What Questions should I ask?

Where do I start?
What should I ask?
What is this technology all about?
What about all the hardware options?
Which supplier should I use for printers and scanners?
Do I need to understand the technology?
Can I start with one hand held terminal and a basic label print ?
What is Radio Frequency?
What is a Wireless LAN?
Do I need RF or if not what do I need?
What if I start with a Batch solution in one Business area, say Despatch, but I need RF for Raw Material Item Management, in six months time?
Can I mix and match technologies?
I need to extract data from an IBM platform and a Windows platform and setup a SQL Data Warehouse, where do I start?
I want to pass Production data from our SCADA (SQL based) system up onto our Manufacturing System (AS/400 based), where do I start?

Where do I start?
What should I ask?
What is this technology all about?

The most important questions you need to ask first are:
What are my Business Requirements?
What benefits are we trying to gain?

Once you are clear what you require then the next stage is to discuss your requirements with us so that we fully understand both your requirements and your business benefits.

What about all the hardware options?
Which supplier should I use for printers and scanners?

You have the option to look at each supplier and what options they offer in terms of bar code printers, scanners, data-collection terminals. The alternate to this is to give Crown the opportunity to present options to you and when appropriate provide you with a fully itemised written proposal. This way you utilise our experience to help you save time and money selecting the appropriate hardware.

Do I need to understand the technology?

Like all technologies they can be understood at many levels, in concept it is quite straight forward, it is only when you start delving into the likes of scanning fuzzy logic theory that you need a degree covering Boolean arithmetic.

No, to be serious, we can clearly and precisely give you sufficient overview of the technology so that you can ask pertinent questions. There is a danger of getting lost in the technology. Keep focused on your requirements. For example, think about the practical use of the hand held terminal in your business environment rather than try to understand how the device interprets the barcode.

Can I start with one hand held terminal and a basic label print?

Yes, you decide your entry level into the technology. There is no restriction about just starting with one hand held, capturing one business transaction. Build the solution up as your business grows, adding terminals and business transactions as required.

What is Radio Frequency?
What is a Wireless LAN?

The use of Radio Frequency as a means of transmitting data is becoming more and more the business standard.

If we start with the Wireless LAN (Local Area Network), this can be a stand- alone network or an extension to your existing network. As the name suggests, you do not need physical wires connecting one device to another on the network. Instead the devices communicate by transmitting data using Radio Waves as the carrier.

Typically an RF Terminal would talk to an RF Access point, which in turn would form a bridge to your existing LAN. By this means data collected on the hand held terminal would be transmitted onto your LAN for processing into your computer systems as required.

Do I need RF, or if not what do I need?

It will depend on your requirements. If you need to have the collected data available on your databases straight away then you would need RF. If the user of the RF needs to be working off the very latest level of information from your databases then yes, you need RF. If you need the data to be sent to the application databases in transaction batches, then you could use a "Batch" hand held terminal. A Batch device is where the device needs to be put into a communication cradle, attached to your LAN, before the data can be sent to your computer databases.

We are happy to discuss all methods with you, so that you can decide what is appropriate for your solution.

What if I start with a Batch solution in one Business area, say Despatch, but I need RF for Raw Material item management, in six months time?
Can I mix and match technologies?

Yes you can. Our solution allows for multiple protocol support.

I need to extract data from an IBM platform and a Windows platform and setup a SQL Data Warehouse, where do I start

Using our standard Data Management software and features provided within SQL it is possible to schedule or trigger multiple data extracting processes. These processes can be defined to both select the required data records and also to scrub the records of redundant operational data. The warehouse table definitions would be used to ensure data integrity. The fact that the data resides in different operational databases does not matter, specific routines could be developed to move the data to the Data Warehouse. Once resident within the Warehouse, standard enquiry and reporting tools can be used to publish the data.

I want to pass Production data from our SCADA (SQL based) system up onto our Manufacturing System (AS/400 based), where do I start

Using our DC-Flex product it is possible to pass a "Network file" of the relevant production details up onto the AS/400 to be automatically processed through our integration product DC-Connect, directly into the Manufacturing System.