• Unique one-stop-shop for Identification and Mobility Solutions to offer total coverage of Europe and Asia
• Collaboration offers proximity to customers with 36 local offices and over 1,000 professionals
• Easy roll out of Asian or European projects throughout the total supply chain, from manufacturing to retail and after sales services

As the marketplace becomes more and more global and supply chains stretch across continents more often than not, companies are often faced with the challenges of implementing solutions in a different part of the world. Although everyone in the professional world accepts this globalisation, most prefer doing business with contacts that are within reach, that can communicate in their own language and are accustomed to the local culture. Both Zetes and Schmidt have well understood that. Together they have 36 regional subsidiaries that are self-sufficient and enjoy further support from corporate and international competence centres. Zetes has a direct presence in 12 European markets and has 19 regional offices while Schmidt out of its Hong Kong headquarters, supports 17 regional operations across Asia of which 8 are based in the major provinces in China.

"When we talk to our customers in Retail, Logistics and Manufacturing, many now have interests in the Far East. Or it concerns physical manufacturing or they expand their retail activities to the new emerging markets like China," says Alain Wirtz, Group CEO of Zetes. "When they decide to implement certain solutions in Europe, inevitably expanding the solution to Asia comes up. As we are working for an ever-increasing number of multinational companies, the need to have ascertained them of solid service levels and roll-out possibilities into Asia grows as well. When we looked at the market in Asia, Schmidt was clearly identified as a leading system integrator. Soon it became clear that we are very much alike in many aspects; regional coverage with strong subsidiaries, drive for quality and customer satisfaction, a focus on practical innovations that are driven by the ROI they bring to the customers."

Klaus Festl, CEO of Schmidt says: "Our situation is very alike that of Zetes albeit reversed from an Asian perspective towards Europe. In Zetes we have found an able and similar experienced partner that applies the same business principles then we do. They are a clear market leader in the system integration industry in Europe as we are in Asia. Our drive to provide our customers with solutions that streamline their manufacturing and logistics processes is identical and we both put in a continuous effort to bring innovations to our respective customer bases. The prospect of offering them a single point of contact for both Europe and Asia brings both companies to a different level in the market. "
The Schmidt /Zetes partnership opens up new possibilities for companies operating in Asia and Europe. At this point, no one else can offer the same local presence and expertise in offering solutions based on integrating technologies such as RFID, voice recognition, (2D-) barcode, mobile computing and wireless.

About Zetes
ZETES INDUSTRIES is a leading pan-European company in the value-added solutions and services industry for Automatic Identification of Goods and People (Goods ID and People ID). Zetes uses both emerging and mature technologies (barcode, voice recognition, RFID, smartcards, biometrics), and develops Solution Architecture Frameworks to optimize the business performance of many customers in many market segments: manufacturing, transportation, logistics, retail, healthcare, finance, telecommunication, government and public services. The Zetes group has its headquarters in Brussels, with subsidiaries in Belgium, Germany, France, Ireland, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland and the UK. Zetes currently employs more than 700 employees and generated consolidated revenues of €177 million in 2007. More info: www.zetes.com.

About Schmidt
Established in 1953, Schmidt & Co., (Hong Kong) Limited has since built a prestigious reputation in Asia as a value-added supply channel partner for world-class technology vendors and as a provider of proprietary products, integrated solutions and customised services in data capturing and information management. Headquartered in Hong Kong, the company operates in 17 regional offices across Asia, including key cities in China, India, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. Schmidt "makes life simple" by bringing together Automatic Identification and Data Capturing, RFID and wireless technologies, facilitating the creation of real-time data infrastructure and leveraging technologies in new ways to drive growth, reduce costs, and improve people's work and life efficiencies. More Info: www.schmidt.com.hk.

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