The London Ambulance Service is a National Health Service trust that is responsible for answering and responding to medical emergencies in Greater London, with over 4,500 staff at its disposal. It is one of the busiest ambulance services in the world, and the busiest in the United Kingdom, serving more than 7 million people that live and work in London. The London Ambulance Service responds to over 1.5 million calls for assistance every year.
With a network of stores and vehicles carrying stock of essential life saving consumables, London Ambulance service were looking for a unique solution to give them live data and analytics and ensure timely replenishment of depleted products.
By implementing a stock control infrastructure at the central stores and each radial location and inventory control on the distribution network vehicles, Global Auto ID Ltd were able to roll out a turnkey solution which capitalised on the existing physical assets of the Service and optimised the old manual data handling process.
The complete solution was built using industry leading hardware by Unitech and Bixolon and software solutions by Global Auto ID Ltd and Seagull Scientific. The Unitech PA690/692 was selected for it's superb scanning capabilities and rugged design. With an IP65 rated durable housing and 1D and 2D scanning, as well as RFID read and write capabilities, this is the ideal rugged handheld solution for a mobile workforce.
Labelling all of the stores and vehicles using the Bixolon TX420 Thermal Transfer desktop printer and Bartender Professional, software along with custom synthetic labels and resin ribbons from Global Auto ID Ltd, gives London Ambulance Service flexibility on the set up of new stores and new stock units as well as giving them full ownership of the labelling solution and the ability to easily manage rapid changes.
Cleverly future-proofing the system with the use of HF RFID technology alongside a 2D barcode imager, this robust solution is going to ensure the timely arrival of mission critical supplies to the entire London paramedic network for the foreseeable future.
