jan-vermeesch.jpgZetes Industries is a pan-European provider of Goods ID and People ID solutions. Zetes’ Goods ID Solutions optimise the performance of mobile workforces in retail, manufacturing and the supply chain, with Voice-Directed Order Picking and other major applications playing a key role. Zetes’ other strategic focus-area is People ID, where they provide governments and authorities with secure document and people enrolment solutions. Established in 1984 with headquarters in Belgium, Zetes has grown both organically and through acquisitions, and today has subsidiaries in 12 countries – Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, The Netherlands, the Nordics, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. The company currently employs more than 700 employees and generated revenues of €137.5 million in 2006.

In October 2006 Zetes acquired PEAK Europe, bringing together the two largest pure players in the European Goods-ID system integration business, and marking a significant step in the roll out of Zetes’ growth strategy in the Goods-ID market. Mr Jan Vermeesch, Zetes’ VP Marketing for EMEA, spoke to Warehouse & Logistics News.

Warehouse & Logistics News – First question – Who owns Zetes?
Zetes was founded in 1984 and remained privately owned until November 2005, when it was listed on the Euronext Stock Exchange in Brussels.

WLN – Is the integration of PEAK and Zetes complete now? What does Zetes buying Peak mean for your UK customers in the warehouse and logistics sector?
The integration is now fully complete. Peak was recognised as a strong solutions provider in its area, before the acquisition. The most important benefit for Zetes and Peak customers alike is that our total offering of solutions is now fully complimentary. We offer a balanced portfolio in all areas of Automated ID, from shop to warehouse to field service applications.

WLN – When did you (Jan) become VP Marketing-EMEA for Zetes?
I took up my current position in November 2006. For three years before that I was strategy manager for our Voice Competence Centre, promoting Voice technology in Europe. This was based in Brussels, and ran as a multi-national practice within the business.

WLN – What does your role as VP Marketing-EMEA involve? What are your main priorities?
My first priority is developing the Zetes brand, with an increased alignment of our market approach so we present a consistent image and service across Europe to our customers. My next priority is to create a marketing community within the Zetes group. After our various acquisitions we have lots of different people coming in, and it’s important to establish day-to-day communication internally. My other priority is to monitor the signals from the market and make sure we understand them and adapt our offering accordingly.

WLN – How closely do you get involved in working with customers and partners in the different countries within EMEA?
I’m very much involved with the different countries. We do our marketing with boots on, not from an ivory tower. It’s all about business development in the individual markets, particularly with our voice-driven technology.

WLN – How much time do you spend in Britain?
I’m in the UK a couple of days per month, but have a regular input from a distance. The UK is a crucial market for us.

WLN – How are your EMEA operations organised in terms of national sales offices etc?
We believe very strongly in doing business close to our customers. Our local organisations have a huge degree of independence and self-sufficiency: we have a light corporate structure, and a good deal of empowerment for local management.

WLN – Do you sell directly in each country, or through partners?
We mostly sell directly to customers, but sometimes work with partners, usually ERP or WMS vendors.
WLN – How big is Zetes’ turnover in the UK in Goods ID? How significant is the UK as a marketplace?
Our UK business is 100% Goods ID. The UK is one of our three biggest markets in Europe, and the huge retail sector adds to its significance: a further reason Britain is so important for us is the number of international companies with links to the US, that are established in the UK but not in Europe.

WLN – Where are your Goods ID solutions developed?
Our Goods ID solutions are developed through our global network of competence centres, including some in the UK.

WLN – Where does Zetes rank in the global list of Goods ID solutions providers? What sets you apart?
We’re number one in Europe overall and number one nationally in eight out of 30 European markets, but we don’t see any competitors offering in depth coverage like ours. Our critical mass means we can invest much more in our added value software, for example in our Voice competence centre we have 20 people solely working on these solutions. Other voice integrators can’t offer this resource.

zetes.jpgWLN – What size of companies, in what industry sectors, are your UK Goods ID customers?
Our UK customers include the Co-operative Group, Burberry, various high street retailers and Nestlé Waters, out of a huge number of medium and corporate companies. We’re active in retail, warehousing and logistics, the supply chain and manufacturing.

WLN – In which industry sectors are you seeing most Goods ID sales growth?
Manufacturing is a major area of interest for us, but the biggest growth areas remain retail, logistics and distribution.

WLN – What proportion of your turnover is Goods ID?
Within the UK it’s all Goods ID: globally about two thirds is Goods ID.

WLN – What specific operations are your Goods ID solutions designed for?
Our Goods ID solutions are designed for manufacturing, warehousing, retail in-store, mobile sales and field service, maintenance and quality control, and document and material identification.

WLN – What do your Goods ID products cover?
Our 3i Voice Solution offers four cornerstones to optimise people and processes in a warehousing environment; our 3i Printers-Applicators (P&A) Solution is a simple, safe, and smart solution for all ‘print and apply’ needs; Nucleus IS is a set of In Store Advanced data capture solutions for retailers; Nucleus IS Stock Audit offers advanced stocktaking solutions for retail stores; and MiNetConnect is a low risk mobile solution for SAP(r) within the logistics environment. We are bridging the last feet to concrete – companies are investing in IT solutions that need to be brought onto the shop floor and work floor. We enable their mobile workers to communicate with the overall enterprise.

WLN – What does this term ‘3i’ mean?
The ‘3i’ concept is at the heart of our business. As we use it, ‘3i’ stands for ‘Innovate – Integrate – Improve’: improving supply chain performance through innovative solutions and the integration of technologies such as Voice Recognition, RFID and Print & Apply.

WLN – What does your 3i Voice Solution cover?
As used today by some 30,000 users in around 500 projects, the 3i Voice Solution is largely responsible for Zetes Group’s success in the European voice arena, and we are extending our leadership every week. We now have over 60% of the European voice market. Its flexible design, built around four different components – 3iV Connector, 3iV Configurator, 3iV Cockpit and 3iV Client Applications, has been developed by the specialists in our 3i Voice Competence Centre to allow local customisation and bring the advantages of voice technology to all users.

zetes-2.jpgWLN – Can you talk us through the four components of the 3i Voice solution you mentioned?
The Zetes 3iV Connector is a standard interface that supports multiple architectures, enabling fast, easy, direct integration with any host system. Its approach is to leverage as much as possible on the logic and controls of the existing host system, so the architecture is minimised. The Zetes 3iV Configurator is a web-based administration tool that tailors the 3iV Client Applications to the specific requirements of each process and the needs of every operator. It allows the customisation of the voice application to minimise error risks and optimise performance and productivity. The Zetes 3iV Cockpit is a web-based reporting tool that shows, in real-time, all relevant information about the voice enabled warehouse workers and the jobs being executed. The supervisor gains control, problems are detected sooner and accurate decisions can be made about resource planning and scheduling. The 3iV Client Applications suite is a set of standardised, configurable client applications that voice-enable logistics processes such as order picking, moving, crossdocking and inventory. It allows users to optimise efficiency and performance in all aspects of their warehouse activities.

WLN – What terminals is the 3i Voice Solution designed for use with?
It depends on the customer’s operation. For full-time, voice driven applications, dedicated terminals are the obvious choice. Zetes most often builds upon the proven Talkman platform, the best in class for industrial applications.

Voice is a mature market we have been involved in for over 10 years. It is terrific for a number of applications. However, as some users may only be involved part-time in picking, cross-docking and so on and different user-interfaces such as scanning can provide added value in other processes, the use of dedicated terminals may not always be preferred. As a global integrator, Zetes understands the importance of choosing the right hardware to match the needs and usage of every application. Therefore, the 3iV Solution is also ready to address these circumstances using multi-modal devices.

WLN – Can you name any customers for your applications?
In general Goods ID we’re working in retail for Co-op Group and Superdrug in the UK; we’re a preferred Voice supplier for Spar internationally; we do all the Voice for Carrefour; in Holland we do all the Voice for Key 1000 and Metro, and we work with Sonae in Portugal, Co-op in the Nordic countries and Migros in Switzerland. We also work with Kuehne & Nagel in five countries, and with major 3PLs in many countries around Europe. Voice Directed Order Picking has become an increasing part of our portfolio alongside other Goods ID technologies like RFID, Wireless infrastructure and scanning.

WLN – Do you manufacture any VOICE hardware yourselves?
We don’t manufacture any Voice hardware ourselves; we’re the number one reseller for Vocollect in Europe, a major integrator partner for Motorola and an important value added partner for Intermec, Datamax and Zebra. We have corporate partnerships with each of these and national partnerships with individual technology companies in various countries.

WLN – Across the Goods ID business, how do you go about developing solutions for customers?
At local level the first step is to understand the customer’s problems and requirements, answer their questions and address their situation. The local company looks at what is available locally and within the group overall, and then we provide the best solution.

WLN – What external factors do you see affecting demand for your Goods ID and VOICE products in the UK and Europe?
There are a number of trends driving demand. The security of the food chain requires food traceability solutions; in non-food, the key factor is fighting counterfeiting; in pharmaceuticals the emphasis is on securing the supply chain. All these factors are increasing the pressure to achieve traceability in general.

WLN – What’s your assessment of the current position regarding adoption of RFID?
As a technology RFID was in a difficult position because the vendors had created a hype they could never fulfill. It’s essentially a viable technology, but the expectations need to be right – we’re seeing more feasible requests for it now, and customers are becoming increasingly more realistic in their expectations about what it can deliver.

WLN – Finally, where do you see Zetes’ Goods ID business as a whole going from here?
In general Zetes is growing where the customers want us to grow, in both geographical markets and solution areas. We see where the market is going and invest in being there. As the number of international customers grows, we see our work for them rolling into areas outside our traditional limits, such as Eastern Europe, the US and the Far East. As our solutions cover more of the supply chain, we will get drawn further into it.

We’re very confident about our approach and philosophy being accepted by the market – our growth is always ahead of the market, so we must be doing something right!

Zetes
Tel: 01344 290000
www.zetes.com

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