The implementation for Metro’s high-end Galeria Kaufhof department store in Essen, Germany was the first to demonstrate RFID applications integrated from the distribution center to retail shelves and cashier checkout stations, on an item-level basis, said the vendors.
The store used RFID based on Gen 2, the global RFID tech standard, for various functions, including: inbound goods receipt; back room real-time inventory management; and tracking real-time sales floor inventory using fixed and handheld RFID readers.
The business benefit to us as retailers is that an end-to-end RFID infrastructure at the item level can fill the data void that exists between products being received and products being sold, said Christian Plenge, head of IT research at Metro. We can now see products also in those steps of our process chain which so far weren’t illuminated by the inventory management system.
The project also included a smart mirror that showed complementary clothing choices or accessories; smart shelves with monitors indicating available garment size and style choices; in-aisle product information triggered by scanning items; and RFID-enabled point-of-sale terminals for checkout.
RFID was used throughout the supply chain of goods, beginning in the retailer’s warehouse, where tagged goods were read and recorded by Checkpoint Systems’ RFID/UHF hanging conveyor and packing table antennas, as well as Checkpoint UHF dock-door portals. Once at the retail store, garments were tracked using Checkpoint portals in the receiving area and stock room.
Impinj Speedway readers were used for all in-store fixed read points, and Impinj Monza tag chips powered all tags used in the store. Impinj near-field UHF RFID reader antennas were used in the smart shelves and Impinj point-of-sale displays were used at all sale terminals.
For its part, Reva Systems enabled centralized management capabilities for the store’s RFID operations with its Tag Acquisition Processor network infrastructure product. It acted as a central control for the distributed RFID components including roughly 60 fixed and handheld readers from different vendors. It also combined the RFID system with multiple applications and back-office systems.
The retailer had been using RFID in logistics and warehouse pilots since 2003.
