Computerworld
Quick Menu
Search



Ads by TechWords

See your link here


Subscribe to our e-mail newsletters
For more info on a specific newsletter, click the title. Details will be displayed in a new window.
Mobile/Wireless Computing
Computerworld Daily News (First Look and Wrap-Up)
Computerworld Blogs Newsletter
The Weekly Top 10
More E-Mail Newsletters 
Computerworld 2007Subscribe to Computerworld
40 years of the most authoritative source of news and information for IT leaders.

U.K. store expands RFID trial

Marks & Spencer PLC began trying out the wireless tags in 2003
 

Sign up to receive Wireless Trends and Technologies Resource Alerts

February 23, 2005 (IDG News Service) -- U.K. retailer Marks & Spencer PLC (M&S) will extend its ongoing trial of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology for the management of its clothing stock from nine of its stores to 53 in the second quarter of next year.
"The feedback so far from our staff has been very positive in that the RFID tags have clearly improved our stock-taking process. What takes up to eight hours a week to do manually can be done with RFID tags in about an hour," M&S spokeswoman Olivia Ross said today. "Plus the staff have said that they find the technology easy to use -- simply waving a scanner over a rack of clothes."
RFID systems store, receive and transmit data using antennas on tags that respond to radio frequency queries. Tags can be read when a remote scanner is passed over them. M&S began a trial of the technology itself in 2003 and then moved on to try RFID at the item level in April 2004. The current trial is only for men's clothing, but it will be expanded to include women's undergarments in 2006, Ross said.
"We are looking to test RFID with size-complex items, and for bras alone, there could be over 40 sizes," Ross said. The extended trial is expected to run through the third quarter of 2006, after which the company plans to continue with additional tests. Ross said there are no plans for what items future trials would include or timelines for when RFID would move from the test stage to being used on a regular basis in M&S stores.
BT Group PLC will be the main contractor on the second phase of the trial, providing M&S with IT services such as deployment assistance and maintenance of the RFID readers. BT is also assisting with the implementation of RFID in M&S's food supply chain. M&S has contracted with Intellident Ltd. for the scanner technology, while the microchips are from EM Microelectronic-Marin SA.
M&S is quick to point out that the only purpose for using RFID is to improve its stock-taking process. The RFID tags are not scanned at the checkout, nor is any link made between the garment information held by the tag and the customer's details, such as credit card information, Ross said.
"We don't match personal details to the garment, and we will never be doing that," Ross said. "We are open about the trials, and the customer feedback we've been getting has been positive. The customers we've polled in the stores using RFID have said they noticed an improvement in stock availability, which they like."
In the current trial, the RFID chips are placed

Continued...
1 | 2 | NEXT  

Reprinted with permission from

IDG.net
Story copyright 2008 International Data Group. All rights reserved.


Print this Story Send Us Feedback E-mail this Story Digg! Digg this Story Slashdot this Story
"In Monday's IT Blogwatch, Richi Jennings watches Apple rumor blogs run at full throttle. Seems as though Steve Jobs will..." Read more...
Read more Mobile & Wireless posts or See all Blogs
'Experimental' security fix is malware, Microsoft says
Tough economic climate can heighten insider threat
Top security suites fail exploit tests
More top stories...
16 e-mail and instant messaging boosters
Microsoft readies first attack forecast
NASA follows Mars successes with plans for $2B super rover
How bad? 'I thought I was going to throw up,' Jennifer Brunner recalls.
Think your project's off track and over budget? Learn a lesson or two from these infamous project flameouts.
In our hands-on testing, the new Xohm WiMax network from Sprint was fast and smooth -- but for now, you have to be in Baltimore to get it.
College student David Kernell allegedly broke into a middle school server eight years ago, according to a former teacher.
Reviews, analyses, how-tos, visual tours, hot issues and predictions about Microsoft's new OS.
Four years from now, the IT field will be a vastly different place. Will you be ready?
All Zones
Application Performance Zone
Business Continuity Zone
The File Data Management Zone
Security Management Zone
The SAS Zone
Business Intelligence and Analytics Zone
Windows Protection Zone
The Enterprise Search Zone
Software as a Service Zone
The Security Zone

Ads by TechWords

See your link here
Virtualization Everywhere
Download this white paper, free, compliments of Citrix.
(Source: Citrix) Adoption of virtualization is concentrated among large enterprises, while adoption by mid-sized companies has been much slower. For these companies, the cost and complexity of server virtualization solutions has been a barrier.

In this paper, we'll discuss how Citrix XenServer" provides simple, economical server virtualization for any size company. Download now!

Download this white paper go
From Laggard to Leader: Transforming the Data Center
From Laggard to Leader: Transforming the Data Center
Register for this complimentary webcast today!
Go to the webcast 
Mobility @ the Speed of Business
Download this new tech briefing, free, compliments of HP.
(Source: HP) Enterprises have a keen interest in making sure their increasingly mobile workers can get information when they need it, where they need it - not just when there is a Wi-Fi hotspot around. Many are turning to embedded broadband modems as the most cost-effective, easiest to manage solution to connect workers to the right applications. The results speak for themselves in this new tech briefing.
Download this executive briefing download
White Papers
Read up on the latest ideas and technologies from companies that sell hardware, software and services.
LIVEWIRE™: Full-Server Protecting and Recovery in Real-Time
Eliminate Tape Restores with TimeData CDP
Protecting Sharepoint with Double-Take for Windows 5.0
View more whitepapers