Presenting Praxis Consultants

Praxis Consultants is an independent business and technology consulting firm, established since 1980. We specialise in bar code, the integration of radio frequency identification (RFID) into open systems applications, and advising on other Automatic Identification and Data Capture (AIDC) technology.

We provide advice, information and educational services. Praxis Consultants has a particular expertise in AIDC standards development: industry application standards, data structuring and protocol standards, symbology specifications, technology standards in the domains of ISO, CEN and EAN.UCC and EPCglobal.

We have no marketing links with any equipment supplier and so can offer truly independent advice to our clients. The services are aimed not just at users of the technology, but have been of benefit to other management consultants and to companies within the auto ID industry itself.

Primary Expertise & Experience

Praxis Consultants has proven experience in serving the following sectors: air transportation, automotive, books, distilling, distribution, fresh produce, libraries, office products, paper, pharmaceuticals, recorded music, and retail. We have a continual record of advising global solution providers.

In recent years, Praxis Consultants has had direct involvement in:

RFID technology and Data Protocol standards.
RFID applications for air transportation, the automotive sector and library community.
Rationalising product code structures for various industries, including office products and fresh produce.
EAN.UCC fresh produce traceability guidelines.
RSS and Composite Symbology standardisation and applications.
Pharmaceutical bar code structures and production in a complex European market.

Advising on the AIDC Technologies

Praxis Consultants advises on standardisation of the technology itself: the ISO and CEN standardisation process, preparation of draft symbology and technology specifications, advice on EAN.UCC and EPCglobal developments, data communications and protocols that provide the vital link between applications and AIDC data carriers, electronic business technologies. This type of advice can address the needs of industry bodies or individual companies, whether they are users or suppliers of AIDC technology.

Advising Users

We have 28 years experience in serving European industry bodies developing AIDC application standards. Praxis Consultants has advised more than a dozen industry bodies on the successful adoption of the technology as diverse as books, magazines and records, rolls of paper and even casks of whisky. We also advise individual companies on strategic aspects of the technologies.

Keeping at the Leading Edge

Since 1980, our policy has been for Praxis Consultants to remain at the leading edge of developments in the technology. We do this by actively participating in standards developments and working with leading vendors and users. Our knowledge of technological developments, AIDC products, standards and applications is continually updated and utilised by our clients. We supplement the technological expertise with our broad-based management background particularly in the area of change resulting from the impact of technology. We have an extensive reference library of published, and our own, material covering this technology to satisfy the need for an independent source for this specialised information.

Visiting Professorship

In May 2003 Paul Chartier, Principal Praxis Consultants, was appointed Visiting Professor of the technology innovation centre, a subsidiary of the University of Central England. In this role he contributed towards establishing a body of knowledge related to Automatic Identification and Data Capture, for it to be disseminated through research papers.