Checkpoint Systems To Participate In “Tag It Easy"
Checkpoint Systems Inc., a manufacturer and marketer of identification, tracking, security and merchandising solutions for the retail industry and its supply chain, recently announced its participation in METRO Group's "Tag It Easy!" pilot.
The pilot is part of the initiative "Advanced Logistics Asia" (ALA), which the METRO Group started in order to jointly enhance the logistical processes with its Asian suppliers by using RFID. The "Tag It Easy" pilot enables the consumer goods industry to apply RFID labels on the shipments from Hong Kong to Germany. The kick-off with a solution outline and demonstration for 30 key partners took place recently at the Hong Kong Science & Technology Park.
With this pilot, METRO Group now is enabling its Asian suppliers to participate in its RFID-driven supply chain. Most of METRO Group's suppliers in this region have limited technology capabilities at their production sites, and so require assistance in printing RFID labels to affix to their export packages. Through a partnership with Checkpoint Systems, METRO Group has established a platform to allow these suppliers to place label order requests and receive pre-printed labels.
"Checkpoint Systems is one of the technology leaders when it comes to RFID applications," said Dr. Gerd Wolfram, managing director of MGI METRO Group Information Technology. "For this reason we are convinced that Checkpoint is the right technology partner for a forward-looking pilot project dealing with RFID in an international supply chain."
The Asian suppliers of the METRO Group will be placing RFID tags on all categories of consumer goods, ranging from toys to office equipment to clothes.
The METRO Group expects that the RFID pilot will optimize efficiency and transparency in the international flow of goods. Access to more-accurate, real-time shipment data will help the retailer improve control over its international supply chain, resulting in lower warehousing costs and reduced out-of-stock situations.
"Jointly, METRO and its suppliers want to guarantee that goods are always available to our customers," Wolfram said. "In particular, it's important for promotional items to be in the right place at the right time."
METRO Group has standardized on UHF EPC Gen 2 tags for compliance to all regional requirements: 917-922 MHz for China; 920-925 MHz for Hong Kong; and 865.6-867.6 MHz for Europe. The RFID tags on the labels provided by Checkpoint will store the Serial Shipping Container Code (SSCC), which will be read at several points along the supply chain from Hong Kong to Unna, Germany. The METRO Group will receive an electronic delivery note in advance of the shipment, detailing the container content. The supplier also benefits, by gaining detailed proof of package delivery.
The pilot will run for three months, and the METRO Group expects to extend the project to include several other Asian suppliers at a future date if the concept proves to be feasible.