Are such companies making use of the technology?
—Name withheld
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I am unsure what precisely you mean by a “global retail discount operator,” but I’ll take a shot at answering your question.
Wal-Mart Stores is employing passive ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) radio frequency identification technology based on the second-generation Electronic Product Code (EPC) standard, in order to track men’s basics and jeans. That is the only project of which I’m aware being undertaken by a major international retailer focused on offering low prices (see Wal-Mart Relaunches EPC RFID Effort, Starting With Men’s Jeans and Basics).
In addition, the Metro Group is utilizing RFID to track pallets in France (see Metro Group, DHL to Roll Out RFID in France). Metro has also been testing EPC Gen 2 passive UHF RFID on other products, and for other applications. However, the firm is not what I would consider a “discount” chain.
—Mark Roberti, Founder and Editor, RFID Journal