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Blue Vector Systems

Company: Blue Vector Systems, Palo Alto, CA
Company Description: Blue Vector’s rapidly deployable automation platform puts RFID, barcode, temperature, GPS and motion sensors to work for businesses in the pharmaceutical, retail, distribution and manufacturing industries. As a standalone solution or as an adjunct to current enterprise applications, Blue Vector is the trusted choice of industry leaders who are revolutionizing their operations.
Nomination Category: Company/Organization Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Best Overall Company of the Year - Non-Services Businesses – Up To 100 Employees

Nomination Title: Blue Vector – True plug-and-play network appliances

  • Describe for the judges the activities and accomplishments of the nominated company
    during the eligibility period (up to 500 words):

    2006 was a year of dramatic growth for Blue Vector in the RFID space.  Not only 
    did they post record revenue, but they entered new markets including
    pharmaceuticals, consumer goods, grocery, and third-party logistics firms. Also
    key to the growth was the continued expansion of existing customer deployments
    throughout the year.

    When customers expand their Blue Vector deployments to additional sites within
    their business, the true strength of the product is fully achieved. A company may
    have started with the RFID system in one area, such as the shipping docks, and
    now they have systems in receiving and the warehouse as well. A “closed loop”
    application is one in which a company doesn’t look outside of its own operations
    for either tag application or a business case.

    With a completely internal business justification to deploy an RFID
    system, “closed loop” systems improve a company’s own level of service to
    customers or the efficiency of their own operations. Examples include 100%
    shipment accuracy or asset tracking across many supply chain locations, both
    applications that are very well matched with RFID because they need to happen
    automatically without any human intervention (which is frequently part of the
    problem) and they may need to happen in many places at once, a situation in
    which a human solution is not possible or economical. Rather than have a
    representative count items at a customer site, Blue Vector makes it easy enough
    for a business to install $5,000 worth of equipment that will automatically and
    instantly update the central management systems over the network, saving time,
    money and a lot of headaches.

    Blue Vector continued to extend its presence in the pharmaceutical industry,
    introducing a dual-frequency RFID conveyor tunnel with the ability to read HF-
    tagged items within UHF-tagged totes and containers. Following the introduction
    earlier in the year of its dual-frequency Safe and Secure Smart Cabinets for drug
    storage and order picking, the Smart Conveyor Tunnel offering allows
    manufacturers, packagers, distributors and retailers to verify and authenticate the
    contents of totes and cases carrying individually tagged items. Dual tag standards
    are a requirement for the pharmaceutical supply chain, in which HF tags are
    historically the dominant standard. Cases and totes typically carry UHF tags.

    The core mission of Blue Vector is to make wireless sensor deployments as easy
    as possible. The true plug-and-play line of network appliances is capable of
    offering a complete, drop-in sensor solution that integrates well with existing
    software systems in supply chains.

  • List the URLs (web addresses) of any online news stories, press releases, or other documents that you would like the judges to see that support your entry. IMPORTANT: List each URL on a separate line, begin each URL with http://, and enclose each URL in square brackets. For example, [http://www.yourcompany.com/pressrelease.html]:

    http://www.bluevector.com/press_01_23_2007.aspx

  • Provide a brief biography of the person or persons who lead the nominated company (up to 100 words):

    Nancy Anderson, CEO
    Nancy Anderson joined Blue Vector in 2005. She has over thirty years of
    experience in high technology marketing and general management including
    thirteen years at Hewlett-Packard Company. At HP, Nancy was General Manager
    of the Computer Systems Division and previously General Manager of the
    Manufacturing Productivity Division which offered ERP solutions to HP’s largest
    customers. After HP, Nancy served as Chief Executive Officer of Pillar Corp., a
    venture-funded company offering enterprise software for financial planning and
    later was CEO of T.R.A.D.E., a venture-backed information company. Nancy holds a
    B.A. in math from the University of Texas.