Feeling At Home In The Cable Industry

It hasn't been an easy road to travel, but Mintek Bar-Code Technologies, Inc. has become a leading integrator of bar code systems for the telephony and cable industry. "Simply stated," says Jim Hutton, company president, "we provide WinTrack SETS (Subscriber Equipment Training System), a turnkey solution that tracks cable boxes (also known as converters). This solution seriously affects the bottom line for all cable companies. They lose track of these converters and have no way to track them.

"When we entered the vertical market," Hutton continues, "the industry was losing about $350 million a year in equipment. It was like a black hole. At that time, converters cost about $100 each. Today, new digital converters can cost up to $500, so keeping track of this inventory is more critical than ever. We have provided custom solutions for four years."

Hutton says his company has no competition providing turnkey solutions because tracking cable converters was a tough job that nobody wanted to tackle. "It took a long time to get to where we are now. Deals with cable companies don't happen in a few weeks."

Tuning Into The Cable Market
Mintek started out in 1987 by providing bar code solutions for the Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG). "We dealt with an application specific to the automotive industry," Hutton says. "Quite frankly, we were happy to get our hands on any customers when we were starting out.

"Our major objective was developing our WinTrack suite of software solutions," he continues. Software development has been the major transition for our company in the last seven years. We started out small, but now we can provide balanced systems. We can address entire data collection needs with custom, in-house solutions. We offer the full package - printers, software, scanners, terminals, and supplies. Our total solutions create our profile. I don't know many companies that can provide the complete service and products that we provide. At this point, they aren't competing with us at the same level of service."

Mintek's first contract in the cable industry was with Time Warner. "The company came along at a point when we had done enough installations that we were ready to begin working on a national basis. Time Warner worked with us until we provided a streamlined solution," Hutton describes. "From there, we perfected our solution through each installation. When our customers pose valid questions or point out problems with the application, we add these changes to our next version. The system is now, in many respects, bulletproof, if the customer uses the system correctly. We have completed about 200 installations. We have developed solid relationships with the major cable companies, so we know when there is a project that is begging for a solution. We do not have to spend much time generating leads because we're already working with the major players in the industry, and we're already knee-deep in work with these companies." Hutton will not disclose his company's annual sales, but states the company has enjoyed a consistent rate of sales growth during the last decade.

Paying Attention To The Smaller Guys
One interesting aspect of working in the cable industry is the need to provide solutions for large and small companies. "Cable companies are a lot like supermarkets," Hutton explains. "They come in a variety of sizes. We have to be sensitive to their sizes and know that one type of turnkey system will not work for everyone. For example, we are a radio frequency (RF)-certified Symbol Technologies partner. We know the benefits of radio frequency identification (RFID) in large cable companies. RFID allows real time tracking of multiple objects. A smaller cable company can operate easily with a less expensive batch bar code solution. That's not to say RF technology will never work on a smaller scale. We just have to find new ways of using the technology."

The Bar Code Basics
In a typical Mintek installation, cable equipment comes into a warehouse, and employees enter data specific to the piece of equipment, using a PC and Mintek's WinTrack software. A bar code is generated, usually from a Datamax thermal bar code printer, and placed on the piece of equipment. The bar code allows the equipment to be tracked throughout the warehouse. As bar-coded equipment is taken out of the warehouse, it is scanned, showing in the database that the equipment has been removed. "We can poll the systems at any time to determine where each piece of equipment is in the warehouse," Hutton explains.

Beyond Cable
While Mintek is most comfortable in the cable industry, the company has made a successful venture into the hospitality arena and plans to work its way into healthcare. WinTrack points and WinTrack locator can be used in these industries.

According to Hutton, both points and locator are designed around the Symbol 1500 and 1700 palm terminals. points is a security and facilities maintenance package. It can be used by security personnel to make sure specific areas are monitored or locations are checked on a regular basis.

Bar codes are placed at various points around a building or campus. Security officers or maintenance personnel can walk from point to point and scan bar codes, proving that they visited specific areas. The custom software records the time and date each time a bar code is scanned.

WinTrack locator, Mintek's asset tracking program, can be customized to track any asset, including documents, keys, tools, vehicles, and pagers - any item that contains a bar code. The custom software allows users to define their own reports and track asset movement, again with the Symbol handheld terminals.

As for the future of Mintek, Hutton's company will continue to explore the use of RF in the industry. Hutton also recognizes the Internet as an important vehicle. "We are using our Web site as a source for information, but we know we can do more with the page than what we are doing right now," he says. "We want to continue providing total solutions. Right now, we are trying to determine how we can use the Web to facilitate these solutions. Our future lies in our proprietary software and its attendant hardware. Having said that, we haven't determined how the Internet will help us distribute our WinTrack software suite. As our product line matures, we will investigate the VAR channel for business partners."

Questions about this article? E-mail the author at nancys@corrypub.com.