Motorola Enterprise Mobility Solution Proves Fruitful for Sunsweet Growers

Mobile computers, bar code scanners and wireless infrastructure help streamline processes, improve inventory efficiency and reduce costs

HOLTSVILLE, N.Y., – June 2008 – The Enterprise Mobility business of Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT) and RedLine Solutions, Inc., a systems integrator and Motorola Business partner, specializing in bar code, radio frequency (RF) and advanced data capture systems, today announced Sunsweet Growers, Inc. has deployed an end-to-end Motorola enterprise mobility solution at its 23-acre, Yuba City, Calif., headquarters. Sunsweet, the world’s largest handler of dried tree fruits, worked with RedLine Solutions’ integration team to deploy Motorola’s rugged MC9090 mobile computers, VC5090 vehicle-mounted mobile computers, LS3408ER scanners, WS5100 wireless switches and AP300 access ports to help increase inventory efficiency and labor savings, reduce truck-load time and improve visibility into real-time production.

“The Motorola implementation quickly improved our visibility into real-time production,” said Harold Upton, vice president of strategic business processes, Sunsweet Growers. “We’ve shifted our production reporting from the end of the shift to track product as it comes off the line. Our managers now have greater visibility into how well individual lines are producing on a daily basis, and we have increased our shipping efficiency.”

Sunsweet was tracking finished goods in quantity, but not by storage location in its warehouse, which created inventory discrepancies and inefficiencies in finding and pulling products for shipment. It had already deployed SAP ERP inventory management solutions to replace legacy systems and plans to expand the solution to include the SAP warehouse management module. Sunsweet selected Motorola’s enterprise mobility solution for its warehouse based on the proven reliability, flexibility and durability of its products and Motorola’s relationship with SAP.

Sunsweet deployed an end-to-end Motorola wireless environment implemented by RedLine Solutions to check inventory, perform cycle counts and check problems. Forty Motorola wireless access points and both a primary and a redundant wireless switch have been installed, as well as Motorola’s LS3408ER extended range bar code scanner, which has enabled fork lift drivers to reliably scan pallets from as close as four inches and as far away as 45 feet. Sunsweet had a project objective of 10-percent labor savings, which has already been achieved.

“The combination of Motorola’s wireless infrastructure and rugged mobile computers with RedLine’s expertise in deployment and implementations provide enterprise customers with a reliable and cost-efficient mobility solution,” said Jerry McNerney, senior director of transportation, distribution & logistics solutions group, Motorola’s Enterprise Mobility business. “With industry-leading products, Motorola continues to help companies like Sunsweet streamline processes, improve operational efficiencies and reduce labor costs.”

As a result of the success experienced by the Yuba City warehouse, Sunsweet is currently working with RedLine to expand the same Motorola wireless infrastructure to its Fleetwood, Pa., warehouse. Sunsweet has also increased the benefits of the Motorola wireless infrastructure by using it as the backbone for wireless laptops, establishing virtual LANs and isolating office traffic from warehouse traffic for security and routing purposes. RedLine Solutions is involved with all stages of the wireless solution implementation; from equipment recommendation and selection, through site surveys, device staging, test and physical installation.

“RedLine’s depth of expertise in implementation efficiency and security, combined with the robust performance and reliability of Motorola’s wireless infrastructure, bar code scanners and mobile computers, provides customers like Sunsweet with unparalleled solutions that increase productivity while improving the bottom line,” said Todd Baggett, CEO of RedLine Solutions, Inc. “If companies are questioning whether or not their business could benefit from deploying a wireless infrastructure, they need not look any further than Sunsweet for an answer.”
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