Metro Group Finally Goes Live With RFID
Written by Evan SchumanIn what is being billed as the largest production rollout of RFID in Europe, the $81 billion retail giant Metro Group has gone live with its wireless strategy.
The Germany-based chain has long been in the lead of RFID thinking and strategy globally, although it’s efforts to date have been limited trials. “We are moving RFID out of the innovation labs and into working retail stores” is a line attributed to Dr. Gerd Wolfram, an IT managing director for the chain, in a draft news release that was prepared in anticipation of an announcement next week.
Metro, which will reportedly be using RFID products from Reva Systems in the rollout, will start with about 200 locations of its Metro Cash & Carry, Real stores, and the Metro Group distribution centers.
Wolfram is also quoted in the statement saying that priorities are the ability to “process raw tag data into accurate information and to determine real tag locations in difficult environments. The elimination of duplicate tag observations and the refinement of tag relevance are also critical infrastructure requirements. At Metro Group, this is necessary in operations areas such as loading docks in order to rapidly provide operators with feedback validating goods shipped and received.”
-Dan Stiel
June 23rd, 2007 at 7:53 am
One has to wonder what was the purpose of conducting pilot studies for the use of RFID in the Supply Chain by Metro, Wal-Mart and others. Based on most credible reports, including one from the prestigious Wall Street Journal, RFID, in the Supply Chain, has failed to meet any of its over-hyped goals. Tag costs are nowhere near the targeted 5 cent level. The read rate for pallet loads is hovering at 50%. Shelf inventories are next to impossible. The ROI, by which success is always measured, is nonexistent.
One can only conclude that Metro is unable to face reality and abandon what has been shown to be a bad idea.