Styx Logistics Leverages RFID Chip to Track Bodies from Removal to Cremation
As funeral home margins have slipped from around 15% a decade ago to below 7% today, funeral directors can't afford to manage low-cost offerings like direct cremations. They need to focus their time and attention on high-margin funerals instead. But increasingly, consumers are moving away from expensive funerals to lower-cost cremations. Today, 58% of Americans are choosing cremation and, in some states, the cremation rate is greater than 80%. (Source: NFDA & CANA)
According to Styx Logistics CTO Penny Goodwill, while most funeral homes already have a rudimentary website encouraging customers to call or come in, they rarely have an eCommerce capability. “For a small processing fee of one to two percent, Styx transforms static informational funeral home websites into profit centers,” says Goodwill.
Already being used by dozens of funeral homes, the addition of the Digital Toe Tag (RFID chip) to the Styx Logistics platform only enhances the offering. According to Cremstar of PA funeral director Michael Krause, "Styx is the 'secret sauce' behind what we do at Cremstar. Customers order and pay directly online, usually without even calling us. Plus, all the information they input is automatically entered into the required documents. The Styx apps don’t just help me manage our dispatches and keep an eye on our drivers. They also let me edit and regenerate key documents right there on my phone, no matter where I am, in the office or on the road. Cost savings and convenience. Styx has completely revolutionized my business.”
Marcus Richardson, Manager of Haven Memorial Crematory of Chester, Pennsylvania, agrees. “With a tap of the Styx Crematory app, we can inform the funeral director that the cremation has happened, while automatically emailing customers that it’s time to come by for their ashes. By integrating the Styx Digital Toe Tag into the process, we’re not just improving customer service. We’re adding an extra layer of ID security beyond our cremation medallions, thereby enhancing our legal protections.”
The Styx Logistics Digital Toe Tag will now be rolled out throughout the Styx Network, with funeral homes located throughout New Jersey and Pennsylvania, concludes Goodwill.
RFID Defined
Radio-frequency identification (RFID) uses electromagnetic fields to automatically identify and track tags attached to objects, in this case the deceased. An RFID system consists of a tiny radio transponder, a radio receiver and transmitter. When triggered by an electromagnetic interrogation pulse from a nearby RFID reader device (the Styx Driver app), the tag transmits digital data back to the reader. Styx only transmits a unique ID number. This number is recognized by the Styx Driver app, which automatically alerts the funeral director that the tag has been activated and placed on the decedent. At no time is any personal information ever placed on the tag, in deference to the customer's privacy and HIPAA regulations. Once the decedent arrives at the funeral home or crematory, intake occurs when the tag is read, and the information also matches the physical IDs on the body bag. Crematories have the option to remove the tag and return it with the decedent's crematory medallion or, due to its low cost, the tag can be destroyed in the retort.
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Sylvana Joseph
Styx Logistics
+1 267-888-8015
jsylvanita@gmail.com
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