One of the main goals pursued by both retailers and shoppers is to facilitate trade and ensure the most comfortable conditions for it. A leader in these efforts is the METRO group from Dusseldorf, Germany, one of the five most efficient retailers in the world, generating sales value at the level of 53 billion euros.
Increasing customer satisfaction
The METRO Store of the Future is simultaneously a place where the most innovative solutions related to IT, trade, and logistics are tested. Their model store in Rheinberg was designed precisely to demonstrate how technology can provide benefits both during the warehousing of goods and their sale. The Store of the Future is supported by a consortium of over 40 partner companies from the IT, consumer goods, and services sectors, including companies such as Intermec Technologies, SAP, Intel, and IBM. The technologies and systems implemented there undergo tests before being put into mass use. The METRO group treats modern technologies not only as a way to increase sales but also as a tool helpful in increasing consumer satisfaction.
Efficient tracking of goods
One of the main technologies implemented in the Store of the Future is Radio Frequency Identification (RFID). It is a technology that complements existing barcode-based systems, allowing the company to automatically track goods in the supply chain. The technology itself is quite simple from an electronics point of view. The components include a computer system, readers, antennas, and transponders (called tags). The goal of RFID is to transfer data using these small-sized tags and read them at any time. The Intermec Intellitag RFID system used there utilizes UHF Generation 2 technology, equipped with many options that can be generated at the user’s request. These systems have been accepted by ETSI (European Telecommunications Standards Institute) and are fully compatible with ISO standards for global supply chain operations. – Thanks to very close cooperation with Intermec Technologies, the METRO group was able to become one of the first testing grounds for the application of RFID in a real supply chain – says Dr. Gerd Wolfram, Executive Manager of the METRO Initiative.
The applied RFID systems allow retailers to track goods moving through individual links of the supply chain, starting from the initial product order, its delivery to the store warehouse, storage, until the moment it reaches the store shelves and is sold.
The article comes from the magazine “e-Fakty 6/2005.