Intermec and METRO Group Achieve 99 Percent RFID Pallet Tag Read Rates at METRO Group Distribution Centre

METRO Group, the world's third-largest retailer and an RFID pioneer, and Intermec Technologies Corp. has announced the successful completion of implementation of RFID readers and tags at METRO Group's largest and busiest distribution centre in Germany. Located in Unna, Germany, the distribution centre is equipped with Intermec IF5 Intelligent RFID readers and RFID tags powered by Intermec. With more than 50,000 pallets read to date, METRO is enjoying 99% tag read-rates, as well as complete compliance with ETSI radio standards for operation in Europe.

"Intermec understands RFID and has been an integral partner in our full-scale RFID rollout," said Dr. Gerd Wolfram, executive project manager of the METRO Group Future Store Initiative. "With the strong read rates and system performance we've seen from our Intermec hardware, METRO Group is proving the efficiency and accuracy that RFID promises for retailers."

The partnership builds on Intermec's RFID system participation in the METRO Group Future Store Initiative, METRO's Innovation Centre and the full-scale METRO RFID rollout that began in November 2004.

"METRO Group's commitment to RFID demonstrates how emerging technologies can benefit retailing operations from inventory to point of sale," said Intermec President Tom Miller. "As a partner in the largest-scale RFID retail roll-out the market has seen, Intermec is committed to helping METRO Group demonstrate the bottom-line business benefits RFID provides."

Areas of profitability improvement from supply chain RFID include: reduced shrink and loss of inventory, reduced out-of-stock conditions at store level, more efficient transportation and logistics, reduced inventory and lower labour costs associated with receiving.

RFID is a complement to industry's current bar code-based tracking systems, allowing companies to automatically track inventory throughout an entire supply chain. RFID automatic data collection typically does not require line of sight or manual scanning as do most bar code-based systems. Intermec Intellitag RFID offers feature-rich UHF Generation 2 technology with user-requested capabilities found nowhere else. Intermec Intellitag systems are ETSI-approved for use in Europe and are completely compatible with ISO standards for true global supply chain operation.

With the broadest selection of RFID equipment and services, including installation and implementation, Intermec's Intellitag Generation 2 read/write RFID systems provide new levels of up-to-date information for improved decision-making.

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