RFID update

Introduction

• As was communicated at the time, Marks & Spencer conducted its first RFID technology trial at item level on a selection of men's suits, shirts and ties at its High Wycombe store from 13 October 2003 to 7 November 2003.
• Marks & Spencer is trialling Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) within the supply chain as the next generation of barcode. In that application, RFID uses tags (a tag is a microchip combined with an aerial) to wirelessly transmit product item numbers. These item numbers are unique to each product (unlike barcodes, which only unique to the product type). The tags developed for the garment trial were contained within throwaway paper labels.
• The RFID tags can be read over a short distance by a remote scanner. Traditional optical scanners require each barcode to be held a few centimetres from the scanner: with RFID Marks & Spencer is trailling a distance to approximately half a metre. The scanner can read the tags simultaneously and at speed allowing regular updating of stock information.
• The tags were trialled to test their ability to enable Marks & Spencer to check stock deliveries, and count stock quickly in stores and depots.
• The scanned information was transmitted to the central stock database where an automatic comparison with the stock profile for store triggered a replenishment order.

The four-week High Wycombe trial had two purposes: to test the technology and to test levels of customer acceptability

Technology Test

While in overall terms the technology test was successful, it also highlighted a need to modify the hardware and software as follows:

• Two types of scanner were developed for the trial:
  • A portal which was installed at the distribution centre and the loading bay of the store to allow rails of hanging garments and trolleys (called totes) containing packaged garments, to be pushed through and read at speed.
  • A mobile scanner, housed in a shopping trolley, with a hand-held reader was used to scan labels when garments were out on the shopfloor.
• The portal was found to provide a less accurate read than the mobile scanner and was obviously less versatile.
• The versatility of the mobile scanner could potentially represent better value, however a number of design modifications would be required, such as:
  • The PC integral to the scanner will need to be 'ruggedised' - contained within a more robust casing with a smaller screen; the wheels on the trolley will be enlarged to increase mobility; in a move to reduce the level of power consumption and size of battery, the role of the scanner will be changed to that of a transmitter rather than a processor of information

• During the High Wycombe trial, 50 customers browsing in the menswear department of High Wycombe were interviewed by an independent research company. The main findings were as follows:
• Customers did not have spontaneous awareness of, or issues around, RFID technology (only one customer noticed the label without prompting)
• The issue of the need to improve stock control was regarded as internal to Marks & Spencer
• Taken together, the name of the label (it was called an 'Intelligent Label' during the trial), the symbol on the label, and the explanatory wording were variously interpreted as suggesting, for example, a security role or a reference to fabric information
• While the customer leaflet provided during the trial was regarded as explaining the purpose of the label, it also contradicted it by stating that there was no requirement for the customer to retain the label for refund/return purposes
• These points will be addressed in the redesign of the label and a new customer leaflet for use in the next trial (see below).

• The modifications being made to the mobile scanner and software as a result of the trial, will have themselves to be tested
• Additionally, in order to establish whether there is a business case for the introduction of RFID in any part of the garment supply chain at item level, a more extensive trial, involving a number of stores, will be required
• Plans for a business case trial are still being developed, however, it is likely that this could begin in the Spring 2004.
• At the time of a further trial customers will again be provided with information on the Company's use of RFID, their privacy , throwaway label, no affect to refund etc.

The Benefits of RFID

• With the ability to read product details on the RFID tags at different points in the supply chain, the information can be used to ensure that the right goods are delivered to the right store at the right time.
• Marks & Spencer's goal is 100% stock accuracy, which will enable the existing distribution chain to maximise its efficiency.
• Customers would therefore benefit from better availability of the goods they want each time they shop.

• In order that the chips could be small and relatively inexpensive, the RFID tags for throwaway garment labels were designed to hold very limited information - the number unique to each garment. The information associated with the unique number was held on Marks & Spencer's secure computer database and related only to that product or garment's details, for example, the size, style, colour.
• All the tags used in the trial were passive, having no battery and therefore power to emit a signal. The tags only released their unique identification number when a Marks & Spencer was passed nearby scanner.
• The RFID tags (the microchip and aerial) for garments were contained within a paper label, the Intelligent Label™, which was attached to the garment alongside the separate pricing label. The Intelligent Label™ was designed to be cut-off following purchase and thrown away.
• In the case of shirts, which are sold pre-packed, the Intelligent Label™ is stuck onto the transparent shirt bag.
• The Intelligent Label™ was not scanned at the till and therefore, irrespective of the method of payment, no association is made between the information on the Intelligent Label™ and the purchaser.

• Marks & Spencer has developed two types of scanner:
• Each store has its own product profile or 'catalogue' and this information is used to generate stock deliveries from the distribution centre. To ensure that each delivery is accurate, the order is checked as it passes through the portal before despatch. To ensure that the lorry delivers the correct order to each store, the delivery is read again as it is passed through the portal in the store's loading bay.
• Each evening, after the store has closed, staff take the mobile scanner onto the shopfloor to read the stock remaining following the day's trading. This information is transmitted directly back to Marks & Spencer's stock management system to ensure that accurate replenishment instructions are issued overnight to the distribution centre to enable the store to be fully stocked by the following day.
• The scanners operate at frequencies and power permitted for RFID radio signals in Europe which are around eight times lower than those used in the USA. This means that the maximum accurate read range attainable is around 0.5 metre. We are using 868 MHz for clothing and 13.56 MHz for food trays.
• The scanners comply with all safety standards and have been designed to operate at short range using minimum power output. All the equipment has been independently checked and the results reviewed and approved by the Technology Innovation Centre at the University of Central England.

• The Intelligent Label™ project has been part funded by the DTI and includes expertise from Paxar and Dewhirst. The scanner technology has been developed in conjunction with Intellident Ltd, with SAMSys Technologies Inc supplying the readers. The microchips are being developed by EM Microelectronic, Switzerland.