fritz hansen guards customers` investments in its premium furniture

CASE STUDY
THE STYLE PROTECTORS: FRITZ HANSEN GUARDS CUSTOMERS’ INVESTMENTS IN ITS PREMIUM FURNITURE WITH DIRECT PART MARKING (DPM)
THE STYLE PROTECTORS:
FRITZ HANSEN GUARDS CUSTOMERS’
INVESTMENTS IN ITS PREMIUM FURNITURE
WITH DIRECT PART MARKING (DPM)
FRITZ HANSEN
Fritz Hansen, founded in 1872, is one of the world’s leading companies in the field of premium
furniture design. The Danish design and manufacturer is renowned for its high quality products
produced through collaborations with some of the world’s most celebrated architects and
designers. The Republic of Fritz Hansen™ brand name celebrates this movement whereby
designers of different nationalities, but with the same attitude toward design, are creating
furniture in the name of Fritz Hansen.
Fritz Hansen is committed to protecting its customers’ investments in its iconic furniture through
continuous innovation. And this in mind, it has recently introduced a Direct Part Marking (DPM)
system to register and identify its high volume furniture. The DPM comprises a punch metal tag
that requires a highly accurate handheld scanner to read the information. And with help from
mobile computing specialist BB Data Teknik, Fritz Hansen located the only imager that could
precisely read the 2-D matrix marks – the Motorola DS3578 handheld imager. After successful
trials the imager is now used in the factory to quickly and easily log the unique details of each
item of furniture. The technology delivers a range of key benefits: it provides customers with
proof of origin and authenticity, undermines the market for stolen furniture and enables Fritz
Hansen to build a customer database to enhance its marketing programs.
CUSTOMER PROFILE
Company
s &RITZ (ANSEN
s $ENMARK
Industry
s 0REMIUM FURNITURE DESIGN
and production
Motorola Products
s $3 WIRELESS HANDHELD
scanner
Software
s )NHOUSE BESPOKE SOFTWARE
Partner
s "" $ATA 4EKNIK
CASE STUDY
THE STYLE PROTECTORS: FRITZ HANSEN GUARDS CUSTOMERS’ INVESTMENTS IN ITS PREMIUM FURNITURE WITH DIRECT PART MARKING (DPM)
“We design and manufacture
some of the world’s most iconic
furniture. To protect customers’
investments we include serial
numbers on all furniture and have
recently introduced a DPM system
to label and register our high volume
products. The mark is punched into
metal tags welded to components.
During the manufacturing process,
we quickly collect the unique
details of each mark using wireless
handheld imagers from Motorola.
When customers buy a chair or
table they can log the serial number
and their details on our website.
Should the product ever be stolen
and subsequently found it’s easily
returned to its rightful owner.
We’re delighted with the technology
which presents our customers with
proof of origin and authenticity as
well as piece of mind in prevention
against theft.”
Torben Jensen
Technical Product Manager, Fritz Hansen
PAGE 2
THE CHALLENGE
Protecting customers’ investments
Fritz Hansen’s furniture is hugely desirable and is
immediately recognizable to connoisseurs of premium
design. To protect customers’ investments in Fritz
Hansen products, the company has introduced serial
numbering to identify products but also wanted to
introduce an efficient way to DPM its volume-selling
furniture such as the 3107 stackable chair of which
approximately 100,000 units are sold a year.
THE SOLUTION
BB Data Teknik recommends Motorola imagers
Torben Jensen looked at the various DPM options
before creating, with a specialist Danish manufacturer,
a punched metal DPM. This tag is welded to the frames
of chairs and tables by the supplier of these parts. The
tags are positioned to be hard to reach and the punch
marks are exceptionally difficult to remove ensuring
that the DPM is more or less indestructible. However,
there was an issue with the novel design: none of the
handheld imagers tried by Torben’s team could read the
label. With the assistance of mobile computing specialist
BB Data Teknik, the Motorola DS3578 handheld imager
was trialed and was able to accurately and efficiently
READ THE LABELS &RITZ (ANSENS )4 TEAM SUBSEQUENTLY
worked with BB Data Teknik to write software for the
programmable scanners to enable the DPM data to be
transferred via computer terminals on the manufacturing
mOOR TO &RITZ (ANSENS )4 SYSTEMS
Application(s)
s DPM: DPM labels are
punched directly into metal
frames in a position and
using technology which
means they are virtually
impossible to remove
s Data reading: The labels
are read by Motorola
DS3578 handheld
imagers. The imagers are
Bluetooth® enabled so
users can move freely
when handling the furniture
without being encumbered
by cables
s Accurate scanning: The
imagers are very accurate
and fast, quickly capturing
the 2-D matrix labels
s Comfortable: The imagers
are rugged, ergonomic
and lightweight, enabling
comfortable operation
s Database: The unique
label for each piece of
furniture is stored on Fritz
(ANSENS )4 SYSTEMS
Key Benefits
s Accuracy: There are no
instances of inaccurate or
incomplete images
s Efficient scanning:
The imagers support the
efficient scanning of high
volume products such as
the 3107 stackable chair
of which approximately
100,000 units are produced
per annum
s Customer service:
Customers can log their
unique furniture codes on
the Fritz Hansen website
to receive an extended
warranty and prevent the
resale of their product if
stolen
s Tackling crime: By
undermining the market
for stolen furniture
Fritz Hansen is directly
protecting its customers’
investments and providing
peace of mind
s Improved marketing:
Customers who register
their product online have
the opportunity of receiving
an extended warranty and
they can opt in or out to
receive information and
promotions. The system
is therefore helping Fritz
Hansen build a more
complete profile of its
customers to aid marketing
CASE STUDY
THE STYLE PROTECTORS: FRITZ HANSEN GUARDS CUSTOMERS’ INVESTMENTS IN ITS PREMIUM FURNITURE WITH DIRECT PART MARKING (DPM)
BENEFITS
Peace of mind for customers and improved
marketing
Fritz Hansen’s tables and chairs. During the manufacture of
these parts the tags are affixed to them in an area that is
very hard to reach.
The DPM and serial number systems work on three
key levels. First, it makes life harder for criminals and
undermines the secondary market for illegitimate Fritz
Hansen goods. Second, the system provides peace of mind
to customers that if their product is stolen and retrieved
it will be returned to its rightful owner. And third, by
registering details online, Fritz Hansen is able to better
understand their customers. This is especially important to
the business as its furniture is sold by dealers so it’s one
step removed from the customer.
“The beauty of the concept lies in its simplicity,” comments
Torben Jensen. “The marks are virtually indestructible and
arrive at the factory already fixed to components so we do
not need to interrupt the manufacturing process. This is
important as the tags are fixed to hundreds of thousands
of products. The only issue we had was finding an imager
to read the marks. This was more of a challenge than we
expected.”
THE QUEST TO PROTECT CUSTOMERS
When the furniture is produced, the label is scanned and
A RECORD CREATED IN &RITZ (ANSENS )4 SYSTEM 4WO LABELS
are printed at the same time. One is attached by thread
to the product and the other to the underside of the table
or chair. The idea with the hanging label is that this can
easily be removed by the customer to make a note of the
unique serial number without needing to turn the furniture
over. The customer is informed at the point of purchase
that if they register their product in their personalised
online account on Fritz Hansen’s website, they will receive
valuable incentives. These include a guarantee of up to 20
years (conditions apply) plus other added benefits, such as
the option to receive marketing material on new products
and exclusive offers.
Peace of mind for customers and improved
marketing
Fritz Hansen’s furniture such as the Egg™, Swan™ and
Series 7™ chairs are hugely desirable design icons.
For those in the know, a Fritz Hansen piece is instantly
recognizable as a classic piece of Danish design that’s build
with an uncompromising devotion to quality. For instance,
the creation of the Egg chair involves a two-day handstitching process to upholster the leather.
h)N $ENMARK IN PARTICULAR BUT ALSO ACROSS THE WORLD &RITZ
Hansen is a byword for quality,” says Torben Jensen. “The
products are lovingly produced, priced at a premium and are
instantly recognizable. Sadly the desirability means that the
furniture is attractive to thieves.”
CREATING CUSTOMER RECORDS
The company has worked tirelessly to address this problem,
introducing advanced serial numbering to ensure that
FURNITURE CAN BE EASILY TRACKED AND TRACED )T ALSO LOOKED AT
ways to part mark its higher volume furniture such as the
3107 stackable chair of which around 100,000 units are
shipped each year.
Says Torben Jensen: “With our higher volume furniture
we set out to find a way to create and collect unique
maker information for each chair but without impacting
THE WORKmOW PROCESS WITHIN THE FACTORY )T WAS CRITICAL IN
fact that the technology we devised integrated with our
manufacturing as seamlessly as possible.”
After reviewing a wide range of DPM options, the team
devised its own novel approach using a punch to score a
metal tag with a 2-D matrix DPM. The tag is produced by
A SPECIALIST MANUFACTURER IN $ENMARK )T IS THEN SHIPPED
to suppliers who create the metal frames and legs for
PAGE 3
CASE STUDY
THE STYLE PROTECTORS: FRITZ HANSEN GUARDS CUSTOMERS’ INVESTMENTS IN ITS PREMIUM FURNITURE WITH DIRECT PART MARKING (DPM)
BUSINESS BENEFITS BY DESIGN
IMAGER SELECTION
Fritz Hansen, a company famed for its elegant furniture
design, has also proved an innovator in the field of DPM.
Fritz Hansen tried a number of imagers to read the 2-D
matrix codes punched into the metal with little joy – the
problem being that imagers are designed to typically read
standard bar codes. Concerned about the issue, Torben
Jensen contacted mobile computing specialist BB Data
Teknik. He says: “We met with the BB Data Teknik guys
and they were convinced that a Motorola scanner would be
able to read the labels. We tried the DS3578 and it instantly
captured the data no problem due to the high accuracy of
the imaging engine. We were also impressed with the build
QUALITY )TS VERY ROBUST AND CAN STAND KNOCKS AND DROPS
which happen on a busy manufacturing line.”
The database created by the DPM imaging enables Fritz
Hansen to check if any furniture found by police has been
stolen and return it to its rightful owner. So it’s much
harder to move stolen goods on and the gray market for
Fritz Hansen furniture is seriously undermined. This, in
TURN PROVIDES PEACE OF MIND TO &RITZ (ANSEN CUSTOMERS )N
addition, Fritz Hansen is able to collect information on its
customers to better understand its customer base. This is
a crucial benefit for a business whose products are sold via
partners and is one step removed from the buyer.
Concluding with his views on the DPM deployment, Torben
Jensen says: “We are committed to providing peace of
mind for customers who purchase Fritz Hansen furniture and
the DPM system does that. The knowledge and assistance
of BB Data Teknik was invaluable when setting the system
up and the scanner is collating the data accurately and
efficiently to ensure we are not negatively impacting
workflow. Add in the fact that we are also improving our
marketing on the back of the technology and we are very
pleased with the outcome of the project.”
Another major benefit of the scanner is its Bluetooth
connectivity. This is very important as users can move freely
around the furniture without worrying about the wires.
The scanner is also programmable, which enabled Torben’s
team, with assistance from BB Data Teknik, to write
bespoke software to connect the data from the imager with
THE COMPANYS BACKOFlCE )4 SYSTEMS
For more information on how Motorola’s DS3578 handheld
computer can improve your field sales or services operations,
please visit us on the web at: www.motorola.com
or access our global contact directory at
www.motorola.com/enterprisemobility/contactus
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