Two U.S. general merchandise chain stores test RFID electronic shelf-cabinet tags
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Two U.S. general merchandise chain stores are testing an electronic shelf label (ESL) system in several stores on the east and west coasts. ESL provided by Altierre The system, combined with the RFID LCD display on the shelf of the store, can identify the goods and their prices, so that the shelf can upgrade the product data in real time.The system can be managed remotely and helpThe store saves tens of thousands of paper labels every year.According to Altierre Chairman and President Sunit Saxena, the company spent 6 years developing this setSystem, the system has been in trial operation for 9 months so far.
Altierre established a retail technology center in San Jose, California.The center is composed of a supermarket and technology laboratory. Potential RFID technology users can visitTest the system in this simulated environment.
Altierre has been developing a labeling solution for retailers since 2003, Saxena said.The company hopes to establish a program that allows retailers to upgrade immediatelyThey show customers information about the products they sell, such as electronics, clothing, or other products. A typical retail store has about 10,000-12 per week,000 times of price changes, Saxena said, container electronic labels can reflect price changes, without the need to print paper labels and re-labeling (this process is often guidedResulting in errors).
The Altierre electronic container tag contains a 2.4 GHz RFID tag and LCD display
“Stores can’t keep up with rapid price changes,” Saxena said, which is a challenge faced by retailers using paper labels.Although, the cash register data will be automaticallyThe upgrade will not affect the correct amount of customer transactions, but the cabinet has not been added to the electronic data stream.
Altierre has considered Wi-Fi solutions, Saxena said, but each Wi-Fi node cannot support a sufficient number of tags; wired electronic tags are also not feasible.He added that because of the frequent movement of the container device, the electronic container label will be rewired.When the company considered RFID technology, the company did not find anyExisting RFID technology that meets the requirements.
“We found that the existing chips could not meet our requirements for cost, low power and reading distance,” Saxena explained. For this reason, the company independently developed 2.4 GHz RFID chip. The label contains a coin battery and a chip that can control the label’s LCD screen. The RFID chip of each tag stores the SKU of the product Code, name, price and other information.
The two retailers who refused to disclose their names have each installed Altierre’s RFID readers in several of their stores.The company’s warehouse in each storeSet up a computer server in it.The server sends the price change information to the reader through the Ethernet cable, and the reader sends the information to the corresponding shelf labelsign. After the label receives this instruction, it immediately updates the product information on the LCD screen and sends a confirmation message to the reader to indicate the receipt of the information.
With this system, Saxena says, the store can upgrade 10,000 product labels within one hour. Stores that test this system are in 50,000 Only two RFID readers are installed on the square-foot shop to control 25,000 rack-cabinet tags.
In addition, store employees use handheld readers to control the data switching of the label LCD, such as customer information (such as price) to the product’s barcode SKU code (used forOrder merchandise).
Altierre software can also speed up the recall process of products by sending recall data related to the SKU code of a specific product.The label LCD of the recalled product will beFlash the recall alert in bold to inform customers not to buy this product.
At present, this system is working well. The cost of each label is US$5, and it is replaced every 5 years. The company expects to get 100% in one and a half to two years. Return on investment, Saxena said.
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