Feb 11, 2005

RFID At The National Hardware ShowSource: REED Exhibitions

At the 2005 National Hardware Show, experts from the International RFID Business Association will conduct a seminar, RFID 101, to provide conference attendees with information about the application of RFID in the home improvement retail industry.

RFID, short for radio frequency identification, is a data collection technology that uses radio signals to transmit information about an item, such as a serial number or name. Within the floriculture industry, it is used in several cart tracking/trucking systems to monitor the location of product and the carts carrying it, and RFID has recently been in the national media because of its adoption by major retailers as a method of inventory management. GPN has even been covering RFID and a sister technology, UCCNET, in a two-part series currently running in the magazine.

“With many large retailers now requiring their suppliers to implement RFID technology into their product packaging,” said Rob Cappiello, industry vice president of the National Hardware Show, “we felt it was important to include this topic in our industry conferences. Retailers and suppliers should attend this session to learn what they need to do to implement this important technology.”

Participants in the session will have the opportunity to learn first hand what RFID tags, antennas, fixed and portable readers and software applications are capable of achieving in home improvement retailing operations. Tom Abbett, co-founder and senior vice president of the International RFID Business Association, will discuss standards and mandates, as well as present long-term thinking on RFID adoption. Abbett will take a systems-based approach, addressing the systems and RFID technology issues with which retailers and their suppliers are faced.

RFID has the potential to allow the reduction of excess inventory and also leads to fewer instances of out-of-stock items on store shelves, said Abbett. Improved item traceability also enables new measures to fight supply chain fraud. New consumer information services are also enabled by the real-time item identification that RFID offers.

RFID 101 is just one of the 45 seminars offered as part of the 2005 National Hardware Show’s conference schedule. For more information on the National Hardware Show in Las Vegas visit www.nationalhardwareshow.com, and to see the GPN series on RFID and UCCNET visit www.gpnmag.com.