What’s Going ON with RFID in Europe? Loftware's Joe Longo Checks In

An RFID European Update Sent in By Loftware's Joe Longo, International Sales - EMEA

Europe is not being left behind in the surge towards supply chain improvements via the use of RFID.

Today approximately 80% of European manufacturers are focusing on electronic pallet-tagging, with 5.1% of companies implementing RFID strategies last year and another 12.5% piloting the technology, according to IDC Research. European companies currently using RFID in a pilot mode are Tesco, Metro, Ahold, Carrefour and Marks and Spencers. And Wal-Mart, the US retail giant, now insists that all its suppliers use the RFID system. And the DOD (Dept of Defense) is following in suit.

Even though the Metro Group and Marks and Spencer have implemented retail initiatives in Europe, the RFID movement is not as strong as in the US because of the absence of well-defined retailer mandates. European vendors face peculiar problems regarding the UHF frequency. However, the ratification of the ETSI 302-208 standard and the EPCglobal Gen 2 tags will help to tide over these issues.

Although Wal-Mart suppliers are expected to read cases traveling at a speed of 540 feet per minute, case tagging in Europe has still to mature. Item and pallet-level tagging are preferred in Europe. Retail suppliers in Europe are watching the developments in the RFID initiatives in the US to see if it is possible to develop a strong case regarding ROI for their suppliers.
German based Rewe has joined the wave of retailers requiring their suppliers to tag their products with RFID technology. Rewe claims to be the third largest retailing chain in Europe, with more than 11,500 shops and 195,000 full-time employees. The company had sales of €40 billion last year.

Metro Group, Rewe's major competitor in the German market, is testing its RFID program at its groundbreaking Future Store locations. In 2005, Metro was named as the European test lab for RFID by EPCglobal, which is in the process of setting international standards for the technology. Metro is the world’s fourth largest retailer.

And in the UK, Tesco and Asida are trialing RFID. The latest survey from the ECR (Efficient Consumer Response) On-Shelf Availability study in Nov, ’05 indicate that RFID and improved packaging design will help UK supermarkets save £1.9 billion (€2.7bn) in lost sales because of supply chain problems.

Staff motivation, management awareness, inventory accuracy, packaging design, reducing product ranges, and increasing the use of RFID will all help to reduce cost and increase supply chain efficiencies, according to the study. “As technology becomes more robust and better understood more companies will use it (RFID), which will inevitably lower the cost of using the technology,” said, Tarun Patel, an analyst at IGD.
Reference sources used:

http://www.foodproductiondaily.com/news/ng.asp?n=65525-rfid-wal-mart-metro
http://www.foodanddrinkeurope.com/news-by-product/news.asp?id=64072&k=rfid-could-save
http://www.rfidgazette.org/2005/11/rfid_in_europe.html


This Post Contributed by:
Joe Longo, International Sales - EMEA
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