AS part of Australia’s largest ever RFID (Radio Frequency IDentification) project for exhibitions, visitors to the Retail Technology Expo will don electronic name badges and experience for themselves how RFID technology will shape the future of retail, 19-21 September, at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre.
Every visitor will have the chance to interactively learn about real-world retail applications for RFID – tomorrow’s barcode technology – when they attend one of the five exhibits offering demonstrations throughout the Expo – NCR Australia, Symbol Technologies, Fujitsu Australia, Pronto Software, and GS1 Australia.
Identification data stored on the RFID name badges will be instantaneously “captured” and displayed by the RFID readers, offering visitors a rare glimpse into how this technology may translate to a retail environment in the future.
Supported by NCR Australia and Symbol Technologies, who are jointly supplying the tags and RFID readers, Expo organisers believe this will be the first opportunity for many visitors to personally encounter the potential of RFID technology.
“The future direction of retail will see RFID tags emerging in competition with the omnipresent barcode, and this exciting new addition to the show allows visitors to come to grips with a technology that is often talked about in a retail context, but rarely personalised in an interactive setting,” says Todd Blake, exhibition director, .
Although RFID technology has origins dating back to World War 2, it is only recently that business users have recognised some of the potential advantages that RFID offers over barcodes. Benefits for retailers include: RFID tags can be read from a greater distance and can be updated with new data at any time; codes can identify an individual item (not just a type); RFID tags are more durable than labels; and a single scan can read multiple items.
“Today customers are exploring and evaluating RFID solutions across retail vertical industries including hospitality, general merchandise, and food,” says Con Vass, area sales vice president, South Asia Pacific, NCR Retail Solutions Division.
“In the future retailers may use RFID technology as part of the stock replenishment process. For example, store staff would use a mobile handheld computer with RFID reader to scan the aisle for current stock levels, and an alert would then be sent to the replenishment staff to advise what product and location needs to be re-stocked. Consequently, customer satisfaction may also dramatically improve,” says Kurt Hansen, managing director, Symbol Technologies, Australia.
The Shopfit & Design Expo will run concurrent to the Retail Technology Expo over three consecutive days, and together the events will showcase the latest retail technology solutions, supply chain and logistics developments, point-of-sale equipment, financial and back office software, the latest shop fitting products and retail design solutions.