Andreas Löffler

Analysis of the applicability of RFID & wireless sensors to manufacturing and distribution lines trough a testing multi-platform

The increasing number of product references involved in production and distribution lines, implies an added complexity for the management and control systems of companies. Moreover, customers are increasingly in favour of the use of new technology when placing their orders, such as on-line booking and purchasing, and their requirements are increasingly greater. Customers, as well as companies, are demanding updated information on the condition and location of their ordered products during fabrication and transportation phases. This paper proposes an analysis of the applicability of accessing information in real-time related to a products condition along the manufacturing and supply chain, by means of the integration of RFID systems with sensors and wireless networks. To achieve this purpose a multi-service controller board has been designed into which specific operation modules are plugged. The modules are active or passive RFID readers, modules with sensors or actuators, or modules for data storage. Furthermore, some other communication modules have also been developed offering WLAN, ZigBee or GPRS networks. Using these solutions, companies will have a more reliable and faster access to information in different areas of manufacturing and logistics. Their ease of implantation and reliability makes the use of the systems analysed here, an ideal solution for companies who wish to monitor over their manufacturing and distribution lines more easily. In addition, when all this technology works together, new functions and applications appear with interesting results for the different case studies.

GIDS - A system for combining RFID-based site information and web-based data for virtually displaying the location on handheld devices

This paper describes an application that uses RFID information to display location-based coordinates on a map. An RFID transponder containing the coordinates of the transponders position as well as optional information, e.g. about the location, building, neighborhood, is read out by a specially developed RFID reader. The reader processes the information and forwards it to a handheld device, which is wireless connected to a database/intranet or the Internet. In a first step this handheld device is a Tablet PC running a software application, which processes the data received from the transponder and maps the transponders position on a graphical output. The graphical output is based on the Google Maps environment and implemented in a web browser plugin. For this purpose, the software application uses specific scripts (implemented in JavaScript), which generate standard and custom maps based on the Google Maps API.

DEFAULT TRIGGERS: DOES A LIQUIDITYBASED DEFAULT IMPLY OVER-INDEBTEDNESS AND VICE VERSA?

Illiquidity and over-indebtedness are common triggers of insolvency. In a discounted cash flow (DCF) framework we examine the relationship between these two triggers to verify whether these triggers are likely to coincide or whether one drives the other. We show in our analytical investigation that over-indebtedness necessarily implies danger of illiquidity at some future date. For three specific financing policies we provide sufficient and where possible, necessary conditions for the occurrence of both triggers.

Mehr Fragen als Antworten im Zusammenhang mit Steuervorteilen bei der Unternehmensbewertung

Fragen der Unternehmensbewertung werden in der betriebswirtschaftlichen Fachliteratur mit zunehmender Intensitat diskutiert. Allein im deutschsprachigen Raum sind seit Beginn des neuen Jahrhunderts nach unserer Zahlung mehr als 150 Beitrage erschienen. Dabei spielt die Auseinandersetzung mit den so genannten DCF-Verfahren eine besondere Rolle. Es scheint so zu sein, dass das Konzept des discounted cash flow das in Deutschland tradierte Ertragswertverfahren nicht nur bei den Investmentbankern ablost.1 Selbst das Institut der Wirtschaftsprufer in Deutschland hat sich dazu durchgerungen, dem Berufsstand die DCF-Verfahren als einen Ansatz zu empfehlen, dem dieselbe Berechtigung gebuhrt wie dem Ertragswertverfahren.2