Baracoda UK - The Interview
Baracoda - First For Bluetooth Barcode And RFID Readers
The French company Baracoda is the world's leading manufacturer of Bluetooth-enabled wireless barcode readers and RFID devices, middleware and Plug & Scan solutions. Baracoda provides powerful Bluetooth data capture and traceability solutions for both mobile and on-site applications in the retail, healthcare, transportation and logistics industries. Key features include better management of power consumption, improved security and interoperability with other IT/telecoms devices. Baracoda's traceability products are highly sought after by a growing customer base, resulting in a 70% increase in sales from 2004 to 2006. Matthieu Delporte, Director of Baracoda's Traceability Division, spoke to Warehouse & Logistics News.
 Warehouse & Logistics News - Matthieu, how would you sum up what Baracoda does?
Baracoda supplies high performance data capture solutions for mobile business applications such as field force automation, asset management, and on-site applications including inventory management and order preparation. Our devices are suitable for all wireless environments.
WLN - There are a lot of data capture IT vendors. What sets Baracoda apart?
We offer the widest range of Bluetooth-enabled barcode and RFID devices on the market, both here and globally. Baracoda adds value to its customers and partners by providing appropriate, reliable, and extremely competitive data capture solutions.
WLN - Who set Baracoda up, and when?
Thomas Serval, the CEO, and Olivier Giroud, the Chief Technical Officer, founded Baracoda in 2001, and still own the company. The business was established on the innovative concept of Baracoda's SmartModules, a patented embedded solution that dramatically reduces the time and effort needed to integrate Bluetooth wireless technology into devices.
WLN - How big is Baracoda now in worldwide turnover?
Baracoda is still working in a niche market compared to, say, retail applications. However, we believe we can attain 15MÛ turnover in the near future. We currently hold about 30% of the European mobile traceability solutions market.
WLN - How many staff are there?
The Baracoda team comprises 27 people in France, 4 in Poland and 6 in the US.
WLN - Who runs the business day to day?
Thomas Serval oversees all Baracoda projects and ensures the implementation of the company's strategy, the objective of which is to become market leader in wireless devices. Olivier Giroud, an expert in electronics and digital and analogue communications, is Chief Technical Officer and leads our technical development.
WLN - Matthieu, what is your role in the company?
I run the Auto-ID business as Director of the Traceability Division and also supervise all corporate, legal, administrative and financial matters.
WLN - When did you join?
I joined in September 2001 as Chief Financial Officer and board member, to help build the company's growth.
WLN - What were you doing before that?
I was the co-founder and CFO of Savoirweb, a leading software provider of collaborative solutions enabling multiple users to share information and interact on the same application/document in real time. Savoirweb provides applications for interactive marketing, help desk, e-learning and so on.
WLN - How many customers does Baracoda have worldwide?
Baracoda has over 600 customers worldwide, of which eight are in the Fortune 100. Principal clients include Electrolux, Securitas, Orange, IBM, Lyonnaise des Eaux, Marriots Hotels, Parkeon, Fotovista-Pixmania, Kone, Guidant Newman, Revlon, France Telecom, Universal, Sprint Nextel, IBM and TDF.
WLN - How many customers do you have in the UK?
We have around 50 UK clients. As an example, we recently deployed a mobility application for Securitas with Xenium. We have also deployed field service applications for Parkeon and Electrolux.
WLN - How big is your UK turnover?
We don't track our UK turnover separately but Britain represents the second most potential market for Baracoda, especially given mobile applications' growing popularity. An excellent indicator of this trend is the rapid growth of our partner RIM, who design, manufacture and market innovative wireless solutions and use Baracoda products in their BlackBerry solutions.
WLN - Where is Baracoda based?
Baracoda has headquarters in Marly le Roi, in the Western suburbs of Paris, and in New York, USA.
WLN - How do you sell your products in the rest of the world?
Most of our sales are handled through a distribution network covering Europe, North America, Asia and the Middle East. In Europe, the network covers 25 countries with 16 Master Distributors and approximately 100 additional systems integrators.
WLN - How do you sell your products in the UK?
Our national distributors here include Varlink and Synergix. Our UK resellers include ASK Technologies, Codegate, DataIP, I2 Global, JDH Consultancy, Kodit Database and Xenium. We also have global distribution agreements with Psion Teklogix and Orange including the UK, and last but not least, we are partnering with RIM.
WLN - Who should a potential UK customer contact first to find out more about how your products can help them?
They should contact the nearest Baracoda distributor, or one with most experience in the client's field. Our distributors can suggest the products and software solutions that best adapt to the customer's needs. Baracoda's support team can also advise the distributor in the client's project. In addition, our sales team and our engineers are available to meet clients who want additional help in carrying out projects and deploying the chosen application.
WLN - How do you serve large UK customers? Who trains end users?
We are really flexible. Some of our clients prefer to deal with their local or usual partner. In that case, we support and train this partner, and can train end users if necessary.
Some clients prefer us to organise training and follow up. In such cases, we handle the projects but also involve our distributor to ensure a local presence and the best response time.
WLN - Success in the UK IT market depends on distributors' capacity and know-how. Are you looking for more UK distributors and resellers?
Our current distributors have extensive knowledge of our target markets. We are focusing on establishing stronger partnerships with them by putting our marketing and technical resources at their disposal and helping them grow with us.
Meanwhile, we are always looking for more distributors and VARs in the mobility and In-Premise markets, who know their customers and their needs very well.
WLN - What devices does your UK product range cover?
All our products are available here. Our most popular model is the RoadRunners ID scanner. RoadRunners are Bluetooth Class 1 devices with a 100 metre range. They are ideal for mobile applications such as field services, parcel logistics, asset tracking and merchandising and on-site applications including picking, order preparation, inventory management and work-in-progress monitoring. They have durable batteries and rugged casings, which can withstand repeated dropping on concrete from 1.8m. Weighing 140g, they have a battery life of 30,000 scans and a batch capacity of 10,000 UPC barcodes with date and time stamps.
Another leading product, the BaracodaPencil 2, is a new generation, "wand" style, Bluetooth barcode contact scanner, weighing just 42g and ideal for mobile workforces. It enables sales force automation and 'light' field service applications and is suitable for batch data transmission applications.
WLN - What other traceability and data capture products do you offer?
The 2604 series is a family of gun-shaped scanners covering every need for intensive scanning in factory, warehousing, manufacturing and inventory management environments. 2604 scanners are suitable for SME's, weigh 180g and have a battery life of 12,000 scans. The pen-shaped IDBlueª is an efficient way to add a RFID reader/encoder function to Bluetooth-enabled PDAs and mobile phones. Suitable for access control, field force automation, security applications and asset management, it is a RFID 13.56 MHz Encoder and Reader with a reading/encoding distance of up to 4cm and a Bluetooth Class 2 transmission range of 15m.
WLN - What ruggedised products do you offer?
Our RoadRunners ID scanners are suitable for environments needing more durable devices, and we will soon launch a more robust version of the RoadRunners for industrial applications.
WLN - What plans do you have in place for launching more new products in the UK, and can you talk about them?
Baracoda is doubling its product range this year. We will launch two products for the logistics and transport sectors, called ScanWear and ToughRunners. ScanWear is a lightweight, hands-free barcode scanning solution dedicated to order preparation. The torch shaped, rugged and ergonomic ToughRunners is designed for industrial, logistics and warehouse environments and provides a reliable solution for extreme conditions. In the Autumn, we will launch a very light barcode scanner that offers high performance at a competitive price, increasing mobility for a host of applications such as sales force, merchandising, field service and asset tracking. We are also planning to launch a RoadRunners with a laser scan engine later this year.
WLN - What IT/telecoms devices are these devices compatible with?
All our barcode and RFID devices use Bluetooth¨ wireless technology so they can work wirelessly with PCs, laptops, PDAs, BlackBerrys, mobile phones, LAN access points and so on. Functional benefits include automatic reconnection following signal interruption, guaranteed data acknowledgment (data is never lost), and seamless integration with all operating platforms. Signal failure during data transmission is not disastrous, as the scanner registers the details in a non-volatile memory.
WLN - What supporting software do you provide?
Our Baracoda Plug & Scan PC solutions and Baracoda Manager solutions for laptops, PDAs or smartphones enable quick set up and connection.
WLN - Can you tell us about any recent customers for whom you have provided mobile applications? What devices were involved?
We have deployed our products with Blackberry, Pocket PC, Windows Mobile 5.0, Palm, Symbian and laptop devices throughout Europe, North America and Africa. Recent installations include one for Geniki Taxydromiki, a large Greek parcel delivery company that employs 2,500 people and delivers over 1 million parcels and letters each month. 800 users are equipped with a BlackBerry 8700v and a Baracoda RoadRunners 1D scanner. The ASP application allows real-time recording of the pick-up and delivery operations around the country, sending the data through the Vodafone GPRS network.
Another interesting recent case study concerns Fotovista, a leading French e-commerce site specialising in consumer entertainment products. By 2006, Fotovista's central buying office comprised five 5,000m2 warehouses. Product were shipped throughout Europe and the 160 employees dealt with about 15,000 daily customer orders. Facing an increasingly competitive market, Fotovista found the perfect solution to their needs in Baracoda's 1D RoadRunners with Plug & Scan solution on PC terminals. The Plug & Scan solution simplifies the installation procedure by combining the scanner and its Bluetooth adapter. Users simply plug the dongle (RS232 or USB) into the host, scan the pairing barcode, and start scanning immediately without any difficult or time-consuming installation processes.
WLN - Do you publish customer case studies?
Yes we do. We also publish a Solution Catalogue providing deployed solution examples and references for customers and prospects.
WLN - Do you have partnership relationships with other IT companies?
Baracoda holds strategic partnerships with companies like Microsoft, RIM (Blackberry), Sony Ericsson, IBM, Itronix, Psion Teklogix and France Telecom, who help us test our concepts and solutions.
WLN - How big in value terms is the UK potential market for bar code scanners and RFID readers/encoders that connect to Bluetooth-enabled IT/telecoms devices?
Today the UK market is the second biggest market in Europe after Germany and represents enormous potential for our development, especially with our forthcoming new product launches.
WLN - What do you see as your major areas of opportunity in the UK?
The rapidly growing field service applications market is one of the most promising areas. More generally, all markets where wireless barcode scanning solutions can increase mobility and thereby productivity are very interesting for us.
WLN - Moving forwards, what external factors do you see as being likely to affect the demand for your products and solutions in the UK?
The main factor is very high growth of mobility applications on standard devices. Integrating Baracoda's Bluetooth scanners will simplify the deployment and use of such solutions.
WLN - Final question: how do you see Baracoda's UK business developing?
The UK is a very exciting market, with big name partners and strong potential for Baracoda. We expect our business here to grow fast thanks to our new product launches, which will broaden our target markets to include more industry sectors.
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For further information about this company's activities in the warehouse and logistics industry please contact:
Baracoda
Franck Riout, Channel Manager
Tel: +33 1 30 08 89 00
www.baracoda.com |
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