des commerçants français anticipent une croissance pour 2022 (FashionUnited.fr) Je vous le rappelle, sur le site lesdigitaldoers.com, vous avez accès à une revue de presse qui rassemble les articles publiés dans la semaine sur les sites de news de notre écosystème. Vous pouvez vous y abonner pour recevoir chaque vendredi un digest de l'actualité dans votre boîte email. De cette revue de presse, je vous lis, sans interprétation, une sélection de quelques articles qui m'ont semblé pertinents à partager. Avant de commencer, un petit message, avec Les Digital Doers, je produis et anime des chaînes de podcast pour compte de tiers, c'est-à-dire pour vous, vous qui écoutez cette revue de presse, acteurs de notre écosystème. Si vous souhaitez animer la prise de parole sur votre marché, c'est l'occasion d'inviter des clients et des prospects à venir converser avec vous et moi autour de votre proposition de valeur. Vous êtes intéressés ? Contactez moi ! Par ailleurs, je vous invite à découvrir le nouvel épisode de la semaine, le numéro 139, dans lequel Laure Favre, Cofondatrice de SRPING, nous raconte la création de cette DNVB qui fabrique et vend des produits d'entretien secs et sains. Jamais je n'aurai cru possible d'avoir une conversation passionnante sur un thème comme celui-ci ! D'ici là, je vous souhaite une bonne écoute, évidemment toujours sans coupure !  

This week we talk with the leader of the lab that is at the heart of RFID and Auto-ID, about tags in outer space and on the ocean floor. We learn about Auburn University's pivotal relationship with the giants of retail, aerospace and the biggest vendors of the technologies that are bringing the digital and physical worlds together.Justin Patton is the Director of the Auburn University RFID Lab, a research institute focusing on the business case and technical implementation of emerging technologies in retail, supply chain, aerospace, and manufacturing. The RFID Lab is a unique private/academic partnership between users, technology vendors, standards organizations, and faculty. Justin has participated in business case research for advanced technology with Walmart, Target, Amazon, FedEx, Dillard's, Macy's, Delta Air Lines, and Boeing among others, and is currently supporting projects including multiple technologies supporting serialized supply chains. He is one of the primary developers of the ARC program, the first and most widely utilized international performance validation system for RFID, and is currently working to help standardize serialized inventory in all aspects of the supply chain. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Want to know how you can deploy a smart warehouse for your business? Today's guest is Dan Gilmore of Softeon, a company that provides a full suite of flexible and robust end-to-end supply chain software solutions to deliver success. He joins Joe Lynch to talk about the idea and technology behind their system. They discuss some of the big trends impacting warehouses, e-commerce, and retail. From labor shortages to automation, Dan enlightens on the benefits of WMS and WES for any business. Tune in to better understand the perks of this new smart technology for optimizing your business! The Smart Warehouse With Dan Gilmore Our topic is the smart warehouse with my friend Dan Gilmore. How's it going, Dan? It's great. I'm happy to be here. I'm glad I'm finally getting to interview you. Please introduce yourself, your company, and where you are calling from. I'm a Chief Marketing Officer of a supply chain software company called Softeon. Our company is headquartered in Reston, Virginia, outside of Dallas Airport. I happen to be in the Dayton/Cincinnati, Ohio area. What does Softeon do? It's a supply chain software company, primarily a supply chain execution. The company was founded in 1999. Our first customer all the way back then was the L'Oreal, and we proceeded to build out a suite of solutions that were brought in deep capability. That includes warehouse management systems, and all the stuff that goes around warehouse management systems including labor and resource management, slotting optimization, and yard management. A newer thing which we will get into because it's critical to what's happening in terms of the smart warehouse is something called warehouse execution systems, which have been around for a while but gained prominence in the last couple of years as a way to optimize and orchestrate order fulfillment level at a capability that's beyond even very good tier ones. This category of stuff is called distributed order management, which has to do with the optimal sourcing of products based on customer commitments as well as network capacities constraints in how do I get the lowest cost alternative that meets the customer needs? It's a very prominent in omnichannel commerce. It is almost essential in retail but we are having a lot of B2B type of successes in distributed order management as well. There are some other things that could give a flavor to what we do. You started well before eCommerce was a thing. Do you still support stores and that kind of warehousing? Traditional WMS type of capabilities for retailers, would largely be store replenishment. Now, we are moving into eCommerce fulfillment. Many retailers are also looking to have a lot of activity at the store level, whether that's buying online, pick up in-store, curbside pickup or store fulfillment. We've got some solutions there, both in terms of the distributed order management that I referenced. It is the tool going that says, “The best place to fulfill this order from based on the time commitments as well as inventory availability, labor availability, etc. is store 3, 4, 5, 6, 7,” and then have the ability to first identify where it's the right location. That could be obviously a DC, a third-party facility or something like that. The first word is the best place to source it from, and if it's a store, we have a store module that facilitates the inventory transactions, picking transactions, and shipping at a store level. That became a thing. Target is one of those companies that if you buy something online from them, they are more likely to ship from their stores these days. I have seen and the figure keeps rising. The whole market has changed. The more high-tech feel and touch, the less back-breaking work and less bending over and lifting heavy cases. It's like 80% or 90%. Let's say 90%. That's the number I had in my mind too. They are doing them from the store, which is incredible. Before we get into all that, tell us a little bit about you. Where did you grow up and go to school? Give us some career highlights and bullet points before you join Softeon. I'm an Ohio guy. My whole life, I grew up in Akron, Cleveland area, and then got a job with NCR after grad school. I got an MBA from the University of Akron. I got a job at NCR that was here in Dayton. I was a Product Manager in charge of barcode and data collection. The way serendipity works, I moved from barcode data collection systems to wireless systems and then got into WMS. I was into consulting for a while. I have done a lot of marketing in the space. I was also Chief Marketing Officer at the Red Prairie before it got acquired by JDA and became ultimately Blue Yonder. Earlier in my life, I spent a couple of years implementing WMS, a couple of major projects down here in the Cincinnati area that helped me learn a lot about how the technology works and what's good and less good. Notably, in 2003, I started a publication called Supply Chain Digest, which changed the face of online supply chain and logistics, news, and coverage. I still keep a light hand on it. I still write a column once a week still for Supply Chain Digest. I have read that. I wrote a lot of blog posts in the past. When you are a writer, I have joked that “My research is a little different than a professor's research, I Google.” You start to realize which publications have good content when you are a blogger. The bar is a little lower for a blogger than it is for somebody who is writing in a publication. I would say, “Supply Chain Digest always had good stuff.” When and why did you join Softeon? It has been a few years now. I had done a little bit of side consulting with Softeon before joining, and I was impressed with the breadth and depth of the software and the number of innovative capabilities, but as important as that is, lots of companies have good software. We think we've got leading-edge software but the approach to customers and success - I have never seen a company that consistently puts its own interests behind its customers on a regular basis. We are not going to let anything get in the way of a successful implementation. That's a direct record that's unequal in the marketplace. It's the care and concern for success at the customer level and not looking at everything through a lens of only professional services hours if I can sell or something like that. It was a different attitude. It intrigued me, and plus, the company needed some help in the marketing area to get that message out. The combination of those factors led me to join Softeon. Our topic is the smart warehouse. Obviously, things have changed quite a bit in this business. Talk about some of the big trends that are out there that are impacting warehousing, eCommerce, and retail. It impacts everybody. Most of the audience is going to say they are living this or these are big surprises but it's nice to still put it all in context, the growing distribution labor shortage and there's a shortage of manufacturing. It's very acute. Everywhere you go, that's what you hear about the turnover levels, retention, and even with the greatest rising substantially. That's everyone's concern. After about a decade of very flat wage growth in warehousing and distribution until a few years ago, now, all of a sudden, the costs are taken off. Amazon has over $20 an hour with attractive signing bonuses in many parts of the country. They now offer parental leave for twenty weeks. I saw it on TV. That would be a very attractive benefit. That's the advantage. Target announced that they were raising their wage in both stores and distribution centers, not all markets but in some markets, by $24 an hour. That's $48,000 a year, and assume there's probably some overtime in there, whatever husband and wife are making up, for example. They are working at a Target DC in those markets, you could be pulling in $100,000 a year for a family, which is not bad money. [caption id="attachment_7940" align="aligncenter" width="600"] The Smart Warehouse: With the e-commerce-driven cycle time pressure, it's unbelievable how fast you can get products these days.[/caption]   This has come up on my show a few times. I'm getting too old for that kind of work, and I can't walk 10 miles a day but if I had a choice, we need to make that job easier. We are going to get to that because this is what technology does. It also makes the job more attractive when they can say, “I go to that job, and I'm learning all this cool technology.” If you can bring somebody in, there's a different feeling when I get to wear all that high-tech gear and use high-tech systems and say, “I'm part of the supply chain,” as opposed to, “I'm a strong back, walk 5 miles a day and nobody gives a crap about me.” There are no questions about that. It's going to be both in terms of the shortage of labor and, second, building to attract people into this career. Now the whole market has changed, that more high-tech feel and touch, less back-breaking work, less bending over and lifting heavy cases, and all the kinds of things to go on and work for a long time. You are spot-on on that dynamic. If we have a shortage, that means the people we do have to be more efficient. The way they can be more efficient is with tech. That's one big trend going on. What's another big trend? There's a bunch in there that interrelated as well. Obviously, the eCommerce-driven cycle time pressure. If you look ay Amazon over your tablet, it's unbelievable how fast you can get products these days, even somewhat obscure products not that long ago, I need a new power cord for my HP computer. Somehow Amazon was able to deliver that the next day. I'm like, “Probably, they have this cable in someplace that they can get it to me one day.” Think of all the thousands of cables that are out there, and they've got mine. The cycle time pressure in that both are in terms of getting the order process from when it drops into the DC and out the door. Obviously, companies are also moving distribution facilities closer to the customer, so the transportation part of the journey is cut down as well. They will remember the specific numbers. It's Home Depot that is building 170 or 180 different local fulfillment centers that are being the largely cross-dock type of facilities that bring bulky items in and get them right to the customer in addition to the big giant warehouses that they already have. It's a fact of life. Eventually, we will teleport or whatever the product from the warehouse because it seems like we are reaching the Laws of Physics there that it can't be here any faster but maybe we will find a way. I remember, many years ago, I was working on a digital marketing project. I was helping this distribution center, nice, concise in Chicago land Peoria. They said we are one-day shipping to 65% of the population of the US. That was always what Indiana, Illinois, and there are so many DCs down in Ohio can always make that claim, and that was good enough. If you said, “I have a DC in the Midwest that can get me to the Eastern Coast, and I have one out West, that was good enough.” We are not seeing that anymore. We are going to get increasingly where same-day delivery becomes a fact of life rather incredible. Amazon and others talk about getting it down to 2 hours or 30 minutes. That's what Target is doing, not with those DCs. We think we will get to Walmart doing some of the same. What's another trend? Obviously, because we are calling the session, we are going to talk about the smart and also the future but it's largely here nowadays. We've got smart everything. We've got smart houses, cars, refrigerators, and toothbrushes even. I saw that a couple of years ago. I'm not sure if it's exactly taken off the map but to monitor how often you brush your teeth. What does it mean? Primarily, it's talked about internet connectivity and some analytics around that. The least examples are John Deere, Caterpillar or companies of that kind, putting sensors and other IoT types of devices on their equipment out in the field so they can get a sense of how people are actually using it. They can do predictive maintenance on it. They could say, “Your guys aren't using the equipment as effectively as they could if they changed their techniques.” It's certainly timely. If we are going to almost start things where it's time for the smart warehouse too but we will get into for the rest of the broadcast era left different than more internet connectivity, sensors, and things like that. That can be part of it but it is a small part of it. The bottom line of it is we are entering a new era of where all soccer technologies that are, in fact, much smarter than we have ever had before. I have argued publicly for a couple of years now that we had about twenty years of relatively incremental progress in WMS technology. I used this in speeches before but a few years ago, I was cleaning up my office and running the holidays as I often do when I found an RFP from a major food company for a WMS circuit in 2003. I looked through that and I thought, “This doesn't look all that different than the RFPs we are seeing in 2019, 2020 or whatever year we are looking at that.” I looked at it and said, “The big difference is not in the functionality being asked for. It's that now, a lot of that functionality is, in fact, core product, configurable product than maybe a lot of it had to be achieved through customizations.” That's probably true. Same-day delivery has just become a fact of life. The fundamental way of where WMS operates didn't change all that much give or take from 2000 to 2020 or somewhere in that range. Now, with the smart technologies that we are talking about, they are brought by the world's execution systems in working with WMS, I talked about before. This is a new ball game, and it was going to be fun for the rest of the people here to talk about this. You throw in a new term there. You said warehouse execution system. Those have been around for a while but they are now becoming the norm. It's becoming very prominent, and then the value is starting to be recognized. What is it? A couple of three companies had the belief and correctly, for most of the WMS systems did not care enough about equipment throughput and utilization. We wound up with big peaks and valleys, and anybody have been in a district distribution center, even a busy one. You have seen it where there are all kinds of activity at the beginning and the middle of the wave, then as the wave starts to dissipate even on a big, expensive, huge sortation system, you've got a relatively small number of boxes moving around, waiting for that wave and everything to close out. You said wave. Does that mean the orders come in waves? Yeah. The work is released in what is called pick waves. That's based on any number of different attributes. It could be the carrier schedule, value-added processing that needs to be done or workload balancing across the different pick areas of the company. You organize the work against various attributes that constitute a block of work that's typically referred to as a wave. I know I've got all these trucks that are going to show up and they are taking different orders, so maybe I'm working to that order that's going to fill up that truck. The problem, to your point, is we've got already may be a shortage of headcount in there. Now when we have waves, I'm not being efficient because I've got too much work at one moment and then not enough at another. The whole goal of WMS of what we're talking about with the smart warehouse is overcoming, I mean, obviously, you've got to plan and execute based on the workforce that you have here, and we will talk about that. Having a warehouse management system that gives me stuff was great in the past but you are saying, “I will help you with a WES or Warehouse Execution System. I'm going to help you manage the flow.” Manage the flow work and the resource utilization, and then new ways. Part of that still ties into that interest in level loading or making the flow of goods across an automation system more smooth and consistent because if you can do that, there are a couple of things. First off, the total throughput of the system is likely to be better. Second, if it's a new facility, you could probably get by with a smaller sorter because you are going to be able to utilize it more consistently over a block of time, a shift or over what you want to look at it there. The other breakthrough that Softeon said is that the WES tends its roots and level loading of the automation and better utilization there. The WES works extremely well, even in non-automated facilities or lightly automated facilities. [caption id="attachment_7941" align="aligncenter" width="600"] The Smart Warehouse: The fundamental way a warehouse operates didn't change all that much from 2000 to 2020. But now, with smart technologies, this is a new ball game.[/caption]   As a matter of fact, one of our leading customers did a press release a couple of years back that talked about 50% productivity gain from implementing WES or Warehouse Execution Systems on top of existing Softeon WMS, and doing that in a totally manual environment. Everything is part of a system. You can have a sortation system, goods to person system or put wall system or whatever. It's got a certain capacity, throughputs, inputs, and outputs. Twenty workers walked around on a three-level case pick module. There are systems too. They have inputs, outputs, throughput, and expectations. The one big difference is that with a more manual system, you can throw more bodies at it up to the point of diminishing returns and gain through the port from that area, whereas a heavily automated system is rate as its rating. You are not going to do a whole lot to affect that. Throughput is everything, whether you are a plant, a freight broker or a warehouse. The stuff that goes out the door and that we can charge for is what we want to do. Having a warehouse management system is great. I know there are certain warehouses. Probably the old ones still don't even have that. You are saying to be as efficient and effective as you need to be in the market, you need a warehouse execution system that gets me the flow and that throughput. It may not be for everybody, and there are certain things you can do. We could take your core WMS and add some select capabilities from a full-blown WES if a modest level of that kind of automation is necessary. It's not necessarily for one, and I don't want to position it that way but it's certainly something that you want to take a look at as you get to where you've got a significant number of workers. Even smaller operations, things like the automated release of work to the floor without the human being need needing to be involved, that's going to be attractive even for a mid-size operation. The first thing we need is we need to get into this. WMS is given. You said that there was an incremental improvement for many years. Now, you are starting to see big improvements that may be driven by the market that needed big improvements in recent years. Part of that is this WES. What else is there that's part of that smart warehouse? There's a whole bunch of stuff. First, as a reminder, the automation because automation is tied to the labor shortage. Even a couple of years ago, it was very common to talk to DC managers or logistics executives, and automation wasn't necessarily very high on the radar. Nowadays, almost close to 100% of the companies we talked to, even smaller companies, are looking at automation of some kind. That could be big automation where you've got traditional sortation systems but can be very large, goods to person systems, those kinds of things. There's also a lot of interest in lighter, more flexible, and less expensive technology things like what are called put walls. What's a put wall? In great simplicity, it is a technique or a structure, which is a module with a series of cubby holes or slots. In one of these modules, we have 1 customer that has 80 of these modules. What you do is you pick the orders, then when you come to the put wall, you distribute the order to the different orders that need that product. I batch pick the product. I bring it either mechanically or manually to the put wall. Typically, a series of lights says, “This company wall number 3 here and needs 1 of the skews. Put wall in. This one needs 2 that skew you put two in. This one needs 1 put 1 in.” That process repeats itself until all of the items for a given order are complete within that cubbyhole. That's called putting. That's why it's called a put wall because you are taking the order in back, and then you are putting it into the put wall. Around the backside, lights will turn on that indicate, “This cubbyhole is now complete.” The operator comes up and touches a button typically. That starts the printing of the label in any shipping documentation that's required in the orders packed, shipped, and off you go. It provides a tremendous amount of productivity. It's very flexible. You can start small. We had one customer that started with a 1-foot wall module, then added 8 or 9 more because they liked it, then they added 20 more because they really liked it, and did this all over a couple of three-year types of the period there. For any kind of piece picking, especially of soft goods but other types of products as well but often driven not only by eCommerce with any kind of heavy piece picking operation can be a great solution but you've got to have the right software to do it. You've got that big like almost a shelf you said like cubbies on that I'm putting a product through it. Maybe I walked over, and I got 10 different sweaters, 10 sweaters that are all the same, and this cubby gets one. As I do that, I'm scanning it or it recognizes that it's in there. It's informing the other side of the cubby when the order is complete. It needs two sweaters and a pair of shoes. That's just one more way. What do you call this? Technology is only part of it. The other piece of the cubby that walking up to that, I could be putting those in bins in the old days but this is putting that on steroids. The bottom line is we are entering a new era where all technologies are, in fact, much smarter than we've ever had before. It was just a new way of doing it. There are a lot of people who talk about this in terms of optimizing materials and handling systems because getting this right is not a trivial task. I don't want to steal all my thunder from later on but the ability to rapidly turn these put walls and cubbyholes are the whole key to the success. If it's taking you a long time to do that, you are not getting the throughput that you required and probably wasting your time and money but if you can rapidly turn those by making sure the inventory gets there on time and efficient execution on both sides of the wall, then you've got something that can drive a lot of productivity. I don't know what the number is. There are quite a few customers now that are using put walls. When we would go out to some new customers, we've got some videos to show them an operation, and they are interested in seeing how this works. It's the technology along with mobile robots that you are going to see, any eCommerce but any kind of piece picking as well, you are going to see a lot of adoption. I'm an automotive guy originally. When you used to go through a plant, you would see people doing lifting heavy things when I first started, crouching down and doing functions that were hard on the body. Maybe it's not hard on 1 day, 1 week or 1 month but over 1 year, you are going to have a bad back, shoulders or knees. The same thing happens in these DCS or the warehousing. This automation you are talking about is making it easier on the workers, which means, “Hopefully, I will be able to keep my workers healthy and make that job again more attractive.” One time, I talked to a VP of logistics at Sherwin-Williams, the paint company. He noted that on the manufacturing side of the operation, they were always having people retire, and during retirement, little parties were almost taken. He said, “There was no one that ever retired from the distribution side.” That's because the heavy worker is picking cases of paint as a young man's job. As people got older, they couldn't do that work anymore. People are obviously rethinking that for the aging factor, and then there's another factor, “How do I make the work easier so I can have somebody in their 50s and 60s continuing to do this at distribution center job?” If you gave me a choice to go work in an old school warehouse, go deliver food or deliver groceries, I'm going to do the grocery delivery. I can make decent money, sit in my car, and I don't have to hurt my back, or knees or walk 5 miles a day. We have to make these jobs more attractive or we are not going to be able to keep and get good people. This automation is of such interest to the jobs now that we become more technicians and less of an order pickers. Besides a put wall, what's some other automation you are seeing out there? The automated mobile robots, economists mobile robots or AMRs. There's a huge interest in that. One of the interesting things is that in both put walls and mobile robots, you are seeing a lot of adoption and interest by a third-party logistics companies. This makes the point. In the past, 3PLs were very reluctant to do any kind of heavy automation because they couldn't sync the return on investment with the contracts that they had from the shipper. If the shipper can pay off that equipment, it's going to take 5, 7 or whatever years, and the shippers only keep you where 2 or 3-year contract, the risk of automation is too great in these other kinds of systems. It includes things like voice, picks the lights, and smart cards. They are all connected in some ways. Those kinds of systems can be put in for much less expense, much lower risk, and be incrementally adapted. You can start with three mobile robots and see how you like it, then we have seven more later on or whatever until you get to the optimal point for your operation. The fact that 3PLs are making this kind of investment as a whole new phenomenon and it speaks to the way you can incrementally get into the technology and the high level of payback that they are seeing because we were very strong in the third-party logistics arena, as an aside, so we are seeing it very closely. The number of 3PLs that are interested in this mid-range of lighter picking systems, not heavy automation but it's often somewhat newer technologies. It speaks to the changes we are seeing out there in the marketplace. Those are robots. Depending on the facility, they are not necessarily always replacing people. I talked to the CEO or president of DHL. He says, “We thought we would be replacing people with robots. The more robots we add to a facility, the more work we end up getting for that facility. We ended up hiring more people.” Everyone has a shortage. Job is going unfilled. If the robots are taking some of that slack but very few case studies of people that are adopting these technologies, they are still looking for people who have been able to be on. [caption id="attachment_7942" align="aligncenter" width="600"] The Smart Warehouse: WES (Warehouse Execution System) will help manage the flow of work and resource utilization.[/caption]   What's another thing we need for that smart warehouse? Let's get into it in some more detail. We talked about some of the core software components, things like warehouse management systems and warehouse execution systems. A platform for integrating this automation with both heavy and/or traditional and newer age capabilities. There are some enabling technologies, things like rules engines, simulation and some other things. The core world's operations excellence is still the foundation. How do I get that right? That typically involves traditional WMS-type capabilities. What does that mean? What defines a warehouse management system versus an inventory system is the pervasive use of mobile terminals, barcode scanning, wireless RF devices or whatever term you want to use there, and then a lot of system directed activity, this whole notion of task management and task monitoring, where the system is orchestrating the different traditional paths of put away, receiving put away, picking replenishment, etc., and support for multiple strategies around that. We have lots of different picking method options, different replenishment strategies that I can use, and things that have been around for a while like slotting optimization, detailed labor management, labor reporting, and things like that. The foundation is core operations excellence. That's what everyone should strive to get to but nowadays, there's no ability to take that even further in terms of different types of capabilities that we think are defining what we are calling the smart warehouse. You used a term there that was an integration platform. What am I integrating? You were integrating primarily different materials handling technologies. That can be things we have had for a wall that conveyor transport and sortation. It can be some of these newer technologies like robots and put walls. The key is, “How do I optimize the flow so I don't have these islands of automation that are all doing their own thing.” I talked to somebody in the apparel industry. They have a very large and highly automated facility somewhere down in the Atlanta area. It's 1 million or 2 million square feet. They are seeing their throughput from that building after huge investments over the years and over time. They are seeing the throughput decline. What's happening, he believed, is that the business keeps changing. They keep having all these new requirements in terms of how an order needs to be processed. What they do is they keep building new wave types. We talked about wave planning before. Now they are up to like 70 or 80 different wave types. Every time there's another problem, wave fight number 82 if that solves our problem, it's not solving the problem. Part of the reason is that the system is not looking holistically across the facility and seeing how I can optimize the flow of work as a whole, not as an individual subsystem. That's part of what we are talking about here with the smart warehouse. That's the thing that traditional WMS has not done. That integration platform means I can connect all the tools and all the different systems I'm using all connect easily through that integration as opposed to the old way, which is a standalone $100,000 integration with expensive people who have to code. That's certainly part of it. It's managing the flow of work across that. I'm getting hit myself again but for example, you can have some scenarios where I have different paths for an order to be fulfilled. One of the paths and the most efficient for certain orders is maybe a group of put wall models. Let's say put wall area, for whatever reason, starts to be congested. All of a sudden, there's a big backup on the conveyor feeding into the put wall area. The system is going to automatically recognize that. For some time, route orders away from the put wall into manual cart picking, which takes them to the packing station, the same packing area where the put wall automotive leads. When the congestion is clear, then the system automatically reroutes that work back to the put walls again. Now you are looking at only the plain integration but in monitoring the flow of work that's happening and making real-time decisions accordingly. I'm an automotive guy, and we had all of those years. We used the term smart factories, and it was the same thing. How do we increase throughput? What can happen is you can end up with a local optimum where some guys are building a big stack of inventory and does nobody any good? What does all that excess inventory doing for me? What makes more sense is to say, “We are going to get this, so there's a flow to it. We are not building up too much inventory. There are no bottlenecks.” This is the same thing. What you are talking about here is, “How do I arrange my people so I don't have these guys sitting around because they already finished while these guys are in a congested area?” The core world's operations excellence is still the foundation. The term flow manufacturing came out of exactly what you are talking about there and was largely developed initially in the automotive industry. We are talking about the same thing. Now we are talking about flow distribution instead of flow manufacturing but the fundamental concepts, more of a pull-based system were being worked on capacities and constraints, more concerned with the total flow of goods and not what's happening in one individual area. All those are very consistent, whether you're looking at the principles that were established earlier in manufacturing or what's being applied here in distribution. I'm going to assume that at one time, the WMS, a big selling point would be, “We will tell you where your inventory is at,” That was probably a big step up. You go, “It does that. Now I'm going to tell you how that inventory moves off of your shelves and out the door and how you bring new inventory.” It's amazing. We still see quite a few every week, we see somebody that's a calling or emailing in, and then we talked to him. It turns out they don't have that real-time visibility of the inventory because they are using some kind of paper-based system or something, and sometimes these are even good size companies. In general, anybody that's implemented a tier-1 or tier-2 level, even WMS shouldn't have that real-time inventory visibility in doing that. It gets into that operations excellence and problem but that's the foundation, “I got to know what I got and where it is by lot, batch, serial number or whatever attribute is important for your operation or combination of attributes.” That's the foundation, but now, we are saying, “How do we optimize on top of that and get more product out the door and lower cost?” It requires investment. Having a WMS tell me, “Here is the information but it's not enough anymore.” To your point, we need all of this to get there. You asked me about some of the components of the smart warehouse, and I talked about it from a product category perspective, but now, I'm talking about it more from a philosophical or a functional view. One of the key foundations is constraining condition awareness, “What's happening in my building? What's happening with the flow of goods?” One of the things that first got me to understand WES in a deeper way is this notion that it's always-on listening and monitoring the environment. If you think about a traditional WMS, it's more sequential-oriented, “I receive the product. I put it away. I replenished pick sites. I do the picking. I take it to pack or evaluated services. I put it in this receiving staging. I get it shipping staging. I get it out the door all very good then the delivered.” A lot of companies don't have that. Organizing and automating all of that are big steps forward but we need to take it to the next level. If you think about this notion, the system is always on monitoring throughput and flow. There are certain rates and throughput that I'm expecting. I need to be able to have a flexible set of dashboards supported by event alerts and notifications. If there's a problem that says, “Here's what's happening across.” However, I wanted to find it in the area, I can define an area as a case picking module or as a whole three-level case pick module. I see that as one unit, and I want to know what the throughput is there. Maybe I want to see it at each level of that pick module. I can see it more gradually. What's nifty about this is that new level of visibility, the activity, throughput, bottlenecks, alerts, and corrective action automated, increasingly automated, if there are bottlenecks. That provides a nice set of real-time dashboards of looking stuff where people can see what's happening, “I have these many orders pending here that's already been completed. Here's how many are in picking,” or all of that level of detail. To understand what's going on here with the smart warehouse is, the system is using that same data that's being exposed to managers and supervisors that's what it's using to make decisions as well. I decided that example of being aware of the backup that's happening in the put wall and automatically, for some time, routing work around that until the congestion is cleared. That's what's different now about this visibility and activity monitoring. Being able to flexibly do that however you want to define a processing area could be evaluated services. It could be peace picking and all these things. Obviously, now the design is at these different flows throughout the facility are in sync. I'm not getting old backed up and packing, which is causing problems way back, picking and replenishment because I haven't automated the visibility and the flow, release in a way that's going to be cognizant and aware that I've got a problem here and, “Here's what I need to do about it for some time until we are adjusting. We are just taking action to solve the problem.” You sent me a PowerPoint and I have this here. It's got that real-time configurable dashboard. It's been a while since I have seen somebody had me a piece of paper but somebody handed me a piece of paper that had 40 columns. It was like an Excel spreadsheet or something, maybe a spin out of a system. It had so much, I looked at it and I was like, “What am I supposed to do with this?” I liked the idea of being able to configure it for those KPIs that I care about. [caption id="attachment_7943" align="aligncenter" width="600"] The Smart Warehouse: One of the things that got me to understand WES in a deeper way is this notion that it's always on, listening and monitoring the environment.[/caption]   I don't want to measure everything. That's just me. Tell me the 4, 5 or 7 things that matter that tells me my warehouse is moving in the right direction, and that things are working well. It says, “Orders with issues.” I also love the idea that I don't find out about the issues in next week's report. I find out about them in real-time. The point that you made is a nice transition to this notion of another component. We talked about the real-time visibility of capacities, constraints, the conditions up there, and the always-on nature of the WES. Now, we have talked about looking at a table of 40 rows of information or whatever. It's all in the past. It brings up a point there, which is even with higher-end WMS, this is one of the learnings and insights that we have. There's still a tremendous amount of decision-making that is being done by human beings. As the manager, whoever you were talking about there in your example, staring at a 40-row spreadsheet or whatever, you see the same thing nowadays of managers and supervisors staring at computer screens, trying to figure out what the right thing to do next. Here's the reality. Every time you do that, first off, you introduce some latency into the system because it takes time to look at those different screens, think about it, make decisions, and scribble some things down on a piece of paper to remind you this needs to be taken care of or whatever. In most cases, there's no way a human being can make the optimal decision in the same way that a computer can. Even if you are a smart guy or girl, there's just too much data and too much to try to process at one time. Part of the capabilities of the smart WMS is the much more advanced software-based decision-making. Things like order batch optimization, given block of orders, “What's the best way to most effectively execute that on the software floor?” What we think is absolutely huge is this notion of the autonomous warehouse, as a term of Gartner is used, and others have used it as well but it talks about being able to automatically release work without the need for a wave planner, inventory expediters or all the kind of people that you see often involved in these decisions about what work to do when. Work relation on a variety of attributes, things like the order of priority, the inventory and resource availability, what kind of optimization opportunities are there? The bigger the order pool and more optimization opportunities you have because they are more data or conditions to be optimized but you can't hold on so long. You are not getting the throughput out through your cutoff time. This is a huge one. It's sophisticated. Whereas now, at 4:00 or 5:00, when the UPS, FedEx or whatever truck is leaving, you often see, and we have made commitments to the eCommerce is going to ship, you see a certain amount of chaos going around, trying to figure out all the orders that need to go on that truck, have been on the trucking and what to do about it. What we are talking about here is we are saying, “This is the work. We know how long it's going to take to pick and transport those orders to the shipping dock.” The work is going to automatically release itself. At the beginning of the day, we are more concerned about optimization. We still got a lot of decent amount of time, so we can focus on doing it the most efficient we can but as you go throughout the day, that needle starts to change from the focus on efficiency and cost to efficiency on customer service and making sure that those items are on there. The system does that automatically. It's configured to take those into consideration. Now those orders are getting on the trucks automatically without the chaos and the difficulty that's going on out there. This is a step-change capability here. We are talking about a system that is self-learning and in optimal how releases work. This is another concept we have had in distribution software before, and this is what defines what works on the smart warehouse. I had a boss in the past when I was young, I remember I sent an Excel spreadsheet to him, and it told a story. He's pulled me into his office and said, “This is a great Excel spreadsheet. I have to go through here and come to the same conclusion you did.” I go, “It's easy.” He goes, “No. When you send me this Excel spreadsheet, send me a recommendation. I don't want to have to come to a conclusion. That's your job. Show me that you attach the data back up but give me a recommendation.” I feel the same take way about running a warehouse, “Don't make me figure it out myself. Give me an alert that says, ‘This is a problem. This is how many orders are at risk. This is how many orders need to get on that truck that isn't done yet.'” To show you a simple example. Still, a lot of people, especially for eCommerce, are doing manual cart picking. I may have a cart that's got a certain configuration 3x3 or 4x4. What I mean by a 3x3 would be 3 shelves that each have room for 3 cartons each. I have nine total orders that I'm working on there. Most companies that we see do that are doing it with paper picking or pick by label or something. There's some attempt to do that more efficiently but something as simple as cart picking. The smart warehouse can take it to a whole new level. First off, you've got to get this order pool that's out there and at any one period. I'm probably going to have done some cartonization logic there to determine what should go in what box, especially with a multi carton order. In most cases, there's no way a human being can make the optimal decision in the same way that a computer can. Even if you're really smart, there's just too much data to process at one time. If you are shipping, for example, you don't want to put perfume in the same carton as payroll because of the obvious contamination that can happen there. When a picker comes up and scans a barcode on that cart, the system is going to automatically know it's this configuration, 3x3, 4x4 or whatever. It will have done some optimization typically in terms of what's called cluster picking were, “I'm going to take that cart to one location. I will put as many orders as I can on the cart that is signed to that cart that has the same set of skews so I can minimize my travel distance. Hopefully, I'm being clear on what that means.” Now I get to that location that can be done with lights or it can be done with barcode scanning. It says, “Take one of these from this location, put it in the carton slot 3'1, which is the 3rd shelf and the first location. The next one is 3'2. 2'3, 2'1 or whatever that sequence. I'm doing that in a way that makes it very efficient but we can take it even still beyond that. What if a high-priority order comes on? The pickers walk along as long as there's a location on that cart, whether it's a carton or a tote they are picking into. If it hasn't been started, we can remove automatically a lower priority order and insert a higher priority order that has come down onto that card as long as we would typically do it. The picker doesn't have to turn around and go backward as long as it picks for the new order or ahead of that picker. We do that without the picker, even being aware that it happened. You can expedite automatically like, “I got a truck that's going to be here one hour. We haven't even started yet. Let's get this going.” We say, “If you get an order in by 2:00, we will ship it that day. If it's 1: 58, all of a sudden, an order drops. I got two minutes.” This isn't going to automatically insert a higher priority order possible. I like something you said in there that we talked about the labor problem with these guys walking around maybe 5 or 10 miles in a day. One of the reasons we are going to quit, especially if you are me, is I don't want that many steps. When I walk over there, all my orders are in the same area, then I walk over here, and all my orders are there, as opposed to one side of the warehouse, and another order on the other side or I'm walking and go, “What has my life become where I walk back and like this?” Order pool optimization as well because the bigger the batch that I'm working with, the more opportunities I have to gain those picks together. On a given card, I'm maybe walking a very few feet. To your point, and this is where you get into the whole notion of mobile robots because now, perhaps that, “I go to the pick location, I pick the order but I'm putting it on a pick card. I'm putting it on a mobile robot, and the mobile robots can move on to the next location or on the packing of the orders completed. I'm walking very little at that point or comparatively little, which is one of the attractiveness of mobile robot technology.” Hopefully, it's becoming clearer. The nature of the warehouse is changing, and a part of that's going to have to be to not only be more cost-efficient and get more out the door with the staff that I've got but it's making sure that people have a less miserable work experience and hence hopefully going to stay with this a lot longer. This is not your grandpa's warehouse anymore. To be competitive, it used to be like, “These guys are high tech because they have a WMS.” Now we are starting to spin out the automation, the warehouse execution, and the integration platform. This is all getting really high-tech. Do you think this is probably the lowest-tech business there was many years ago? House is all going to play out. It's going to be interesting to see but the lighter automation techniques, including the robots and the put walls, are so attractive in terms of their flexibility and expandability. There are machine learning, artificial intelligence, and all kinds of things going to be involved here. The warehouses are becoming technology centers. If you see the private equity money that's flowing into robotics firms, AI firms, and others, in a lot of the smart money, it's the work that they do. Companies, retailers, and other eCommerce companies are starting to realize the importance of a well-run warehouse. Was this guy's quiet logistics? They've got bought by American Eagle. That was American Eagle recognizing the traditional retailer, the same thing we're going to buy ourselves a warehousing company because that's how important this business is. The force behind what has become locus robots. We will move our vendors that happened because Amazon had bought key assist systems right before that and left a quiet without a partner for automation they were building the business on. They invented their own robot. [caption id="attachment_7944" align="aligncenter" width="600"] The Smart Warehouse: What's really different now about this kind of visibility and activity monitoring is being able to flexibly do that however you want to define a processing area.[/caption]   Bruce Welty was at my show. He's the Founder of Quiet. He said he got a phone call saying, “Are you guys using those Locus robots?” He says, “Yeah, how do you like them?” “We like them a lot. Can we come to visit?” “Sure.” It was Amazon. Amazon looked around and said, “We love this.” They bought Locus. A couple of other things I would like to bring up. First, broader use of some automation ideas or IoT type devices. RFID is starting to make something of a comeback years after Walmart tried back in 2003 or 2004. Generally, you are going to see many manual scanning activities that are going to disappear or if I need to move this way back now from being implemented at the store level by customers concerned with the eCommerce fulfillment for inventory equity purposes, you are going to see a move back up into the distribution operations. That will certainly be a big part of it. We were already doing things like, for example, we are a broker with a pick cart. Picker with a pick cart can walk up to a fixed zone. The IoT automatically recognizes that this person is on. It automatically turns on the pick lights that are on those four pick locations. It's a minor thing there but that's an advancement we are going to see. We have even done some stuff with congestion management and COVID, where we can tell exactly where somebody is in the I or using IoT and being able to assign work based on real-time visibility to who's closest to that work, but also when the COVID area being able to space people apart so that they don't get to say within 8 feet of each other, whatever that happens to be, whatever your metric you want to use, therefore that group constraint. There are some various things that can happen there. This is still slow going. It hasn't taken off as fast as many people think but you are going to see RFID and IoT start to make some mural inroads over the next years. We have this follow the notion of Gartner and what's considered to be called a conversational voice. The transactional voice is doing the picking, pallet build or something using voice technologies. Typically, reading in a location check digit and doing a hands-free pick, replenishment or whatever the task might be but we're starting to get now into more of a dialogue. We are all ready to the point now where we can have a supervisor take a smartphone and say, “Show me how I'm doing on wave number 235,” over a smartphone. That's going to bring back exactly what's happening now or, “Where's the replenishment for location on 3652?” We are still early in this game here but certainly, we will move to more of a dialogue going on with the WMS and WES than just playing transactional voice-type of technology. We ended with a very exciting where the future interface of the software is going to had. This is where that integration platform you talked about comes in handy. I can connect to all this stuff. The new killer app that comes out, I can get it. We have been left there. Automation and optimization of materials handling systems is certainly a key part of this. We refer to it, not just as a smart warehouse's the future but as the smart automated across to the future due to the interest in the technologies we have talked about several times already. We can directly connect with these picking assistance, like walls, pick the light or voice without the need for third-party software. Everyone else uses some kind of software from the put wall vendor, pixelate vendor or voice vendor, which adds another layer of integration and costs. It often results in people operating silos. We can directly control a lot of these materials handling technologies. It allows you to operate and optimize those in the context of everything that's happening in the world and all the information that's available, which provides you a lot of benefits over time because you are not just trying to operate in silos. I talked to somebody that was using a pick-to-light system. They talked about how at the end of every week, they've got to go in and clean up all these pics that some of them never were executed in the pick-to-light system. I'm not quite sure why that is but it wouldn't happen with the way we are approaching things because we would be aware of that. It probably has to wait on a real punishment. The problem is the pixelate vendor doesn't do replenishment the documents. You've got these silos going on here and there are a lot of opportunities. In terms of that integration platform, we think this is especially true for mobile robots, people are using the mobile software of the mobile robots. What that does is it limits the total optimization that can be achieved but more importantly, you are now totally dependent on that robot software. What if you want to add different robots or change horses three years from now? There's a better mousetrap that works faster or whatever that happens to be. Now you have become locked in. We refer to it not just as smart but the smart automated across to the future. We think the market needs a mobile robot and a broader automation integration platform. It's almost like an operating system for automation in the warehouse that's going to allow you to have visibility to optimization of robots of different kinds from the same manufacturer of different types for different manufacturers. You are not locked in. It's like a plug-and-play type of environment here three years from now. You can keep the robots or keep dependent you bought, but now, you want to add five more from a different vendor, plug them into this operating system, and have instant connectivity and the ability to optimize the performance. We think that's a much more low-risk approach going forward than locking yourself into a vendor that's coming to the software that's coming from the robot vendor. Get back to the idea of a smart warehouse. It's all about throughput. If I have different systems that are connecting, that are doing local optimums, that's a problem because it's not supporting throughput. I always need that one source of truth. That's the main system that says, “This is all about getting stuff out the door here.” I wanted to bring up one. Earlier, I talked about wanting to give an example of what the put wall. I referenced that as the cubbyholes in put walls. Here's the scenario we are seeing. Let's say there are three line items eCommerce order. Two of those line items in the order come from a carton flow rec area, that's very close to packing. I mean those orders are efficient to pick, in short distance to transport. The third line item is actually coming from a slow-moving mezzanine pick area that's farther away and is less efficient to pick. If you don't do anything, otherwise what's going to happen in those first two items from that order are going to show up rather quickly, then they are going to sit and wait for 10, 15, 20, 45 minutes or whatever it happens to be for that third item on the pick, the order to finally show up. The cubbyhole has been tied up that entire time. What's the smarter warehouse way of doing it? What's the WES way of doing it? Let's say it's 25% slower to go through the mezzanine or whatever the number you want to use it. We would release that third line item in effect 25% or 30% earlier. After the time it takes to pick and transport that as it's on its way to the pack station, now we release the other two orders line items in the carton flow rack. They show up at the put wall for processing at relatively the same time, and now I'm able to turn that wall without the latency that would occur if you didn't have smart software to do that. Hopefully, that's an example that makes it somewhat clearer as to how the optimization can affect operational performance. You would never be able to get that done manually. It doesn't happen. This is like drinking from a fire hose. There is so much going on in this. Put a bow on this. Give us your final thoughts on this. What do I need to get to have that smart warehouse? First of all, the benefit is it is going to reduce labor costs, have higher and more consistent DC throughput, you are going to reduce your need for automation in terms of things like the number of diverse or get more throughput out of the automation you have there. We didn't talk much about labor planning but that's a big part of it. We can dynamically assign workers throughout the course of a shift from 1 to 8 to 9, 9 to 10, or 10 to 11 hours where are they needed motion and in what quantities, improved automated decision-making. It's an assessment. Certainly, if you are heavily automated, there are a lot of opportunities for you. As I tried to make the point earlier, even if you're only modestly automated or not automated at all, these capabilities can have some real benefit for your operations there. The important thing to note with Softeon is these can be implemented very incrementally. I could implement a traditional WMS. Let's say I want the labor planning and allocation part of it. We can take that capability from WES and attach it to the WMS. To give you a solution, conversely, if you want to implement WES and leave your existing WMS in place, we didn't talk too much about that but that's a key dynamic. You need cartonization, which is a warehouse management function and even attach cartonization to that WES implementation. Flexibility is key. That's what we try to design. We call it a shirt component library, where the applications can borrow components, functionality, and services from each other. We are pretty confident that it gives us a chance to understand what you are trying to accomplish, what your operations are like or whatever that some combination of these technologies is going to have a pretty good fit and take your world to a whole new level than we have seen over the last many years. What's new over at Softeon?. What conferences do you go into? We have done with the motor show, and it was a big success for us. We not only showed the smart warehouse, we presented the smart warehouse capabilities. We had a lot of equipment pick the light, other packing stations, etc., right on our routes. At the bottom of every hour, we did a presentation. We had consistently good traffic the whole time. We did a bit of an educational track and a session on the smart warehouse of the future available on Softeon. It was very well attended. That was good. We will be at the Gartner Supply Chain Symposium down in Orlando and then break after that. [caption id="attachment_7945" align="aligncenter" width="600"] The Smart Warehouse: Even if you're just modestly automated, these capabilities can have some real benefits on your operations. These can be implemented very incrementally.[/caption]   We finished up a series of educational broadcasts called the WMS Bootcamp, six different sessions on everything from building the business case to how to implement it successfully. It was a huge success, but all of that's now available on-demand. If they go up to Softeon.com. You will be able to find some links to that. If you have any interest in WMS, they're not commercial, educational sessions. You will find they have a lot of value. The feedback we got on it was outstanding. I would like to watch myself because we went over this and it is gone from simple to more complex over time. I know you are simplifying it but to understand what's required requires a Bootcamp. We learned a lot of lessons. I brought in some consultants and people that I knew and knew what they were talking about in terms of building the business case. We had some folks from Invista that came on and did that. I had some experience or exposure. I knew they knew what they were talking about. Some of that applies to some other consultants as well. It's a real nice series. It's non-commercial. If you want to learn some tips about how to get WMS selection and implementation, you'll find the Bootcamp serves you well. How do we reach out and talk to you over at Softeon? The way to get me is via email. My email address is DGilmore@TheSofteon.com. You can also use Contact@Softeon.com for the general inquiry box. I love to hear from you. Hopefully, we came across, so at least you know a little bit about what I'm talking about and discuss your problems as well. Anyone who wants to reach out can reach out and talk to you about the smart warehouse. Thanks, Joe. I enjoyed it. It was a great conversation. Thank you so much, Dan. Thank all of you for reading. Your supports are very much appreciated, until next time and more network.   Important Links Softeon Supply Chain Digest WMS Bootcamp DGilmore@TheSofteon.com Contact@Softeon.com https://www.linkedin.com/company/softeon The Logistics of Logistics Podcast If you enjoy the podcast, please leave a positive review, subscribe, and share it with your friends and colleagues. The Logistics of Logistics Podcast: Google, Apple, Castbox, Spotify, Stitcher, PlayerFM, Tunein, Podbean, Owltail, Libsyn, Overcast Check out The Logistics of Logistics on Youtube

To support independent ski journalism, please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Starting in June, paid subscribers will receive podcasts three days before free subscribers.WhoDoug Fish, President and Founder of the Indy PassRecorded onMay 9, 2022About the Indy PassHere’s an overview of the 2022-23 Indy Pass suite:And here’s what that gets you access to:Why I interviewed himIt’s unfortunate that Steamboat, a personal favorite and one of Colorado’s most amiable mountains, has become the avatar for sticker-shock skiing, but there it is: $269 peak-day walk-up lift tickets last season. Any collateral pain is self-inflicted, and they seem committed to the process, so I don’t feel too bad hammering on them about it. Still, for readers of this newsletter, most of whom have next year’s Ikon Passes tucked into their jacket pockets by Easter, my ceaseless yammering about walk-up ticket prices can probably seem tedious and abstract, like detailing the logistical challenges of sustainable asteroid mining or the tolerable viral load of a brontosaurus: who cares?Which is a fair question. But as the three dozen or so mega-resorts that have mainlined this triple-digit ticket tactic race toward $300 for a day of skiing, a cartoonishly absurd double universe has materialized. One that makes comparisons like this possible: for $10 more than an Ikon-oblivious skier would pay for one day at Steamboat, they could have skied 162 days at 81 ski areas with a $279 Indy Pass. Which is probably more days than most skiers rack up in a decade, and more ski areas than they visit in a lifetime.It’s a hell of a bargain, is what I’m trying to say here, and an amazing product that the greater skiing public has, so far, failed to appreciate in large numbers. Indy predicted 400,000 redemptions this past season. The number came in at 125,000. That’s a 68.75 percent miss, which Fish attributes, in this interview, to overzealous predictions coming off the bomber Covid-induced boom season of 2020-21. What that means, for us skiers, is that this thing probably has plenty of room left to grow.“Growth” means a couple things here. First, more resorts are incoming. Fish promised as much in this interview, even in already crowded New England. The smaller-than-expected number of redemptions means the 85 percent cut of Indy revenue that goes to the resorts was not as diluted as Fish feared it could have been (he explains how the pass operates in the interview). Plus, the new Allied Resorts discount program is broad enough that this thing could easily reach a total of 200 downhill partners (it’s not unthinkable that the addition of cross-country ski areas could push that number toward 300).Second, more skiers are likely coming too. That’s a good thing. Numbers bring stability. Wouldn’t more skiers mean more redemptions? Yes, but it means more revenue, too, and since it’s likely that the most hardcore skiers – i.e. those most likely to redeem 30 days – are already in. Fish was comfortable enough with the average number of redemptions that he held prices steady for next season – and sales are strong as a result.For all the attention The Storm lavishes on the Indy Pass, the product is an industry minnow, not even three years old. Yet somehow this little pass with as many annual visits as an Eagle County weekend has stapled itself to the marquee alongside the Epic and Ikon passes, a toddler in size 14 boots. It’s been astonishing to watch it grow, but it will be more amazing still to see what happens when it grows into those knee-high kicks. Fish is the first three-time guest on The Storm Skiing Podcast. Yes, because he’s generous with his time and humble in his approach, but also because he keeps coming up with new things to say, keeps making the story more compelling, keeps making us believe that this is something worth talking about.What we talked aboutContinued discussion on whether any of the Mt. Hood ski areas would ever land on Indy; redemption and sales totals versus expectations for this past ski season; how the Indy Pass works from a business point of view; how Indy is able to sign headliners like Powder Mountain and Jay Peak, which could easily align with the Epic or Ikon passes; how Cannon kept visits high even as the mountain added an enormous number of blackout dates; White Pass finds the Epkon refugees; the power of Brundage and Tamarack as a combined destination; other popular Indy combos; the New England state that will definitely get a new full Indy Pass partner before next season; expansion potential in New York; the chances of Jay staying with Indy post-sale (whenever that happens); why Indy Pass prices will stay steady for 2022-23; why the Indy Pass processing fee exists and why it’s here to stay; the Indy Switch Pass; untangling the spaghetti bowl of last year’s blackout dates; fixing the Saturday problem; thoughts on the recent additions of Kelly Canyon, Bluewood, and Ski Sawmill; the surprising appeal of Swain; finally breaking into Colorado, with Sunlight; the number of Indy Pass visits that originate out of state; thoughts on Japan; dispensing with the resort target number; losing Marmot Basin; the genesis and purpose of the Allied Resorts program; begging Doug to shift Burke to full partner status; and why Indy began including cross-country ski areas and how the response has been so far.          Why I thought that now was a good time for this interviewSince it debuted in 2008, the Epic Pass has both held steady and constantly evolved. Its premise, from the beginning, was fairly basic: unlimited access to all Vail Resorts, all the time. It launched with six mountains, and now includes access to 9,000. But almost annually, Vail has added some innovation or another: the Epic Local Pass, various versions of the Epic Day Pass, local and midweek passes, a massive lodging and on-mountain discount program, the Epic Mix tracking app, a payment plan, etc. Some of these innovations were more useful than others, but every year, we can expect something new. And that’s in addition to all the extra ski areas.Vail, skiing’s imperial fleet, rippling with aircraft carriers and battleships and submarines, is well equipped to dream up such annual salvos of newness. It’s impressive that Indy, with a staff that would be insufficient to captain a 30-foot fishing boat, has orchestrated a commando version of this evolution. The 2019 Indy Pass cost $199 and delivered two days each at 34 ski areas. There were no blackouts and no product variation (a few partners offered an add-on pass). The next year: 52 ski areas, plus a $99 kids pass and a $129 add-on pass, available uniformly across all partner ski areas. The Indy+ Pass and a payment plan also debuted. 2021 brought a (probably too large, Fish now admits) price increase, but access to 66 ski areas at launch and an additional 17 by December, including four in Japan.  By the time Indy confirmed its 2022-23 lineup last month, the roster stood at 83 downhill partners. An ambitious cross-country initiative seeks to add more than 30 Nordic partners by winter, and the standalone XC pass is just $69 (all Indy Pass holders get the XC days). And the Allied Resorts program, announced earlier this week, ensures that nearly any ski area that’s interested can fold itself into this nationally marketed network. Fish also held prices steady, upped the renewal discount, and introduced the Indy Switch Pass to encourage Epkon snobs to reconsider.There was plenty to talk about, is my point. And Fish, as always, accommodated, on one condition: for the love of God can we keep it to an hour?Questions I wish I’d askedI had meant to ask Doug about the possibility of pre-loading Indy tickets onto resort’s RFID cards, but I didn’t get to it. While he said that such integrations were “not practical,” he did provide the following statement, teasing a pretty cool tech upgrade coming for the season after next:In partnership with our tech partner Entabeni Systems, we will be rolling out an app for the 2023-24 season [I incorrectly indicated on Twitter earlier this week that this feature would be available for next ski season] that will allow our passholders to carry their pass on their phones. Among other features, it will contain a scannable QR code that can be read at the ticket window, eliminating the need for looking them up in our system.This app can be deployed without passing any additional costs on to our customers which we’d have to do if we issued a physical pass.What we got wrongI intimated that Powder Mountain was outside of the Wasatch Mountains, but the ski area in fact lies within this mountain range. I also suggested that Winter Park was a blacked-out mountain on the Ikon Pass, which it is not (on any version of the product other than the Ikon Session Pass). Doug also referred to “Wintergreen,” West Virginia. He meant Winterplace. Wintergreen is in Virginia, and is not an Indy Pass partner. Doug also referred to the marketing director of Sunlight, Colorado as “Tony Hawks” – his name is Troy Hawks, and you can (and should) follow him on Twitter here, since he’s the man who brough Indy Pass to Colorado.Why you should buy the Indy PassIn my head, gas is always a dollar a gallon. Even decades after that fleeting era when I pushed shopping carts for $4.35 an hour and drove a rusty pick-up, any sum over $15 to fill my gas tank baffles me. Candy bars are forever lodged at 35 cents, Hostess cupcakes at 55 cents – such were the prices when I would peddle my Huffy to the neighborhood Total in the 1980s.I’m sure there’s a name for this pricing nostalgia. Whatever it’s called, the first best thing about the Indy Pass has become a liability, as It-Used-to-Cost-$199 Bro forever peppers social media with his waxings of this bygone era. “When the Indy Pass came out, it was under $200 and there were no blackouts,” he will complain. “And it came with a pair of Volkls and a free Subaru. Now it costs $279, there’s all kinds of blackouts, and the courtesy ‘vehicle’ is just a Shetland pony without a saddle. It’s all going to hell!”Bros across America need to let it go. Yes, last year’s price jump was a little extreme. Fish admits as much in the interview. But it is still a very good deal – had it debuted at $279 with its current roster, it would seem like the greatest thing ever. That’s because it is. The glory in the Indy Pass is not in what it was – a coalition of 34 broadly distributed resorts – but in what it has become and is transforming into. We’re closing in on 100 partners, and we’ll likely blow right past that by the Fourth of July. God bless America. This is one damn fine product.There is one more dumbass Bro out there that befuddles Indy’s ascension: It’s-Not-Worth-It Bro. It’s-Not-Worth-It Bro’s narrative goes something like this: yes, it’s cool that Indy put all these mountains on one pass, but they’re not the sort of ski resorts that are “worth” traveling to Montana/Idaho/Utah for or anything.I beg your pardon? Scroll back to the chart at the top of this article. Red Lodge: 2,400 vertical feet, 1,635 acres, 250 inches of annual snowfall. Powder Mountain: 2,205 vert/8,464 acres (3,000 lift-served)/400 inches. Brundage: 1,921/1,920/320. Castle: 2,833/3,592/354. Exactly which district of Narnia do you call home if these numbers leave you yawning?There are a lot of good reasons to buy an Indy Pass: you live within a few hours of a half dozen or more partners and are looking for a reasonably priced family winter. You have an Epkon pass but are leary of voyaging through the gates of Mount Snow/Keystone/Mammoth/Crystal on a midwinter Saturday. You’ve already visited every high-speed demo center on the continent and are looking for something different. You’re Van Life Bro and want to ski an entire winter for less than five dollars. You want to support skiing’s equivalent of craft beer (only, in this case, the indie label is a lot less expensive). Or you just love skiing and everything about it, and you want to understand this dynamic world to the fullest extent possible.There are good reasons not to buy the Indy Pass, too: you don’t travel much, the mountains are too far, you are happy with your local, you dad’s private plane is too big to land at any mountain town airport other than Eagle. But if your goal is lots of skiing, and if you don’t exactly need a home mountain and have a little flexibility to travel, if you value novelty and don’t mind the occasional mile-long Hall double chair ride to the summit, then lock this thing in before prices increase on May 18.More Indy Pass on The Storm Skiing Podcast:Snow Ridge, New York GM Nick MirBeaver Mountain, Utah owner Travis SeeholzerLittle Switzerland, Nordic Mountain, The Rock Co-Owner Rick SchmitzTamarack, Idaho President Scott TurlingtonShawnee Mountain, Pennsylvania CEO Nick FredericksChina Peak, California CEO Tim CoheeLutsen and Granite Peak Owner Charles SkinnerCaberfae Peaks, Michigan Co-Owner and GM Tim MeyerWhaleback Executive Director Jon Hunt (recorded pre-Indy)Titus Mountain Co-Owner Bruce Monette Jr. (recorded pre-Indy)Indy Pass Founder Doug Fish (April 27, 2021 – 2nd appearance)West Mountain, New York owners Sara and Spencer Montgomery (recorded pre-Indy)Montage Mountain Managing Owner Charles Jefferson (recorded pre-Indy)Granite Peak, Wisconsin GM Greg FisherWaterville Valley, New Hampshire GM Tim SmithBolton Valley, Vermont President Lindsay DesLauriersBousquet GM and ownership (recorded pre-Indy)Saddleback, Maine GM Andy Shepard (recorded pre-Indy)Jay Peak, Vermont GM Steve WrightCannon Mountain, New Hampshire GM John DeVivoIndy Pass Founder Doug Fish (May 31, 2020 – 1st appearance)Berkshire East and Catamount, Massachusetts Owner Jon SchaeferBurk Mountain GM Kevin Mack (recorded pre-Indy)Magic Mountain, Vermont President Geoff HathewayThe Storm publishes year-round, and guarantees 100 articles per year. This is article 51/100 in 2022. Want to send feedback? Reply to this email and I will answer (unless you sound insane). You can also email skiing@substack.com. Get full access to The Storm Skiing Journal and Podcast at www.stormskiing.com/subscribe

Matt Branda discusses the next evolution in RFID, RAIN RFID, and talks about why right now is the right time for it. He also discusses how COVID has impacted adoption and other challenges he's seen in the industry. Ryan and Matt wrap up the podcast with a discussion regarding the education side of IoT and the challenges it imposes.Matt Branda is Vice President of Product Management for Impinj. He leads a team focused on delivering world-class RAIN RFID connectivity products that provide industry-leading performance and reliability. Before Impinj, Matt worked for Qualcomm as Director of Marketing, 5G, and Cypress Semiconductor. He also holds a Bachelor of Science in Electronics and Communications Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

This episode features an interview with Scott Ziegler, EMEA Retail Director at Havaianas-Alpargatas. For 38 years, Scott has worked with some of the most iconic brands in the apparel world, from Foot Locker in the U.S. to now Havaianas in Europe, which sells over 200 million pairs of flip-flops each year.  On today's episode, Scott walks us through their Madrid flagship location, makes a case for RFID, and explains what LMX Theory is and how he uses it to build out his teams.--“One of the great joys that I have is going into stores in Europe - and that was one of the big surprises for me - is how enthusiastic the employees were for the product.” -Scott Ziegler--Show Notes(1:27) Tony's takeaways on the conversation(3:23) Scott's background in retail and current role at Havaianas(4:54) The freedom of flip-flop culture(6:55) Transporting customers to the beach through store design, ambience, and passionate employees(9:52) Recent developments: click-and-collect, franchising, and digital windows, open Wi-fi(11:16) A walk through the Madrid flagship store(13:56) Using technology to improve inventory accuracy(15:34) The two-way trust exchange of Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) Theory(19:34) Allowing employees to do their job and bring solutions(21:58) Enhancing the customer experience(24:23) Lightning round(27:54) Scott's parting advice--SponsorThis podcast is presented by Dell Technologies and Intel. Together they help you realize digital transformation across retail by driving IT innovation to better engage with today's connected consumer. Learn more at DellTechnologies.com/retail and Intel.com/retail.--LinksConnect with Scott on LinkedInConnect with Tony on LinkedInConnect with Tony on TwitterTony Saldanha - Transformant

A lot of discussions around asset or inventory management, mobility, connectivity, cloud-access, etc… revolves around work and processes taking place within four walls, but field-based workers need the same kind of tech, too! This week, Versona System's Dan Fuller is here to help us look for opportunities for rugged hardware, barcodes, RFID, enterprise devices, and more for businesses who operate in remote areas or are consistently on the go. What's the pitch for purpose-built versus consumer devices? What does asset management look like in the field? It's the episode that just wants its refrigerator fixed!   #VARValue - How does Versona assist VARs with driving mobility solutions to field-based customers? Are there any devices that you're excited to show off?   Versona Tool Management eBook   TEConnecting with us: Dan - No battery BLE tagging Dean - More interesting info from the UFO files John - 9 Innings '22   Talk to us! Twitter - @TEConnectPod Email - TEConnect@bluestarinc.com Send us your topic ideas! - https://www.bluestarinc.com/us-en/landing-pages/podcast-topics.html   Sponsored by: Elo M50 Mobile Computer Zebra Workforce Connect

Standards body GS1 US has published a new guideline retailers can use to leverage its Electronic Product Code (EPC)-based RFID technology. It supports claims compliance and is designed to improve inventory accuracy and supply chain visibility. Jonathan Gregory, director of community engagement with GS1 US, explains. The post New GS1 RFID Guideline, Explained appeared first on Multichannel Merchant.

Liebe Zuhörende, herzlich willkommen zur 2. Staffel der „Diagnose: Zukunft“, präsentiert von eHealth-Tec. Der Podcast thematisiert die Digitalisierung des Gesundheitswesens und beleuchtet die Entwicklung in diesem Bereich aus unterschiedlichen Blickwinkeln. Zusammen mit hochkarätigen Gästen sprechen die Gastgeber Doc Esser und Tobias Leipold über Herausforderungen und mögliche Zukunftsprozesse in diesem spannenden Themenfeld. Karsten Otto ist Gründer und Geschäftsführer von Otto ID Solutions. Sein Unternehmen schafft Lösungen für eine ständige Prozessoptimierung im Gesundheitssystem. Das soll mit Radio Frequency Identification, oder kurz RFID gelingen. Karsten verrät uns, wie sich diese Technik mit der Gesundheitsbranche verbinden lässt und erläutert, wie genau RFID funktioniert und wie man sich die Anwendung explizit vorstellen kann, zum Beispiel in einem Rettungswagen. Welche Rolle spielt die Nachhaltigkeit dabei und wo kommt die Technik schon überall zum Einsatz? Lassen sich damit Prozesse tatsächlich optimieren? Was bedeuten innovative Prozesslösungen für die Modernisierung der Branche? Diese und weitere spannende Themen erwarten Sie in Diagnose:Zukunft, präsentiert von eHealth-Tec. Viel Spaß beim Anhören!

Highlights from their conversation include:Ryan's foray into supply chain and RFID (1:06)RFID's adoption curve in the supply chain (5:46)Ways RFID has evolved recently (9:17)Optimizing the visibility that RFID provides (11:45)Use cases for determining ROI with RFID (17:40)Comparing and contrasting emerging technologies with RFID (23:48)Trends in demand for RFID in 2020 and beyond (27:14)Avery Dennison is a global materials science company specializing in the design and manufacture of a wide variety of labeling and functional materials, including radio frequency identification (RFID) solutions serving retail apparel and other markets. Find out more about Avery Dennison at https://www.averydennison.com/en/home/about-us.htmlAbout The Future of Supply Chain:During each episode of The Future of Supply Chain, we sit down with a different entrepreneur, investor, or industry veteran to discuss their story, views on the industry, and how we can collectively build the future of supply chain together. Listen to more episodes at https://www.dynamo.vc/podcasts

GHIT 0327:  John Kolesa on AER (American Endurance Racing) John Kolesa started American Endurance Racing several years ago and Bill had a great time racing with the series at PittRace, so we had to have him on to officially introduce everyone to the series if you are not already familiar with AER.  Since starting the series in 2014, AER has assumed a position towards the more competitive/higher performance segment of the amateur endurance racing community.  The series was desiring to be more open to different cars and modified cars by having a simpler classing process that uses qualifying times to initially calls cars and then can re-classify cars throughout the weekend if there are drivers with significant range of skills on a team.  The top class is an exhibition class that is based on a power to weight basis.  The technology that AER uses during the race weekend is among the best we have seen in amateur racing. A link to the episode is: https://tinyurl.com/JohnKolesaonAER If you would like to help grow our sport and this podcast: You can subscribe to our podcast on the podcast provider of your choice, including the Apple podcast app, Google music, Amazon, and YouTube etc. Also, if you could give our podcast a (5-star?) rating, that we would appreciate that very much.  Even better, a podcast review, would help us to grow the passion and sport of high performance driving and we would appreciate it. We hope you enjoy this episode! PS  If you are looking to stream or save your integrated telemetry/racing data with you video, Candelaria Racing Products Sentinel System may be the perfect solution for you.  We are amid installing the system in two of our cars.  If this sounds like something that may help you and your team, please use our discount code "GHIT" for a 10% discount code to all our listeners during the checkout process at https://candelaria-racing.com/ PS2  Please do not forget that if you are looking to add an Apex Pro to your driving telemetry system, do not forget to use our discount code for all Apex Pro systems you will receive a free Windshield Suction Cup Mount for the system, a savings of $40.  Just enter the code “ghitlikesapex!” when you order from https://apextrackcoach.com/ Best regards, Vicki, Jennifer, Alan, and Bill Hosts of the Garage Heroes In Training Podcast and Garage Heroes In Training racing team drivers   Highlights for this episode include: 1)  AER's history, how the series came to be, and why 2)  We clarify the classification process that AER uses to set the different levels for the weekend including the top exhibition class for cars faster than they 3)  How they try to control costs and the competitive balance by requiring a certain number of pitstops and a minimum stop duration. 4)  The series uses RFID stickers to track the car and the individual driver performance and history.  In addition, the Flagger system was a welcome addition to tour car and helped improve the communication between the series and the individual drivers and cars. 5)  Upcoming changes and additions to the upcoming races. 6)  AER is currently running a special that allows new teams to enter a race weekend and have a reduced cost or even free.  7)  We address several of the criticisms and concerns about the series and hope you will feel comfortable entering one of their races yourself. 8)  Challenges the series faces with upcoming events and tracks. 9)  We speculate on the effect that modern cars may have on grassroots racing in the future.   To get more details about AER, please follow them at: Website:  http://americanenduranceracing.com/ Instagram:  @americanenduranceracing Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/americanenduranceracing

RFID and Bluetooth Low Energy Technology can be used to control access, coordinate movements around heavy machinery and help ensure common tools don't become hazards – and that's just the start. Listen now to find out how technology can help you keep workers safe. Then visit the Your Edge Blog to learn more about the discussed technology.

Your weekly source for locksport news and sometimes interviews. Full show notes, including links, can be found at http://www.thelocksportscast.com  In this week’s episode: Allegion to Acquire Access Technologies A new contender for unpickable lock  A Fake Lock Noob Lock Noob plans live ask me anything Attacking an RFID lock Sales Giveaways And more Announcements: Corrections: News: Allegion to Acquire Stanley Black & Decker's Access Technologies Business MY TIME LOCK COLLECTION  (Central Station) Locksmith rescues child from hot car as parents refuse firemen to break windows | The Standard  Community News: https://ominoushum.com/lock/ Enclave A new lock design ( Patent Pending) by Andrew Magill / u/OminousHum https://twitter.com/LockNoob1/status/1517204616823382016 https://twitter.com/LockNoob1/status/1517856285173198849 Starrylock - YouTube  Videos: (32) The ASSA Twin Series Intro Can I pick this RFID Lock electrically from a distance?  Meetups: BSides Seattle  Products:  Hooligan Keys  LPU Karate Belts: beltranking - lockpicking (reddit.com)  Mentorship Monday 3: The Belt System  2: Breaking Rules and Getting the Belt  All About The Lockpicking Belt Rankings System  Speedlocks: Speedlocks.org  Criminals: Sales: https://bareboneslockpicking.com/ 20% off the Ultimate Lock Picking Kit in the Molle Case using the code PWLikesMolle20 valid until 1st May 2022 https://bareboneslockpicking.com/ 15% off with code ListenToTheLockSportsCast2022 https://www.lockpickmall.com/ 6% off using coupon code albert https://www.lockpickmall.com/ 6% off with code joepicks www.mattslockpit.com picks discounted on site https://www.3dlocksport.com/ 10% off. CODE: LSCAST10 https://makolocks.com/ 15% off with code BUYMAKO Unknown exp https://uklockpickers.co.uk/ 10% off with code GIFT Giveaways and Contests: Who doesn’t love free tools?? #lockswood Who doesn’t love free tools?? #lockswood below to enter  Joe Picks and Jon Lock 500 Subscriber Double Giveaway #Joe500Jon500 Joe Picks and Jon Lock 500 Subscriber Double Giveaway #Joe500Jon500 [98] Jon Lock and Joe Picks 500 Subscriber Giveaway!!! 100 Subscriber Giveaway/Challenge #duck-duck-Goose 100 Subscriber Giveaway/Challenge #duck-duck-Goose  Panda-Frog: #miniPandaFrog2 giveaway (ENG-257) Lockpicking - Ups I did it again! #miniPandaFrog2 giveaway starts now!  CLK Supplies Introducing #Lockboss Free Giveaway! Do you work with Locks & Keys or do Locksmithing?  Executive Producer: Karim Founding Executive Producers: Panda-Frog Michael Gilchrist Starrylock WilliamsBrain  Dave 2BDCy4D Liibans Locksport Journey Pat from Uncensored Tactical  threeraccoonsinacoat  Chirael Associate Executive Producers: DoctorHogmaster Clayton Howard (Kewltune) Co-Producers: m0g Jon Lock Ratyoke MrPickur CrankyLockPicker JHPpicking Bare Bones Lock Picking Chief Content Producer: Chirael Content Producers: Albert Lebel BandEAtoZ Bare Bones Lock Picking Jeff Moss Joe Picks Jon Lock Joshua Gonzalez Panda-Frog Pocket Women RubberBanned Tony Virelli Zackery Willard Special thanks to: Contact Information: Email: podcast@thelocksportscast.com Twitter https://twitter.com/charlescurrent  Reddit: currentc57 on r/locksport Discord: Lockpickers United as Current, Extraordinary League of Pickers as Current, The Lock Sportscast as Current Join the Discord at http://discord.thelocksportscast.com The Lock Sportscast on Odysee Donate: http://paypal.thelocksportscast.com https://patreon.com/thelocksportscast

Welcome to Hardware Addicts, a proud member of the Destination Linux Network. Hardware Addicts is the podcast that focuses on the physical components that powers our technology world. In this episode, we're going to be talking about microchip implants and answer the questions whether it's time to embrace this new technology? Then we head to Camera Corner where Wendy will talk about a camera battery that gets an upgrade which every manufacturer needs to adopt. So Sit back, Relax, and Plug In because Hardware Addicts Starts Now! Tech Discussed In This Episode: - Corsair M65WL: https://amzn.to/3rGXN08 - Fight Camp: https://joinfightcamp.com/ - Logitech G903: https://amzn.to/3xGrbY2 - System76 Launch Keyboard: https://system76.com/accessories/launch - Implantable Tech: https://dangerousthings.com - Nitecore Sony FP-Z100 Battery

Today, Chris is joined by Marshall Kay to talk RFID, Radio Frequency Identification. Marshall is the founder & CEO of RFID Sherpas and a contributor to Forbes.com. He is a 20-year retail veteran, with a wealth of knowledge and is in demand more than ever as brick and mortar retail continues to thrive! 

To support independent ski journalism, please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Upgrading to a paid subscription is the only way to guarantee access to 100% of The Storm’s content.NOTE: a few minutes ago, I published a comprehensive breakdown of Summit at Snoqualmie’s 2030 plan, which we discuss at length in this podcast. Click here to view that article, which includes detailed breakdowns of the plan, along with diagrams of the new lift alignments at each ski area.WhoGuy Lawrence, President and General Manager of The Summit at Snoqualmie, WashingtonRecorded onApril 18, 2022About Summit at SnoqualmieClick here for a mountain stats overviewOwned by: Boyne ResortsBase elevation | summit elevation | vertical drop:Alpental: 3,140 feet | 5,420 feet | 2,280 feetSummit East: 2,610 feet | 3,710 feet | 1,100 feetSummit Central: 2,840 feet | 3,865 feet | 1,025 feetSummit West: 3,000 feet | 3,765 feet | 765 feetSkiable Acres: 1,994 (600 acres of night skiing)Alpental: 875 (including back bowls)Summit East: 385 acresSummit Central: 474 acresSummit West: 260 acresAverage annual snowfall: 426 inches (varies by area)Trail count: 150 (11% expert, 42% advanced, 33% intermediate, 14% beginner)Terrain parks: 2Lift count: 24 (3 high-speed quads, 4 fixed-grip quads, 3 triples, 9 doubles, 5 surface lifts - view Lift Blog’s inventory of The Summit at Snoqualmie’s lift fleet)Trail maps:Why I interviewed himWhat is this wild place, four ski areas in one, scattered about the high ground like wintry little islands 50 miles east of the snowless coastal city? 400 inches of snow and no logic to it at all, dumping at 3,000 feet when the rain line is at 4,000, the Cascade Concrete of legend, except when it isn’t. The funny name and the funny trail map, the ski areas nothing like one another, as confusing a thing as there is in American skiing.Boyne once owned two ski resorts in Washington. There was Crystal, and then there was this. Whatever this was. Maybe a feeder and maybe something else. And oh wait that’s where Alpental is? Why didn’t they just say that? Crystal is gone (it’s still there), but Boyne held onto this. And now we’re getting a real good sense of what this is.I don’t know if it was the Ikon Pass or the runaway West Coast tech wealth or the Covid-driven outdoor explosion or the spread-the-word crowdsourcing supernova of social media, but suddenly Summit at Snoqualmie is One Of Those Places That We Talk About. Part of the overrun Washington trio that also includes Crystal and Stevens. The rest of the state’s ski areas are too remote to matter, at least for now, at least in that way. But these three have problems. Traffic problems and parking lot problems and liftline problems and terrain-management problems and, sometimes, too-much-snow-all-at-once problems. They’re all handling them different. Crystal has morphed from Ikon bottom-feeder to $1,699 season pass elitist with intricate parking-and-access policies in just two seasons. Stevens is hoping new management and a higher wage can offset the debilitating crowds driven by season passes that cost the same as one month of Netflix. And Summit is doing what Boyne does: rethinking and rebuilding the resort to adapt to the modern ski experience. Washington State in 2022 is a tough place to make it as a ski resort, and I wanted to talk to the person in charge of Summit to understand exactly how they planned to do that.What we talked aboutThe 2021-22 ski season; potential Summit closing dates; the T-bar ride that changed a life; Australia’s sprawling Perisher ski area; the majesty of European skiing; Vail Mountain; Badger Pass; Booth Creek; Summit and Washington in the homey ‘90s; when skier traffic started to explode; the founding of the four Summit at Snoqualmie ski areas and how they came together into the modern resort; why they’re bucketed as one ski area even though Alpental is separated by Interstate 90 and about two dozen cliff bands; why Summit East, Central, and West still have distinct trailmaps even though they are side by side; the varying personalities, schedules, and characteristics of each of Summit’s four ski areas; 400-plus inches of snow on the outskirts of a city that averages 4.6 inches per season; Summit at Snoqualmie’s 2030 plan; the logic of upgrading the Hidden Valley chair before the East Peak chair at Summit East; potential upgrades and re-alignments for Central Express; the new alignment and lift for Triple 60; why the old Gallery chair is likely to remain for the foreseeable future; thoughts on Easy Street and Reggie’s; the extent of the snowmaking system coming to Summit; the possibility of re-planting trees to introduce more defined trails around Summit; where’s the water going to come from?; the new lodge coming to Central; the Pacific Crest upgrade and the story behind the present lift; whether an upgraded Pacific Crest would make Dodge Ridge redundant; the upgrade and new alignment for Wildside; whether the areas between East, Central, and West could be developed with trails and lifts; the new International chair at Alpental; an upgrade and realignment for Sessel; the Edelweiss upgrade; why there won’t be an Armstrong upgrade just yet, and whether that could happen by 2030; and why Ikon Pass reservations are likely an indefinite fixture of the resort from now on.Why I thought that now was a good time for this interviewThis is the sixth 2030 plan that Boyne has released in the past two years, and together they tell a compelling story of a company angling to be the best in skiing. How’s that? All ski areas on public land – and that is most of them in the West – have master plans. Some, like Steamboat, even have branded Full Steam Ahead-style plans with videos and diagrams to teleport you into your white-laced future. But only Boyne is meticulously etching a story for each of its resorts, detailing the lifts, terrain expansions, and experiential razmataz that aims to make these properties the best in their respective regions.Which takes us to Summit, perhaps Boyne’s most complicated resort. Take three Midwest-style ski areas, stacked side-by-side but built with vastly different philosophies and laced with lifts from at least eight different companies, many of which no longer exist. Then tack on a true big-mountain roustabout, but separate it from the rest with an interstate. Add 400-plus inches of heavy snow annually on avalanche-prone slopes, then drop the whole operation on the outskirts of a growing and ever-wealthier metropolitan population of 4 million. It’s not an easy place to imagine, let alone manage, and it was hard to say which direction Summit would carry this plan.What they came up with is, I think, impressive: eight new or upgraded lifts, one of which will be a brand-new line up International. Every main lift except East Peak is slated for some sort of upgrade. Central will get top-to-bottom snowmaking and a new lodge. RFID is coming.This is a lot to do in the next eight years, but it’s all worth doing, and it threads that impossible balance of uphill versus downhill capacity. Everyone hates crowds. Everyone hates crowded trails. Alpental’s Stone Age lift fleet wasn’t helping matters. Neither was the hodgepodge ascending the three-mile-wide sprawl at Summit. This plan rationalizes the whole operation, and hopefully tames some of the holiday and pow-day frustrations and lines. There’s a lot of nuance to this plan, and a lot that could evolve as the years advance. I wanted to go deep on every detail, especially around the lift fleet, to give us the best possible understanding of this big, brash, and vital ski area.Questions I wish I’d askedGosh, this was a long one. I had some questions loaded up about the switch to RFID, the mountain’s e-commerce upgrades, and parking lot upgrades (pavement!), and I suppose we could have discussed the summer ops a bit more, but we just ran out of time.  What I got wrongI intimated that Summit at Snoqualmie had no existing snowmaking, but that is incorrect – they have a very rudimentary and limited existing system.Why you should ski Summit at SnoqualmieBecause this is the template. There it is: the local bump. Night skiing six days a week. Swing through. Up and down 10 times and out. On weekends and vacations go elsewhere.I’m aware that some of you live in ski towns, throw down a Ben Frank a year. Maybe more. And I’m glad that version of reality exists. But for those of us stuck in the in-between, quick hits are the way to rack numbers. And with multiple I-90 exit ramps almost directly into the parking lots, this is one of the most accessible ski areas in the country.If Summit at Snoqualmie were just Summit East, Central, and West, that would be it, and that would be enough to keep the place busy and in business. But there’s also Alpental. And that… is a mountain. Enter: Boyne, the Ikon Pass, a rabid clique of PNW Backpack Bros hauling into the Bowls off International. All the cred sits on that little peak, more than double the height and size of its sisters, and 100 times rowdier. Me being me I would ski them all, titter-totter between, take pictures of the lifts and tweet upbound while gripping a Riblet centerpole. For the rest of you, you can probably just aim your GPS right to the base of Armstrong. Just remember your Ikon Pass reservation, your avy gear, and your free Back Bowls pass:More Summit at SnoqualmieHow the four ski areas formed and came together (read more on Summit at Snoqualmie history):A look at Alpental (read the ski area’s history from the point of view of founder James Griffin):This is the 11th Storm Skiing Podcast with a Boyne executive. This is a company that knows what to do with the media. Here are the rest, in the order I recorded them:Boyne Resorts CEO Stephen Kircher – Nov. 21, 2019Loon Mountain GM Jay Scambio – Feb. 7, 2020Sunday River President and GM Dana Bullen – Feb. 14, 2020Boyne Resorts CEO Stephen Kircher – Covid edition – April 1, 2020 (no April Fool’s post that year)Sugarloaf GM Karl Strand – Part 1 – Sept. 25, 2020Sugarloaf GM Karl Strand – Part 2 – Sept. 30, 2020Sunday River GM Brian Heon – Feb. 10, 2021Boyne Mountain GM Ed Grice – Oct. 19, 2021The Highlands at Harbor Springs President and GM Mike Chumbler – Feb. 18, 2022Big Sky President and COO Taylor Middleton – April 6, 2022And here are links to Boyne’s active long-term resort plans:Big Sky 2025 VisionSunday River 2030Sugarloaf 2030Loon Flight Path 2030Boyne Mountain 2030 - Renaissance 2.0The Highlands 2030 JourneyTrail Forward Summit 2030The Storm publishes year-round, and guarantees 100 articles per year. This is article 43/100 in 2022. Want to send feedback? Reply to this email and I will answer. You can also email skiing@substack.com. Get full access to The Storm Skiing Journal and Podcast at www.stormskiing.com/subscribe

Robert discusses why the smart building market is in need of disruption and how companies can leverage technology to their advantage. He also talks about the use cases and solutions of Kontakt.io in addition to the different layers of monitoring when integrating IoT into buildings. The podcast is concluded with a high-level conversation on what to expect from the industry and Kontakt.io om 2022.Robert Kowalik is a business solution leader specializing in the emerging technology market, with over 25 years of experience leading sales from early-stage startups to technology pioneers. He specializes in enterprise solutions for Healthcare, Smart Buildings, Manufacturing, and Supply Chain worldwide applications, emphasizing IoT technologies and cloud-based analytics. With his extensive track record of leading successful sales efforts, he has mastered the art of channel strategy and market development. Before joining Kontakt.io, Robert led market entry efforts for several RFID companies, including Precyse Technologies, Ubisense, AeroScout, and PinPoint. Robert has also held Oracle, Vertical Net, JBA, and Macola positions.  Robert is a Chicago native and holds a degree from the University of Wisconsin.

Mainstream media publications are reporting crime spikes in wealthy well-to-do White neighborhoods. As racial tensions begin to stir, we can easily see that the Elites are fanning the flames of a potential race war. Also, new reports that the on the RFID microchip, MOTB system is in place.

MEP EP#323: Hyperspace Part PackagesThe Worst Timeline: A Printer Company Is Putting DRM in Paper Now RFID chips inside the label spool What kind of RFID chip are they using that is this disposable? EFF Article Link Component marking with the manufacturer in mind Why put indicator marks? Where? Both inside the footprint and outside Double and triple check that things are right on the design side Diodes - Making Anode and also having the diode symbol on the board Vias and marking Numbers for marking? TSSOP and similar style packaging Own your design and be prepared to support it

Pieter Limburg is the CEO and Founder of Mobilo, the smart business card. In the late 90s, Pieter started off as an "internet hustler" with various eBay shops and building tailor-made PCs. In 2004 retail was starting to see online disruption and Pieter turned around an old-fashioned photo camera store from "analog to digital". Building one of the first online & offline hybrid formulas was a big hit and revenue grew quickly. In 2012 he sold the company and made the switch to 3D Printing Service bureau and Marketplace, Shapeways. At first, taking care of the EMEA supply chain, putting in place management reporting, lower cost and lead-time and scaling from a handful of vendors to 50+ and later joined the MT in NYC to head up Growth, Sales & Business Development. After almost 6 years at Shapeways, it was time for a change and through some consulting and failed startup projects Pieter stumbled upon RFID and the untapped potential. This led to the launch of Mobilo. Get to know more about Mobilo: https://www.mobilocard.com/ https://www.instagram.com/mobilodigital/?hl=en https://www.linkedin.com/company/mobilocard/ #RealEstate #Tips #PreReal For informational purposes only. Always consult with professionals. This is not meant to be used as legal or tax advice or otherwise. Any projections, opinions, assumptions, or estimates used are for example only. All information should be independently verified and is subject to errors and omissions. Check out some of our other videos and listings: PreReal Podcast https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTgZYyrkRyU&list=PLbyMUN39hTNWUFWH-tprcR0sTOwdqCfuk Becca's Real Estate Tips https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSQsDJUTOW8&list=PLbyMUN39hTNVu6OeabosHIP_CTfuqg_4X Prendamano Real Estate of staten island, NY is a real estate marketing firm that is focused on lead generation for all its properties for sale. More leads equals bigger pockets in the end for everyone. If you are house hunting and looking for a house for sale don't hesitate to give us a call (718)200-7799. If you think it is time to sell your house, we can get you top dollar for your property. Visit us at www.prereal.com Follow us on: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PrendamanoRealEstate Instagram: @prerealpodcast @prerealestate TikTok: @prerealestate Twitter: @prereal