Unisys gets Defense RFID agreement
Two-year blanket purchase agreement allows DOD to place orders worth up to $5 million each, carries no ceiling and includes the Coast Guard.
Unisys has captured a Defense Department blanket purchase agreement to integrate passive radio frequency identification technology.
The BPA, which runs through 2007, does not have an order ceiling. Customers can place individual orders up to $5 million. The contract covers DOD and the Coast Guard.
Unisys will work with Odin technologies, a company that provides RFID infrastructure testing, deployment and certification. The BPA marks the first government project on which the two companies have collaborated, but they have previously teamed in the commercial sector.
Under the DOD BPA, agencies can tap Unisys and Odin to link passive RFID infrastructure within their supply chains. Passive RFID tags lack a battery, unlike their self-powered, active counterparts. Passive tags, however, are less expensive than active tags and thus better suited to high-volume applications.
As part of the BPA, Unisys will connect the Defense Logistics Agency and its suppliers via RFID, according to the company. The agency uses RFID to track and trace assets.
The Pentagon wants all suppliers to use passive RFID tags by 2007