Metro Group to Roll Out RFID at up to 150 Sites

The goal is not limited to Metro's home continent of Europe, Plenge noted. Metro is conducting the first RFID tests with its Asian product suppliers to get a better understanding of the cross-border visibility that can be achieved with the technology. To that end, a consolidator and Chinese supplier are applying labels to export cartons that are read at the "goods-out" point in Asia and again at the "goods-in" point in Germany.

Plenge said Metro's Chinese partners are eager to understand and adopt RFID technology, and that managers at Metro stores welcome the application because they now know what goods are en route from Asia. "All of this is due to the improvements of Gen 2 technology," he said. "With Gen 2, it's not only the reach and the speed, it's also the sensitivity to materials [the ability to perform well with products containing liquids or metals] that has improved so much," he added.

Plenge discussed Metro Group's RFID roll-out at the conference.

In other RFID developments, Metro has also started a test of case-level tracking from a Metro Group Logistics (MGL) distribution center in the German city of Essen to the Future Store in nearby Rheinberg. The test, involving 1,500 different fast-moving dry-good items, began in early July and will run until the end of the year.

Metro is applying EPC Gen 2 tags to cases of items as they are repackaged in Essen. The tags are then read when the cases are dispatched in Essen and received at Rheinberg. During the first phase of the test, Metro tagged all the items itself. "We wanted to find out how many products can be read on a mixed pallet," said Plenge.

Recently, the test was expanded to another six Metro locations. It now includes cases tagged by a few product suppliers, as well. Those partners can use EPC Gen 2 tags from the manufacturers of their choice, as long as the tags conform to Metro's quality standards. "We're rolling out technology in our facilities and enabling suppliers to provide us with tagged goods," he said.

Mark Roberti, editor and founder of RFID Journal, moderated the question-and-answer session, and asked Plenge if all of the research and development efforts have been worth it "It's not only a strategic goal for next the 10 years," Plenge responded. "We are addressing that step by step in a careful technical way...By enlarging everything to the entire supply chain, it not only puts Metro into a good light in the world, it's really giving us benefits on the bottom line."