DHL and German retailer Metro Group today unveiled an in-depth cooperation agreement for the firstnational rollout of radio frequency identification (RFID) in France and a major step towards
everyday use of RFID tags in international logistics.Beginning in the autumn of 2008, DHL will equip all shipments from five food logisticscentres to the 89 Metro Cash & Carry self-service wholesale stores in France with RFIDtransponders and read them out along the entire supply chain. Some 1.3 million pallets per yearwill be fitted with the RFID tags to facilitate contactless and automated monitoring of the supplychain.
In taking this step, DHL and Metro Group are initiating the largest RFID rollout in Frenchretail logistics. Metro is also the first retail company to join the DHL Innovation Initiative,whose members as yet are primarily technology companies.
“This project is setting the trend for the whole logistics industry as it brings the era ofpilot projects in the RFID technology to an end. RFID is ready for everyday use,” said John Allan,Deutsche Post World Net CFO and responsible for Global Business Services, home of the Group’sTechnology and Innovation Management.
DHL expects the major project to send a signal to the entire area of retail logistics as wellas to other segments of the logistics industry, while Metro Group is continuing to drive forwardthe international deployment of the technology. In comparison to conventional controls usingbarcodes and barcode scanners, the contactless RFID process speeds up loading and unloadingoperations. In addition, the automated reading technology increases the precision of logisticsprocesses, while visibility and manageability grow as a result of the improved pool of data.Disruptions can be recognised faster.
“By expanding our operational deployment of RFID to France, Metro Group is proving that thebenefits of the technology can be realised throughout Europe,” said Zygmunt Mierdorf, member of theManagement Board and CIO of Metro Group.
This RFID project is an outcome of the good, long-time working relationship between DHL andMetro Group that is designed to jointly advance technology projects and turn them into businesssuccesses. In July 2008, Metro Group became the first retail company to join the DHL InnovationInitiative. DHL has also been a partner of the Metro Group Future Store Initiative since 2004. BothRFID users work together as partners in the European EPC Competence Center (EECC) to promote thedevelopment and certification of the radio technology.
The German-based Metro Group , with over 2,200 stores in 31 countries, had sales of around €64 billion in 2007. Metro Cash & Carry, with more than 600 stores in 29 countries, achievedsales of nearly €32 billion last year.
