How Marks & Spencer and Gist brought RFID to the retail world
Fast and efficient supply chains are essential for any retailer. When Marks & Spencer places an order on one of its food suppliers at 06.00 it normally expects the product to be on sale in its stores from 07.30 the following day. Gist manages the supply chain for most of M&S' chilled and ambient food and all these products pass through its six distribution centres and out to M&S stores throughout the UK.
The trial of radio frequency identification, or RFID, started in 2003 at Gist's Barnsley depot. In the world's biggest RFID implementation project in the retail sector, M&S tagged 3.5 million of its food trays with microchips that can store information about the product in the tray - far more information than a traditional bar code could handle. The information can be read, changed and updated easily and allows M&S and its suppliers to follow the product all the way from factory to store. As the trays are wheeled past an RFID sensor the data are read, systems updated, and the operator is told where to position the trays ready for the next stage of delivery. It used to take 30 seconds or more to scan a stack of trays using hand-held bar code readers; now it takes around five seconds. When RFID tagging is fully in use, Gist expects it will also reduce its vehicle turn-round time by up to a half, making more efficient use of its vehicles.
The programme won Retail Week magazine's retail technology solution award this year and is expected to be fully implemented by early next year. When this is done the next stage of supply chain improvements will begin; trials have already identified other areas where RFID technology can bring benefits.
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