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SAP Takes RFID into the Enterprise
As part of its RFID strategy, SAP plans to offer an Auto-ID "ecosystem" that will include software products, installation and integration services, and ongoing maintenance and support services. "The biggest unknown is what happens when we turn an RFID system on," Blanchard says. "Customers will need network monitoring and maintenance services to identify all the issues that have not been adequately addressed. A lot of the customer fear is because this is completely new."
SAP has been doing its own internal testing of RFID tags and readers at some facilities to become more familiar with the technology. The greatest challenge to implementing the technology—both for SAP and its customers—will be organizational. "There's a fundamental internal 'get it' factor that needs to be overcome," Blanchard says. "Companies need an empowered leader of auto-ID, and a cross-organizational team that can understand and implement this technology and help tie it into existing processes."
SAP's most extensive RFID endeavor to date, and the first big test of its Auto-ID Infrastructure, is the Metro Future Store project. The company is a major partner of German supermarket retailer Metro Group, which in April began operating a store in Rheinberg, Germany, that features smart shelves stocked with RFID-tagged items (see Metro Opens ).
SAP—along with Metro and Intel—has been involved in the project from its inception about a year and half ago, says Christian Koch, SAP’s marketing director for consumer products and retail and the project manager for the Metro Future Store. SAP helped Metro plan a store in which RFID technology would be the centerpiece, tracking goods in and out of the store at the item, case and pallet level.
SAP has helped Metro determine which technologies to use and is providing retail software applications based on its Auto-ID Infrastructure architecture as well as project management services in cooperation with IBM. The technology SAP is providing includes RFID software that connects low-level reader interfaces with related applications, RFID-based goods flow tracking and systems that leverage SAP’s Supply Chain Event Management and Business Intelligence products. The company is also providing its Enterprise Portal software to enable Metro employees to see the location and status of merchandise.
Metro Future Store is giving SAP an opportunity to test its AII platform, Koch says. "We had done extensive tests [in laboratories] but hadn’t used it in a live environment," he says. "We wanted to get some insights on how the infrastructure and tools worked in such an environment before we incorporate them into our future product strategy. We wanted to see how easy it is to connect a supply chain management system to [RFID] systems."
While the technology has worked well so far, it has been a learning process for employees and shoppers at the store, many of whom are experiencing RFID technology for the first time. "We're learning what level of training is the right one," for various components of RFID, such as systems that track goods coming into the store and others involved in warehousing, Koch says. "Although we've done quite intensive training with employees, this still requires additional effort to make it run smoothly."
SAP has been doing its own internal testing of RFID tags and readers at some facilities to become more familiar with the technology. The greatest challenge to implementing the technology—both for SAP and its customers—will be organizational. "There's a fundamental internal 'get it' factor that needs to be overcome," Blanchard says. "Companies need an empowered leader of auto-ID, and a cross-organizational team that can understand and implement this technology and help tie it into existing processes."
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| SAP's Koch |
SAP—along with Metro and Intel—has been involved in the project from its inception about a year and half ago, says Christian Koch, SAP’s marketing director for consumer products and retail and the project manager for the Metro Future Store. SAP helped Metro plan a store in which RFID technology would be the centerpiece, tracking goods in and out of the store at the item, case and pallet level.
SAP has helped Metro determine which technologies to use and is providing retail software applications based on its Auto-ID Infrastructure architecture as well as project management services in cooperation with IBM. The technology SAP is providing includes RFID software that connects low-level reader interfaces with related applications, RFID-based goods flow tracking and systems that leverage SAP’s Supply Chain Event Management and Business Intelligence products. The company is also providing its Enterprise Portal software to enable Metro employees to see the location and status of merchandise.
Metro Future Store is giving SAP an opportunity to test its AII platform, Koch says. "We had done extensive tests [in laboratories] but hadn’t used it in a live environment," he says. "We wanted to get some insights on how the infrastructure and tools worked in such an environment before we incorporate them into our future product strategy. We wanted to see how easy it is to connect a supply chain management system to [RFID] systems."
While the technology has worked well so far, it has been a learning process for employees and shoppers at the store, many of whom are experiencing RFID technology for the first time. "We're learning what level of training is the right one," for various components of RFID, such as systems that track goods coming into the store and others involved in warehousing, Koch says. "Although we've done quite intensive training with employees, this still requires additional effort to make it run smoothly."
