METRO Group Selects Intermec to Provide RFID Systems for New RFID Innovation Centre

METRO Group, one of the worlds largest retail groups, has selected Intermec Technologies to provide a range of RFID (radio frequency identification) inventory tracking systems for its METRO Group Innovation Centre, which has opened in Neuss, Germany. The Innovation Centre is designed to give METRO Groups suppliers access to live RFID demonstrations, systems and products. Intermec is supplying RFID forklift, conveyor and dock door readers for the centre, as well as RFID-enabled mobile computers and printers.

The partnership builds on Intermec RFID participation in METRO Groups Future Store in Rheinberg, Germany, which demonstrates how emerging technologies can benefit retailing operations from inventory to point of sale. Intermec provides RFID case and pallet-level tracking capabilities to the Future Store.

Were pleased to be a part of METRO Groups continued commitment to RFID innovation, said Intermec President Tom Miller. At its new Innovation Centre, METRO Group is again demonstrating how retailers and retail suppliers can harness the powerful business benefits of RFID to make their supply chains even more responsive and productive. That increases business profitability and customer satisfaction.

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, less inventory and lower labour costs associated with receiving.

Verifying the business advantages of new technologies such as Intermecs RFID has vividly illustrated how retailers can increase system-wide efficiency and inventory accuracy while at the same time increasing profits, said Dr. Gerd Wolfram, executive project manager of the METRO Group Future Store Initiative.

An RFID pioneer, Intermec knows RFID. Its participation in this groundbreaking innovation environment is one way METRO Group is ensuring the suppliers receive accurate and essential information on how best to integrate RFID into their own supply chain systems.

RFID is a complement to industrys 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. For example, information from RFID-tagged cases on a pallet can be read automatically using fixed, mobile or handheld readers rather than requiring individual bar code scanning.