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RFID News for 23 May 2006: Blue Vector, Intermec, Metro, Study: RFID Adopton "Modest"
TMCnet Contributing Editor
Metro Group, one of the world's largest retailers, has gone live with Intermec Inc. Gen 2 RFID (radio frequency identification) technology in its Cash & Carry wholesale stores throughout Germany.
As of the first of April, Metro suppliers have been able to ship tagged pallets with Gen 2 RFID technology.
Metro Cash & Carry, the market leader in self-service wholesale, is using a new Gen 2 RFID infrastructure that includes Intermec's Gen 2 IF5 UHF RFID reader coupled with IBM ( News - Alert) middleware. The Intermec RFID Gen 2 technology deployed in Metro Group's Cash & Carry stores creates a platform on which to build interoperable RFID products and systems that will track and trace pallets to ultimately improve inventory management.
The Gen 2 RFID partnership builds on Intermec's existing relationship with Metro Group.
…
According to the survey "RFID: How Far, How Fast?" sponsored by NCR Corporation and conducted by Retail Systems Alert Group, the adoption rate of RFID is moving at a modest pace. Many challenges, both technical and cultural, continue to impede the growth of RFID.
However, there is reason to believe growth may be on the way.
Highlights of the survey include the findings that retailers are lagging far behind manufacturers in adopting RFID. Only 9 percent of retailers who responded to the survey have an RFID-implementation timeline, and the majority of retailers who responded positively estimated their organization's overall revenue to increase to $5 billion or more.
The survey found that 44 percent of manufacturers have developed a timeline. Although fewer retailers reported a timeline for implementation, those retailers that have a timeline reported that they are spending more than in 2005, according to survey results.
And manufacturers are focusing their attention on one to 50 product lines, rather than across a broader range of product lines as was reported in the 2005 survey results.
Among those companies that have a timeline for RFID adoption, most respondents (both retailers and manufacturers) report that they have pilot distribution centers up and running.
…
Blue Vector, a vendor of RFID management appliances, has announced the opening of its India Center in Bangalore.
The new center, according to company officials, allows Blue Vector to “strategically expand its engineering and design teams, as well as to advance its overseas sales and marketing efforts.”
"India is a great source of additional engineering talent for us," said Nancy Anderson, Blue Vector's chief executive officer.
According to Sridhar Ranganathan, managing director of Blue Vector India, "The expansion in India will allow the company to work on the product line literally around the clock, and to be in direct contact with potential international customers without the delay of too many time zones.
Ranganathan was formerly the chief operating officer of Yahoo's Software Development Center in India.
David Sims is contributing editor for TMCnet. For more articles please visit David Sims’ columnist page.
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