The Paris-based company says that US supply and construction company Graniterock Corp is now using its Business Objects' software to manage a flood of RFID data coming from its business. Graniterock transports aggregates (rock, sand, asphalt and gravel) in Northern California and has recently implemented RFID tagging technology to improve its operational performance. The company uses RFID tags to track inventory and supply movements - like the arrival and departure status of truck deliveries, truck weights, project assignments, etc - from various loading locations. Business Objects comes into play by serving out operational reports in real-time on truck activity, allowing managers to assess and optimize the cost structures of Graniterock's loading operations. "It's a great illustration of RFID and operational business intelligence," said Pat Morrissey, Business Objects' marketing director for enterprise performance management. "By bringing their RFID capability online companies created an information explosion which in turn has shortened time cycles of when information is needed." Morrissey said that while many other Business Objects have also embraced RFID - particularly those in defense, supply chain and retail - their data management projects are not visible publicly. "We've found that companies are loathe to detail their RFID implementations lest they give away competitive advantage." Morrissey added it was unlikely that Business Objects would come out with a specific RFID-branded product in the near-term at least. "We're less inclined to be specialized at this stage. For now we're looking at RFID as just another source of data that intersects with the wider operational business intelligence space." Watsonville, California-based Graniterock says it is a "lifelong Business Objects" customer and also uses its software for balanced scorecard initiatives, its statistical process control reporting, and logistical management reports for customers. While the size of Graniterock's Business Objects deployment might not be significant, its focus on RFID data is. "Graniterock's implementation shows that RFID isn't just a big kids only game...its helping organizations of all sizes," Morrissey said. Its fair to say that while developments on the hardware side of RFID technology have moved on at a fair clip, software applications for managing and analyzing RFID data have been slow to emerge. "RFID is in its infancy, and many companies are just now understanding the value of using BI...[but] we expect many companies to follow Graniterock's lead." said Lance Walter, vice president of product marketing at Business Objects. Other analytic vendors - like SAS Institute Inc and Teradata - are tentatively adding RFID to their agendas to open up new opportunities to analyze sequential behavior in real-time and drive greater efficiencies across operational, retail and supply chains.