by Evan Schuman

Jan 18,2007_The world of retail technology has learned to always take notice when the Metro Group¨Ca massive German retailer¨Cstarts to take anything seriously. So when Metro this week confirmed that it had invited Checkpoint Systems to join its ambituous 36-dock door trial of Gen2 RFID, it raised some eyebrows. Checkpoint¡¯s official role is hardware integrator for the trial.

Each of 36 adjacent dock doors at the Metro distribution center was equipped with a Gen2 RFID reader, according to a story in RFID Update. At the same time, pallet loaded with about 60 tagged Procter & Gamble goods was passed through each portal and onto a docked truck at full operational speed, meaning each pallet was in the RFID read field for between one and one and a half seconds, the story said. A joint statement put the accuracy at a ¡°98.6-percent-plus read rate simultaneously from multiple pallets as they were wheeled through the dock doors.¡±

¡°The results represent a significant milestone in European RFID operational deployment,¡± said Dr. Gerd Wolfram, Managing Director of Metro¡¯s Information Technology Group.

source:  www.storefrontbacktalk.com