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Show Report: RFID Journal LIVE! Canada
In developing the center, Sood—who now serves as the center's commercialization manager—said he wanted to be sure discussion of the public policies surrounding the use of RFID would be central to the lab's work. He asked representatives from the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada to participate.
"All RFID labs are doing collaborative research, but most are brushing policy issues under the carpet," said Sood. Speaking at a press conference to announce the lab, Melanie Miller Chapman, strategic analyst with the privacy office, said that working with the lab will enable the office to bring questions to the fore about how RFID technology will be deployed and how it may track and store personal information.
Not facing tagging mandates from retailers or government agencies, Canadian firms are pursuing RFID on their own timetables, with a concentration on deploying the technology for internal benefits. Conference attendees are pursuing a diverse set of applications, from using RFID to improve their companies' internal inspection processes or track the maintenance histories of their assets, to tracking the temperature of perishable goods in transit.
Still, Canadian consumer-goods suppliers may not always have an open-ended timeline for deploying the technology. Carolyn Walton, vice president of Wal-Mart's Information Systems Division, would not comment on whether the retail giant will begin requiring suppliers to tag shipments headed for Canadian stores. However, she did say the retailer is building its Canadian deployment using the same model developed for the United States. For now, that means piloting the technology at a number of Wal-Mart stores and a distribution center in Canada.
Walton told attendees that Wal-Mart Canada has identified some suppliers it would like to participate in the pilot, and that several companies have already volunteered to be involved. Approximately eight suppliers have signed up for the pilot thus far, she said. In June, the company anticipates a total of approximately 16 participants (see Wal-Mart Canada Plans Its First RFID Pilot).
"At this time next year," Walton told attendees, "Wal-Mart Canada will be making plans for the next phase of the rollout." Wal-Mart Canada, she explained, is interested in testing RFID technology to see if it can reduce product out-of-stocks, increase inventory visibility and improve promotional campaigns for new or featured products.
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"All RFID labs are doing collaborative research, but most are brushing policy issues under the carpet," said Sood. Speaking at a press conference to announce the lab, Melanie Miller Chapman, strategic analyst with the privacy office, said that working with the lab will enable the office to bring questions to the fore about how RFID technology will be deployed and how it may track and store personal information.
Not facing tagging mandates from retailers or government agencies, Canadian firms are pursuing RFID on their own timetables, with a concentration on deploying the technology for internal benefits. Conference attendees are pursuing a diverse set of applications, from using RFID to improve their companies' internal inspection processes or track the maintenance histories of their assets, to tracking the temperature of perishable goods in transit.
Still, Canadian consumer-goods suppliers may not always have an open-ended timeline for deploying the technology. Carolyn Walton, vice president of Wal-Mart's Information Systems Division, would not comment on whether the retail giant will begin requiring suppliers to tag shipments headed for Canadian stores. However, she did say the retailer is building its Canadian deployment using the same model developed for the United States. For now, that means piloting the technology at a number of Wal-Mart stores and a distribution center in Canada.
Walton told attendees that Wal-Mart Canada has identified some suppliers it would like to participate in the pilot, and that several companies have already volunteered to be involved. Approximately eight suppliers have signed up for the pilot thus far, she said. In June, the company anticipates a total of approximately 16 participants (see Wal-Mart Canada Plans Its First RFID Pilot).
"At this time next year," Walton told attendees, "Wal-Mart Canada will be making plans for the next phase of the rollout." Wal-Mart Canada, she explained, is interested in testing RFID technology to see if it can reduce product out-of-stocks, increase inventory visibility and improve promotional campaigns for new or featured products.
