Nov/Dec 2003

As momentum builds behind moves to introduce RFID (radio frequency identification) tags to track product through the supply chain, more retailers have announced new schemes.

US supermarket giant Wal-Mart has already declared that it wants its top 100 suppliers to introduce RFID technology by the end of 2004. Now Tesco says it will start its RFID roll-out in non-food items in April 2004, and wants the technology fully implemented throughout its supply chain by 2007. It is working with Alien Technology, IBM, Integrated Product Intelligence and Intel.

Meanwhile, following completion of a four-week trial with UHF tracking of clothing items, Marks & Spencer has appointed Intellident sole supplier in a contract to design, develop and supply the RFID reading equipment and "chip based" label inlays for conversion by its main label contractor, Paxar Europe.

And logistics contractor Exel has launched an RFID trial for Selfridges, which focuses on the company's Hams Hall national distribution centre in the West Midlands. Exel is using RFID to track inbound and outbound movements of 120 food temperature-controlled containers in 20 vehicles.

M&S's partnership with Intellident is described by James Stafford, who heads the company's RFID initiatives, as representing "an unambiguous approach to the adoption of this exciting technology." The company's longer-term aim is to build a business case for use of RFID in their its merchandise operations.

M&S used two styles of tag-reading scanners - "portal" scanners at the distribution centre and the loading bay of the store, and a mobile scanner on the shop floor, with a handheld reader to scans shelves or hanging rails. Also involved in this trial were EM Microelectronics (Switzerland), IdealTag (France), and SAMSys (North America).

US-based consumer group Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering (Caspian), which has lobbied against RFID tags, is said to have welcomed Marks & Spencer's open approach to its trials.