Metro AG has expanded the use of smart tags from its stores in Europe to key producers in China as the German retail giant moves to optimize its global logistics chain.
A three-month test, launched recently in Hong Kong, will require boxes and containers of products destined for Metro's distribution center in Unna, Germany, to carry RFID tags.
The pilot is part of the company's Advanced Logistics Asia (ALA) program, which kicked off last October. The goal is to have more accurate, real-time data that will help the retailer improve control over its international supply chain, resulting in lower warehousing costs and fewer out-of-stock situations, according to a Metro spokesman.
For the Hong Kong pilot, Chinese suppliers can either fit passive RFID tags to their shipments themselves or allow a consolidator to manage this process. The passive chips have no energy and a very short reading distance, the spokesman says.
Source: Computerworld Singapore, http://computerworld.com.sg