RFID Art Tracking for Instant Inventory
When we talk about inventory we are not only talking about items in a warehouse, factories , here we are also talking about high-end inventory assets such as valuable work of art that require constant monitoring. Till date, cameras have been used in galleries and storehouses but they do not see all and cannot report what is on hand or if it is being tampered with.
SPT’s rfid art tracking application can work with your camera encompassing true real-time asset management and the inbuilt theft deterrent system. When we are talking about valuable works of art a strict inventory can greatly reduce or even eliminate any sort of theft and fraud. With our system in place, artwork and other high valued assets are constantly monitored whether on display in the gallery, stored in a storeroom, are transferred offsite or sold. If any of the above happens the authorities will quickly be alerted for any tampering of the assets.
Active RFID and Barcodes for Art Tracking
Of every piece of art received in the warehouse, specific details are entered into a database and assigned to a RFID tag with a pre-encoded number. The tag is attached to the artwork with a Velcro strip which ensures the tag is not hampered when the art pieces are moved. Every Velcro strip is embedded with a magnet that works in conjunction with an internal magnetic switch. The tag’s memory records all that takes place in the gallery or storehouse. It records everything from the time the tag is removed; magnetic seal or switch is broken, it stores all traceable history of the sale or transport of the art piece to another gallery.
Each piece of art is assigned a barcode that is assigned a tag which records everything in the back-end. We install antennae’s throughout the gallery that ensure the web-based inventory is recorded every ten minutes, six times providing multiple users within and outside the gallery extremely accurate inventory data. Another benefit here is that gallery managers can now request art pieces for their customers from other galleries as they have the position of all the pieces within the company’s various locations. All this can be done within a ten minute period of accuracy as our state of the art inventory software enables the user to run automated counts at any moment.
“We used to take inventory once a month —though, in reality, it was more like each quarter or semi- annually,” Sutton says. “And there was a high error rate between what the database said was in each store and what was actually there.” “Now that Silent Partner Technologies developed an art tracking system for The French Art Network that uses active RFID tags and interrogators, our inventory is constantly up to date, while also helping to protect the items from thieves.”
– Jack Sutton, Owner of the French Art Network
Theft Deterrence System
Art pieces are frequently bought and sold by art lovers, and the art inventory software is perfect when it comes to theft deterrence. Once the art piece is purchased the employee scans the barcode and the RFID tag is removed, the rfid art tracking software at once identifies the tag piece. How our system saves a theft, well if the tag is removed and the barcode is not scanned the software will trigger an alert sending an email to the gallery manager. The manager can then at once search for the artwork based on its last known location just minutes before and will know whether it’s an unauthorized removal or whether the piece has been sold. The rfid tags art tracking software immediately sends an alert when a tag is removed from one piece of art and attached to another, low-cost piece in an attempt to purchase the lower piece.
Choose the rfid art tracking as it’s time to be aware, and save the priceless artwork from reaching the wrong hands.