Marks & Spencer RFID Pilot

Marks & Spencer continues to pilot RFID across a range of clothing and a higher amount of stores. ...

... "M&S is quick to point out that the only purpose in using RFID is for improving its stock-taking process. The RFID tags are not scanned at the checkout, nor is any link made between the garment information held by the tag and the customer's details ... " ...

Via Computerworld, Australia: Marks & Spencer RFID trial

RFID Tag: Pivacy Clipping ...

Clipping of RFID tag at checkout protects privacy. ...

... "One retail deployment of RFID illustrates a privacy sensitive approach. Marks & Spencer enclosed the RFID device in a tag attached to the product. At the cash register, customers were given the option of clipping off the tag. Despite not having the tag, the return policy remains the same for all customers. " ...

RFID Tag: Pivacy Clipping: Via Berkeley: To Tag or Not to Tag

RFID Marks and Spencer Trial ...

Marks and Spencer continues its progress in trial of RFID technology. ...

... "Marks and Spencer is extending its trial of item-level passive RFID tags, called the Intelligent Label Project. " ...

Via CIE: Components in Electronics: M&S extends RFID trial ...

Marks and Spencer goes to market with a disposable RFID intelligent label. ...

... "Marks & Spencer is trialling RFID within the supply chain as the next generation of barcode. In that application, RFID uses tags (a tag is a microchip combined with an antenna) to wirelessly transmit product item numbers. These item numbers are unique to each product (unlike barcodes, which only unique to the product type). The tags developed for the garment trial are contained within throwaway paper labels called Intelligent Labels. The RFID tags can be read over a short distance by a remote scanner. Traditional optical scanners, used with barcodes, require each barcode to be held a few centimetres from the scanner: with RFID Marks & Spencer is trialling scanners that can operate at a distance of up to approximately half a metre. The scanner can read the tags simultaneously, and at speed, allowing regular updating of stock information. " ...

RFID Marks and Spencer Trial: Via Marks & Spencer: BACKGROUND TO MARKS & SPENCER'S BUSINESS TRIAL OF RFID IN ITS CLOTHING SUPPLY CHAIN ...

M&S meets with success and extends the trial to more stores and increases functional capability to leverage RFID technology in prevention of stock-outs. ...

Marks & Spencer: Marks & Spencer's business trial of RFID in its clothing supply chain: "Marks & Spencer is trialling Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) within its supply chain as the next generation barcode. We are using technology responsibly to give a better service to our customers through improved product availability. During 2004 an item level RFID trial on men's suits was conducted across nine stores. From Spring 2006, the number of stores participating in the trial will extend from nine to 53. Product availability is a key issue for customers, the extension of this trial will help us to investigate the potential of RFID further. "

Marks & Spencer: MARKS & SPENCER DEVELOPS INTELLIGENT CLOTHING: "Marks & Spencer is the largest retailer of clothing in the U.K and has pioneered many innovations in technology, such as Lycra and the machine Washable Suit. RFID tagging of garments will be one of the earliest applications of this technology in the world. Marks & Spencer has won a funding package from the Department of Trade & Industry to help develop this project. The DTI chose Marks & Spencer to develop RFID in retailing because it sells only own brand products and has an integrated supply chain, which will allow broad and deep research. RFID tags in clothing labels will hold information on a microchip, which will give each garment a unique serial number. This will enable Marks & Spencer to manage its stock more effectively in stores and throughout its distribution chain. When the RFID tag is scanned the information is stored in a database giving Marks & Spencer a complete overview of stock management. "

Item Level RFID Tagging: Microsoft RFID ...

Item Level RFID Tagging: BT and Microsoft to Deliver Pioneering Implementation of Item-Level RFID Tagging: The two companies are jointly working on an RFID trial.

... "BT and Microsoft Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) announced today that they will be working together to provide an RFID managed service to the retail sector. The new offering combines BT's RFID data management and systems integration expertise with Microsoft's proven experience in data capture and analysis to make it easier for European retailers and their suppliers to adopt item-level RFID technology for pilots or full-scale rollouts. The first customer to take up this managed service is Marks & Spencer. In February 2005, BT was selected by Marks & Spencer as the main contractor to extend the RFID trial in its clothing supply chain. " ...

The Microsoft Smarter Retailing Initiative helps retailers win today by leveraging current investments, and win tomorrow by easing delivery of new retail experiences. Consisting of Smarter Shopping, Smarter Selling and Smarter Operations, the Smarter Retailing Initiative is designed to close the loop between the retailer's strategy, the in-store execution and familiar technologies already in the consumer's hands.

BT Auto-ID Services is a market leader in the provision of complete, scalable and affordable Automatic Identification solutions including RFID and barcoding. As part of the BT Retail business, it combines the resources of a large corporation with the agility and flexible approach of a new technology start-up. The BT Auto-ID Platform managed service is helping customers manage inventory control, increase sales, provide electronic proof of delivery, and comply with mandatory track, trace and authenticate requirements throughout the supply chain.

European RFID Conference in October 2005 ...

European RFID Conference in October 2005: RFID Journal Announces European Executive Conference

RFID Journal schedules its European RFID COnference for this October ...

From PR Newswire (press release) ... First RFID Journal LIVE! Europe to be Held 11-12 October ... RFID Journal LIVE! Europe will ...

... RFID Journal announced today it will hold its first European executive conference 11 to 12 October 2005 at the Hotel Okura Amsterdam, The Netherlands. RFID Journal LIVE! Europe will feature executive presentations from early adopters across Europe including Marks & Spencer, Metro and Tesco, and will be lead by RFID Journal founder, editor and global RFID expert Mark Roberti. ...

RFID Journal is the only independent media company devoted solely to radio frequency identification and its many business applications. Our mission is to be the ultimate resource for businesspeople that need to understand how RFID can help their companies boost supply chain efficiencies, reduce inventories, limit theft, improve product availability and add convenience for consumers. RFID Journal serves the needs of businesspeople looking to take advantage of RFID technologies with timely news, strategic analysis, networking opportunities at events and in-depth education.

Wireless World: Shopping with nano-tags

From Interest! Alert High Tech News, Mar 19, 2004 ... CHICAGO March 19 UPI A man takes a shirt off the rack at Marks Spencer the upscale retailer in London and goes to the clerk at the cash register to pay for it. Before he has even reached the check-out a tiny chip called a radio frequency identification or RFID encased in the price tag on the item has signaled the store's wireless network ...

Attended Zebra Technologies Webinar presentation today...

Here are the summary notes:

Zebra Technology: RFID Webinar, February 24, 2004 --- Webinar title: An Introduction to RFID and EPC: Streamlining Your Supply Chain

RFID is like a "wireless barcode". How it works = tag, antenna, reader, computer. Advantages of RFID: No line of sight, read through non-metallic objects, Fast = less than 1 millisecond to read, Data is carried in a tag. Is RFID technology ready for prime-time = Yes... 200 million rfid tags are in-use in automotive field. Mobil Speedpass is in-use with near 10 million customers. RFID provides simultaneous identification. RFID inlays combine a tag and antenna in thin form into an RFID smart label. Visual identification only with traditional product label. Bar code adds encoded data label. Smart label includes above, with an RFID inlay within the label form factor.

Opportunity for industry is in billions of dollars in supply chain inefficiencies. 100 sponsors came together with the MIT Auto-id Center to sponsor open standards definitions in the RFID space. Work has transitioned from MIT to the EPCGlobal organization. Metro, Walmart, and DOD are piloting RFID technology. Data capture touch-points exist throughout the supply chain, in manufacturing, distribution, retail, etc. Every touch point costs money in effort and time. RFID eliminates touches and saves time, which translates into money, increased supply chain velocity.

Marks and Spencer pilots have shown dramatic increase in business process performance. Walmart has shown leadership and strong commitment to RFID technology as a game-changing, disruptive strategy. They plan to drive change through their scale. Metro AG, Germany's biggest retailer, is aggressively implementing RFID with suppliers, similar to Walmart. The US Department of Defense is embarking on the same journey. The DOD space is more complex that retail value chain.

Zebra's RFID Solutions: Leadership in the bar code, card imaging, mobile printing, and RFID smart label space. Have 3 million printers in place worldwide. Zebra's RFID strategy: Zebra adds RFID to the on-demand printer. Combines human readable, bar code, and RFID into one converged form factor. Leads the market with 13.56 Mhz and UHF RFID products. UHF products support multi-protocols. Zebra revenues are over $500MM.

Zebra has working RFID printers today and a strong product roadmap. Zebra Alchemy innovation is targeted to optimize the total cost of creating smart labels on-demand at the point of application - these touch-points they have described. Zebra continues to innovate and invest in RFID technology. Are you ready for RFID? You need to consider these questions: What is the business problem. Why use RFID over bar codes. What is the business benefit. What standards should you leverage. What is the scope of your RFID opportunity. Do you want to implement RFID globally. Have you assessed the impact of RFID data on your information systems and infrastructure.