Kar-Info shows the Smart way to do business

The innovative work of Kar-Info Computer Engineering Co has made the daily lives of Hong Kong people easier with the firm targeting Smart Card technology at as many consumer and management fields as possible.

Kar-Info is the recipient of a CMA Machinery and Equipment Design Award for expanding its Smart Card Human Resources Management System into payroll management, security systems, industrial management, inventory and document management.

Established in 1994 as a research and design firm aimed at producing software management systems compatible with the Smart Card, Kar- Info now employs 150 staff.

According to market and sales manager Raymond Chan, two-thirds of those workers are engaged in software engineering. The team of top- flight engineers, researchers and designers developed the Smart Card Management System (SMS) after nearly two years of work.

Mr Chan said Kar-Info engineers began SMS development in 1995, aiming to create a software package capable of working with Smart Card technology for use across a wide range of management, manufacturing, clerical and consumer data collection applications.

The key to the program and the cards popularity was based on SMS's ability to collect real- time data for management analysis, he said. The program allowed numerous companies across the region to increase the efficiency of their data collection and management, keeping tighter controls on staff, inventory and budgets.