DIY RFID Implant

Video of a person with a do it yourself RFID implant.

Android, iPhones, and RFID.

Among the ever escalating numbers of smartphones available in the US, Apple’s iPhone still leads the way in those as well as other mobile application areas, noted David Dorf, director of retail technology at Oracle.

The more than 10,000 iPhone apps online in Apple’s App Store already include some photo-oriented “vision” apps. Examples include an app from Sears which helps you to locate a product in stores based on an uploaded product photo, and one from Wal-mart that allows you to use a picture of a room in deciding what size HDTV to buy.

With the recent entrance of Motorola’s Droid and Google’s Nexus One, for instance, apps of this kind are also headed to the open source Android platform, said speakers in an NRF panel session.

Developers are at work, too, on location-aware apps that will use GPS to send you discount coupons based on where you happen to be, and on augmented reality apps combining a mobile phone’s camera view with multiple layers of related information.

Meanwhile, commuters in New York City and San Francisco have been taking part in NFC trials involving the use of software-based token applications that bill their credit cards for mass transit use.

Participants have been able to hop aboard trains and subway cars simply by waving their phones in front of contact-less NFC readers near turnstiles in mass transit stations, said Sahir Anand, research director for retail, hospitality and Consumer Product Group practice at the Aberdeen Group analyst firm.The United States has long lagged behind some other parts of the world — most notably Japan and the Nordic countries — in mobile shopping and mass transit apps, pointed out Mohammad Khan, president and founder of ViVOtech. But with the advent of new smartphones and NRC, the US is getting poised to “leapfrog ahead,” Khan contended.

Read more: betanews.com

International Switchgear turns onto MRO cost control

As more companies look to manage their costs, the indirect and MRO spend areas are getting a much closer look than ever before. While the total dollar amount may not be as large as the direct materials spend, the lack of consolidation can provide good opportunity for spend management ROI.

One company reaping the benefits of MRO controls is Alpharetta, Ga.-based Intelligent Switchgear Organization (ISO), a joint venture between Caterpillar and Eaton Corp, that manufactures, sells, and services electric power generation equipment. Prior to implementing its control program, ISO worked with Fastenal, a distributor of fastenings and MRO supplies. Under the plan at the time, ISO had open bins for MRO items that Fastenal restocked each week and then invoiced ISO for. The open bins allowed virtually any and all employees to take free issue items as they wished.

“From what we saw, they did just that, and there was very little control,” reports J. David Lister, purchasing manager. Items included safety glasses, ear plugs, side shields, drill bits, arm sleeves, box cutters and screwdrivers.

ISO decided that it wanted to determine what if any cost reductions it could receive by actually tracking usage of MRO items down to the individual employee. Fastenal had a solution that seemed to be able to do just that called SmartStores. These are vending machines manufactured by Fastenal that the company leases to its customers. “They are like food vending machines, except that they are stocked with the operational items that we use the most,” reports Lister.

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Infy joins Metro Group Future store as partner

BANGALORE: Metro Group, one of the largest international retailing companies, has selected Infosys Technologies as a partner in its Future Store Initiative (FSI) for advancement in technologies and new shopping concepts.

Infosys was chosen as a METRO Group FSI partner on the basis of its shoppingTrip360 solution, an innovative managed service, that offers retailers and consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies with visibility on shopper and shelf activity with unprecedented granularity, a Infosys release said.

Infosys has implemented its shoppingTrip360 on Smart Shelf Pad in the “real,- Future Store” located in Germany.

Read more: economictimes.indiatimes.com

Canadian Tire Stores Get Smart

Canadian Tire Corp. Ltd. yesterday officially introduced its new Smart Store concept to Quebec, an initial $17-million investment.

The iconic national automotive and housewares chain has converted five local stores to the format, designed to make them more customer friendly and productive through renovations and reorganization.

Company president and chief executive officer Stephen Wetmore was in town to celebrate the grand reopening of those outlets, in Notre Dame de Grâce, St. Léonard, St. Laurent, Dollard des Ormeaux and Delson.

“Since opening our first (Quebec) store in Rouyn-Noranda in 1939, we have been focused on making continued investments in the Quebec market to ensure customers have the best possible shopping experience,” Wetmore said.

“The Smart Store represents the next phase of renewal. We are pleased to celebrate the grand opening of five Smart Stores in Montreal, and another two in the province (Alma and Sept Îles) next week.”

The company’s goal is to switch 110 of its 495 dealer-run stores (95 of them in Quebec) across the country by the end of 2010.

Since unveiling the concept, which won of a Retail Council of Canada award of excellence, 25 Canadian Tire stores have adopted the changes.

Source: Montreal Gazette

How smart can MetroCards become?

Use your MetroCard to buy coffee, groceries or gas. This could be the future when the MTA introduces a no-swipe smart card system, which is expected by 2014. New MTA chief Jay Walder helped create London’s popular no-contact Oyster card and is looking to create a variation of it here.

There are a lot of possibilities to consider.
One versatile option is used in cities like Hong Kong, Singapore and Kaohsiung City in Taiwan where riders use their transit cards to shop at convenience and grocery stores, cafes and gas stations.

Neysa Pranger, spokesperson for Regional Plan Association, thinks it’s likely that New Yorkers can look forward to a similar system here.

Source: metro.us

Shopping with the Smart Cart: DigInfo

Fujitsu have upgraded their Smart Cart system using the latest in wireless technology. Using the IC chip within a mobile phone as a customer loyalty card, the system can display a range of personalized information. It can also display the carts location in the store and using RFID technology keep a record of the items in the shopping cart.

Adding the Analytic Dimension to RFID

Earlier this decade, Wal-Mart first required its top 100 suppliers to put radio frequency identification tags on shipping crates and pallets, then extended the mandate to include all suppliers. Thanks to the Wal-Mart mandate, the first wave of serious enterprise RFID deployments are on the books, and the result is a C, maybe a C-, in terms of ROI and maximum utilization of the technology. Many have completed their Wal-Mart compliance requirements so they can continue to do business with the retailing giant. However, few have taken the opportunity to go beyond, into the other areas of their business. Fewer still have incorporated other data sources into their application or produced analytic value with RFID data.

This is not to say that companies outside Wal-Mart mandate have not been adopting RFID. Retailers utilize RFID in their stores to manage temperatures, control theft and shrinkage, influence store design and product placement and even experiment with self-service checkout. Indeed, with billions of tags ordered, there are numerous uses for this tiny technology.

Read more @ information-management.com

Unitech RH767

Unitech RH767

The RH767 is a Windows CE 5.0-based multi-tag HF or UHF RFID and bar code reader. It can read both EPC Gen 1 and Gen 2 RFID tags and comes with embedded RFID middleware for easy integration. Like the Unitech PA966 with which it shares the design and most tech specs, the RH767 uses the older 400MHz Marvell PXA255 processor.

Source: ruggedpcreview.com

Next Generation of Loyalty & Customer Relationship

Unified Grocers, Inc. Introduces Next Generation of Loyalty and Customer Relationship Software to Its Members Through Accelitec | interact

Unified Grocers, Inc., one of the largest member-owned grocery cooperatives in the western United States,
has begun introducing a next generation software service offered by Accelitec, Inc., to its members.

Accelitec | interact is an innovative software service that helps retailers move beyond the traditional way of discount pricing to improve customer retention and store profitability.

As the challenges of the current economy continue, the importance of delivering ongoing value, convenience, and relevancy to existing and new customers remains very high for Unified Grocer, Inc.’s independent retailers. Introducing Accelitec | interact to its independent retailers is an important way for Unified to help bolster the competitive advantage its members have in their local communities. Accelitec | interact enhances the shopping experience with a range of customer communications, including targeted marketing promotions,
recall notifications, and other unique value added services.

The RFID-enabled program can also be used to motivate specific customer behavior, such as driving sales of particular products, increasing per-trip spending and accelerating the rate of return trips. In an industry where pricing wars and perishable inventory are the norm, Accelitec | interact provides a way for independent retailers to differentiate their business without compromising lean margins or creating unsustainable customer expectations.

Source: Reuters