Vendors embrace RFID at retail show

NEW YORK — RFID (radio frequency identification) tagging was the theme of the day in software news here Monday as vendors unloaded product and partnership announcements timed for the start of the National Retail Federation’s annual trade show in New York.

RFID chips store data for transmission to nearby receivers, a technology proponents say is poised to revamp supply-chain operations. Unlike bar codes, RFID tags can be read at any angle and from a distance, making them a potential time- and cost-saver for retailers, shippers and manufacturers. RFID technology is several years old, but cost and the limits of the technology have so far kept it out of mainstream use. The tipping point for tagging is drawing near, however, thanks to the enthusiasm of software vendors and a big nudge from retailing giant Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which last year asked its top 100 suppliers to begin RFID-tagging shipments by the start of 2005.

News announced Monday at the NRF show included:

— Backed by 20 partners, Microsoft Corp. unveiled its Smarter Retailing Initiative, a framework for developing standards-based tools to ease the retail experience for consumers, salespeople and store managers. Among its initiative partners is Accenture Ltd., which has developed several complementary tools, such as a system allowing shoppers to scan and pay for items as they are selected instead of waiting in a checkout line.

Microsoft will continue building out its portfolio of retail-focused software, anchored by the Windows XP Embedded operating system it introduced in late 2001. The system is used in more than 300,000 point-of-sale terminals worldwide, Microsoft said. The company is working with customers including Circuit City Stores Inc., 7-Eleven Inc. and Costco Wholesale Corp.

— SAP AG announced the planned mid-2004 release of an RFID package for capturing data and automating processes. Built on the SAP Web Application Server and incorporating several other SAP modules, the product is now in testing with pilot customers.

SAP has taken its RFID software for several real-world spins. At its TechEd show in September it used RFID chips to store information on attendee badges. It also participates in German retailer Metro Group’s Future Store project, an initiative centered on a shop in Rheinberg, Germany, that serves as a testing ground for fledgling retail technologies.

— IBM Corp. said it is serving as systems integrator for Metro Group’s company-wide RFID rollout. Beginning in November, Metro Group plans to have its top 100 suppliers tagging pallets for RFID tracking. IBM is overseeing the project’s strategy and implementation.

IBM also announced that Sears Roebuck and Co. will be replacing its existing point-of-sale terminals in U.S. stores with IBM SurePOS 740 systems, along with IBM receipt printers and flat-panel monitors. The rollout is forecast to be finished by June 2005. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

— Sun Microsystems Inc. said it is about to open an RFID testing center in Dallas, where Wal-Mart suppliers can bang the bugs out of their RFID implementations. A second Sun testing facility in Scotland will open within a month.

Sun is developing a portfolio of RFID hardware, software and service offerings, which it is currently testing and expects to make widely available in the second quarter this year. Office Depot Inc. and Benetton Group SpA are among the retailers building around Sun’s infrastructure, the company said.

— Symbol Technologies Inc. introduced a Web-enabled self-service kiosk retailers can use to offer employees or customers on-floor access to information on product pricing, ordering and inventory data. It also debuted the Symbol Clientele 1:1 Solution Suite, a system allowing salespeople to use a handheld computer to update customer profiles, review purchase histories, check product details such as sizes and measurements, and plan appointments and follow-up correspondence.

— Middleware vendor Tibco Software Inc. and RFID hardware maker Alien Technology Corp. said they will release midyear a jointly-developed system for linking business processes with RFID-generated events.