THECOMMSISSUE
31
METRO EXPANDS
‘’TAG IT EASY!’’ SCHEME
R
etail giant, METRO Group recently assist suppliers in using RFID within their along the supply chain between the region
announced the expansion of its radio operations. As an exclusive third-party and Germany. METRO Group receives an
frequency identi � cation (RFID) “Tag It solutions provider Checkpoint continues to electronic advance shipping notice detailing
Easy!” programme. supply pre-printed RFID labels and services the contents of each shipment via electronic
The third phase of the programme will to suppliers in the region. data interchange (EDI) technology, and the
involve more than 75 Chinese and Indian Dr. Gerd Wolfram, chief information of � cer suppliers receive automatic proof-of-delivery
consumer goods suppliers, in addition to the head at METRO Group said: “Time-consuming noti � cations.
100 manufacturers already in the programme manual counts are no longer necessary, and Dr. Wolfram added: “The local support
from Hong Kong, China and Vietnam. “Tag that means goods get to the individual stores and onsite training Checkpoint provides to
It Easy!” participants apply RFID labels on much faster and easier. Our ultimate goal is to the Asian suppliers, paired with the company’s
shipments bound for METRO Group’s optimise both the ef � ciency and effectiveness Check-Net services, which include local label
facilities in Germany. of supply chain management. The key to printing and encoding, are key enablers that
The “Tag It Easy!” programme is part of achieving this lies in maximising transparency help accelerate the adoption of new supply
METRO Group’s Advanced Logistics Asia in the � ow of products and information chain technologies in the region. With this
(ALA) initiative to improve logistics processes upstream and downstream throughout the approach, Asian suppliers do not have to
with its Asian suppliers, using RFID to track supply chain. This project has the capability of worry about making huge investments. In
merchandise throughout the supply chain. achieving such a transparency.” addition, the use of global standards such as
METRO Group developed “Tag It Easy!” The RFID labels provided by Checkpoint EPC global Gen 2, have formed the basis for
with Checkpoint, a strategic partner of store the Serial Shipping Container Code a global and cost-effective adoption of RFID
METRO Group’s Future Store Initiative, to (SSCC), which is read at several points technology.”
HEART CHARITY NETWORK
TARGETS PRODUCTIVITY
The British Heart Foundation
(BHF), the nation’s heart charity,
has introduced a broadband-based
private network solution from
Vodat International in its BHF shops
to improve communications and
productivity across the business.
The charity will deploy Vodat
International’s solution to manage
the data for the sales of both
donated and new goods across its
stores.
The charity’s day-to-day operational information is currently
being gathered at the head of � ce by overnight polling of the 600
stores’ electronic point-of-sale (EPoS) tills via a standard phone line.
Steve Biddle, head of � nance at BHF Shops said: “This was
obviously an expensive and inef � cient method and we wanted
to reduce costs while improving reliability. We needed a � exible
technology that would enable us to manage our data network
ef � ciently, improve communications between stores across the
business and assist us in improving our customer service.”
The retailer’s new private network will be fully managed. This
means all issues connected with it are dealt with by Vodat and
there is no requirement for the charity’s staff to monitor or resolve
network problems.
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2009 RETAIL TECHNOLOGY
23-32 The Comms Issue.indd 31 18/9/09 9:09:56 am
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