 | Thursday, September 13, 2007 Issue 683 | | Will Smith, Editor |  |
 | Editor's Note: Today's top story is the new RFID self-ordering system being piloted by McDonald's and SK Telecom.
Battery-assisted passive RFID solutions provider Intelleflex yesterday announced its Strategic Partner Program that will offer participants dedicated partner resources, tools, early involvement in product development and release cycles, partner training and support, and joint marketing and sales programs. The program already claims 45 participants.
Lastly, note the new classified listing below for a webinar from Intermec and ABI Research entitled RFID Business Value: Making the Case for RFID. Taking place on October 4th at 12:00 pm EST, the webinar will include a discussion on how to find the benefits, profitability, payback, and ROI of RFID. |
 |
 McDonald's Pilots RFID Self-Ordering System in Korea
 The Korea Times reports that McDonald's, the world's largest fast food chain, and telecommunications technology manufacturer SK Telecom of South Korea have teamed on a pilot that uses RFID to allow consumers to order food directly from their tables. The system debuted today at a McDonald's in western Seoul.
Called "Touch Order", it is the first self-ordering system in the world to use RFID, according to SK Telecom. It works as follows. Both an RFID reader and tagged menu are stationed at each table. The customer plugs the reader into her mobile phone, then points it at the items on the menu she wishes to order. The complete order is transmitted to the kitchen, and a charge is made through the phone. When the order is ready, a text message notifies the customer to come pick up her tray at the counter.
One requirement of the system is that a customer download a special interfacing program to her phone. Reportedly most phones manufactured within the last two years can handle the program.
SK Telecom aims for Touch Order to open up other markets to its RFID products and services. "We hope this partnership with McDonald's ... will lay the groundwork for our RFID business on foreign markets," commented senior vice president of business development Lee Joo-sik. The company expects to have expanded to other McDonald's in Korea by year-end and to other chains by next year.
McDonald's appears a little more conservative. John Kim, senior director of marketing for McDonald's Korea, said, "We are closely monitoring it, but it is too early to discuss expanding it to other stores, let alone other countries."
One question is how valuable such a service could be. McDonald's rose to prominence on its quick service, a feature that characterizes it still. Will a table-based self-ordering system really add that much convenience versus ordering at the counter? Could it even turn out to be less convenient, given the need to download a program? Time will tell.

| Read the article from The Korea Times |
Forward this to a colleague | Request reprints: reprints at rfidupdate dot com |

|
|
 |
 |
| Webinars | Webinar: Making the Case for RFID Join ABI's Mike Liard and Intermec for a discussion on how to find the benefits, profitability, payback and ROI of RFID. We'll cover key considerations and compelling applications, and offer insight into best practices and lessons learned. Finally, we'll discuss how to make the case for RFID in your business. Register today. |  | | 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. |  | | Upcoming Events | RFID Solutions: Securing the Commerce of Tomorrow -- Oct. 10 Join the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and SAP in Washington, DC to discuss the balance between regulation and innovation and responsible approaches to issues in areas such as national defense, port security, food and drug safety, and pandemic preparedness. For more information call 202.463.5500. Register Today. | RFID World Boston - September 18 - 20, 2007 A premiere event at the new CMP TechMash Boston, RFID World Boston brings together the foremost luminaries on RFID technology and implementation to discuss the concepts and topics critical to making RFID a reality for today's businesses. Enter code RU01 to save $300! | Midwest RFID Symposium, Oct 23-24, University of Kansas The 3rd annual symposium and exhibition focuses on closed-loop applications of RFID. Speakers and exhibitors from Motorola, Ekahau, Intelleflex, Fluensee, Intermec, Rush Tracking, SAVR Communications and more will demonstrate RFID's potential to error proof manufacturing, organize the office, and simplify asset tracking in industry and healthcare. www.continuinged.ku.edu | LogiPharma 07, Sept. 17-19, Loews Philadelphia Hotel, PA LogiPharma presents 3 days of knowledge-sharing and idea exchange on the challenges and issues surrounding pharmaceutical supply chain management. For more information please visit www.logipharma.com. | IDTechEx's RFID Europe; 18-19 September, Cambridge, UK IDTechEx's RFID Europe, in its eighth year, is the premium event covering RFID, technology analysis and market insight. Hear from AIR FRANCE KLM, Ahold, BP, TNT, MasterCard, Tube Lines, Sony, City Link and others. Explore technologies from printed RFID to smart tickets and cards to RTLS and sensor networks. Register with code: UPDATE97. |  | | Employment | RFID Recruiters - 100% Focused on RFID Recruiting Whether your company is looking for the best RFID talent or you have the best RFID talent and are looking for the best RFID employer, RFID Recruiters offers the most focused approach to your objective. To learn how the RFID industry and the RFID job market are evolving, visit www.rfidrecruiters.com |  | | Research & Whitepapers | How RFID Can Decrease Manufacturing Errors Specialized RFID tags that are optimized for use on or around metal are an effective and viable alternative to bar codes for error proofing applications in manufacturing. Learn the financial impact of errors and recalls and how RFID can be used for error proofing and other manufacturing processes. Get the full report now. | RFID Marketing Strategies Report from RFID Update Thirty-nine pages of original research on RFID audience perceptions, including 30+ figures of tactics, content & messaging, and recommendations to guide marketing strategy. Also, Top-10 RFID company rankings based on 550+ survey respondents. View the executive summary free, with Top-3 sample rankings. Only $495 Individual License or $795 Corporate License. Available now |  | | Products & Services | Free RFID Software with Alien 9800 at RFIDSupplyChain.com Purchase an Alien 9800 RFID Reader and receive BlueBean RFID Simpleware free- perform rapid prototyping and development of RFID solutions without having to write any code...collect tag information from multiple readers...test reader connections...view all tag data in one batch. Looking for an RFID reader? Receive the free RFID Reader Report at RFIDSupplyChain.com. | Until you manage assets with ESP, you might want to try RFID. Get visibility into critical assets when they're out of reach. Motorola's RFID solutions track employee-assigned IT equipment, monitor maintenance schedules, or manage assets essential to your business. It's a proven solution for watching over your assets. And it's just another way Motorola puts Enterprise Mobility in the palm of your hand. HELLOMOTO | 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. | Peel - Stick - Ship(TM): SimplyRFID Pre-Programmed Tags Military-grade, Class 1 Generation 2 RFID Tags pre-programmed to DoD 252.211-7006 specifications shipped same day for less than $1 each. Find out why over 1,000 DoD (Department of Defense) suppliers choose SimplyRFID for their RFID needs. Visit us at www.SimplyRFID.com for no hassle RFID solutions. |
This email was intended for , who subscribed
RFID Update is the RFID industry daily. Launched in early 2004 to provide timely analysis of RFID industry news, RFID Update publishes editorial briefings every weekday for the growing ranks of top level executives involved in the deployment of RFID. Each issue delivers the breaking news and analysis most pertinent to successful RFID implementations, allowing readers to understand global RFID developments as they happen.
RFID Update Editor: Will Smith, editor at rfidupdate dot com Press releases and public relations inquiries should be directed to Will.
To advertise in RFID Update, email advertising07 at rfidupdate dot com to request a media kit.
RFID Questions? Ask at RFID Talk (www.RFIDtalk.com).
Forward this issue of RFID Update to your colleagues, or tell them to subscribe free at: www.RFIDupdate.com
View all past issues of RFID Update in the archive.
Update your subscription settings: subscriptions07 at rfidupdate dot com
We take your privacy seriously. View our Privacy Policy here.
RFID Update -- The RFID Industry Daily 3213 Duke Street #266 Alexandria, VA 22314 http://www.rfidupdate.com
© 2006, ALX Technologies. All Rights Reserved. |
|
|