 | Monday, August 11, 2008
Issue 887 | | Will Smith, Editor |  |
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Editor's Note: Today's top story is an item-level RFID deployment at LCWaikiki, one of Turkey's leading apparel retailers. The company credits the system for reducing inventory tracking time by 60 and 70 percent for certain processes, and plans to install similar systems at 50 to 60 more locations within six months.
There were a couple RFID security issues reported last week. The first: hackers demonstrated how to easily and cheaply copy the RFID data on the UK's new e-passports. The hack doesn't mean that the cloned passport is usable as a counterfeit; after all, would-be counterfeiters would still have to fabricate the physical elements of the passport like the photo and printed information. And even then, the passport photo would have to match the passport holder's face, something not easily cloned. For analysis on this, see New RFID Passport Scare -- Does it Matter? Still, the ease of the hack raises questions about how secure the RFID component -- whose primary purpose was to thwart counterfeiting -- actually is. See here, here, and here.
The second recent security issue seems more plausible. According to news coming out of last week's Black Hat 2008 conference, the identification data for the transponders used by California's FasTrak electronic tolling system can be easily intercepted and appropriated. "Anyone with an RFID reader can get the unique ID from any car and then use that in their own transponder," according to this report. Which means that a hacker could basically get through the toll system for free by racking up charges to an unwitting victim's account. Unfortunately it appears that the fix could be a long time coming since the technology specification is actually defined in California law and would therefore require new legislation to modify.
Lastly, note the new classified listing below for the North Texas RFID Happy Hour taking place in conjunction with RFID World at the MGM Grand Hotel Conference Center on September 9th. |
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Turkish Retailer Plans Big Item-Level RFID Expansion
By John Burnell
LCWaikiki, one of the largest apparel retailers in Turkey, is using RFID to track products at the item level at its flagship store in Istanbul and plans to equip 50 to 60 more locations with RFID systems in the next six months. LCWaikiki is using Gen2 passive UHF RFID tags that are combined with electronic article surveillance (EAS) tags for inventory management, checkout, automatic reordering and theft prevention.
LCWaikiki is using the combination RFID-EAS tags in stores where it already has EAS systems installed, but may use RFID-only tags for inventory and anti-theft operations at new store locations with no EAS infrastructure, Stephen Crocker of Alien Technology told RFID Update. LCWaikiki currently opens a new store approximately every 10 days and has more than 200 shops throughout Turkey, he said. Alien and its integration partner, STS Technology of Istanbul, are providing the RFID systems to LCWaikiki.
A stationary RFID reader records merchandise as it is brought from the back room to the selling floor. When goods are purchased, the RFID tag, not a bar code, is read at the point-of-sale (POS) station to record the transaction. The RFID read drives the POS system, deducts the item from the inventory system and automatically generates a replenishment order.
LCWaikiki now transfers merchandise from the back room to the floor 70 percent faster and takes stock in 60 percent less time, according to Alien's announcement.
"Inventory replenishment is a big issue, but this system automates the whole process," Crocker said. "It's not a very complicated setup. Any retailer in the world could do the same thing."
An unrelated study released last week concluded read performance is reliable enough to make RFID item-level tracking feasible for apparel and footwear retailers (see RFID Study Evaluates Item-Level Retail Performance).
RFID readers could also monitor goods to protect against shoplifting, according to Crocker, but LCWaikiki did not install readers for that purpose because it wanted to make use of its legacy EAS system. The retailer designed its own RFID-EAS combination tags, which are attached to merchandise in the store after new shipments arrive.
The system has been running for about three months at LCWaikiki's headquarters store in Istanbul and rollouts are underway at three more locations, according to Crocker. He said the chain plans to install RFID systems at 50 to 60 locations in the next six months and expects to eventually implement the technology at all its stores. LCWaikiki had turnover of approximately $848.4 million (719 Turkish Lira) in 2007 according to company figures. Revenue growth for the last three years has been 45 percent, 43 percent and 35 percent.
LCWaikiki is the second high-volume customer that Alien and STS Technology have teamed to serve in Turkey. The companies previously announced they provided an RFID system to track 25,000 totes for a garment manufacturer (see RFID Helps Manufacturer Sock Away 40% Productivity Gains).
The LCWaikiki rollout adds to the momentum behind item-level RFID use in the apparel industry. Earlier this year American Apparel announced plans to deploy systems in at least 17 stores (see American Apparel Going to Item-Level RFID in Stores), and Spanish children's apparel producer Bóboli began item-level tracking at a distribution center with an eye to introducing applications in its stores (see Ambitious RFID Pilot Launches With a Single Reader).
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| Upcoming Events | North Texas RFID Happy Hour at the MGM - September 9th, 2008
The September North Texas RFID Happy Hour will be held in conjunction with RFID World at the MGM Grand Hotel Conference Center. Sponsors of the RFID Happy Hour will be handing out RFID tagged swizzle stick invitations, which will give the holders a chance to win a Free Drink. www.northtexasrfid.com | RFID Health Care Industry Adoption Summit, Nov 16-18, D.C.
The National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) and Healthcare Distribution Management Association (HDMA) are pleased to co-sponsor this comprehensive overview of RFID and track-and-trace operational and implementation strategies for the healthcare supply chain. For more information, or to register, please visit -- http://meetings.nacds.org/rfid/2008/registration.cfm | RFID World | Sept 8-10, 2008 | MGM Grand | Las Vegas, NV
Now in its 6th year, this industry leading event is recognized as the gathering place for the builders, buyers and sellers of RFID and other Auto-ID technologies. Registration now open! Special Early Bird Savings: Save $300 off registration. Offer ends July 31st. Don't miss out! | RFID Executive Forum - Impact RFID, October 15, 2008 at UCLA
UCLA WINMEC will host its 2008 RFID Executive Forum. This Forum will bring academics, industry practitioners to discuss industry-specific modality of use of RFID and the application of RFID in their industry. For more information, please visit: www.winmec.ucla.edu/rfid/2008 | | | RFID Tags & Labels | Ferroxtag HF tags: Smart on Metal!
Ferroxtag is a new family of HF RFID tags suitable for operation on metallic surfaces. Ferroxtag's special ferrite antenna was developed using Ferroxcube's years of experience in ferrite technology. The high performance antenna means longer read range with a smaller tag. Visit www.ferroxtag.com | | | Products & Services | Real-Time WIP Visibility Appliance from Omnitrol Networks
Meet the industry's most innovative award winning RFID solution that enables complete work-order traceability in manufacturing. Real-time web-based dashboards and multi-site monitoring for work-order pedigree and traceability, including proactive bottleneck management and real-time performance analytics optimizing shop-floor efficiency. All at the lowest TCO in the marketplace. www.omnitrol.com/WIP. | Employees steal over $1 billion per week from employers
the American Management Association reports. 95% of businesses are victimized by employee theft. Managers are reluctant to ask questions, because trusted employees may feel offended, leaving business owners in a difficult situation. What can you do? Nox: Intelligent Perimeter Defense from Simply RFID provides advanced security and protection for business assets. | | | RTLS & Active RFID | Locate it now. How? Ekahau. That's how!
Ekahau RTLS (Real-Time Location System) automatically tracks assets and people via your existing Wi-Fi network. Control costs and improve asset management with Ekahau. For more information, visit us at www.ekahau.com. | | | Employment | RFID Recruiters - 100% Focused on RFID Recruiting
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