Supply Scan


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News and trends from across the food supply chain.


"After completing a review of our distribution network, we have made the very difficult decision to close our North Haven distribution center," said Mark Smith, Stop & Shop president and CEO.

"Unfortunately, the location, size and age of this facility limit our ability to service our stores in the most logistically effective way and our markets that are experiencing growth cannot be supported by it."

Smith said that Freetown is well positioned to serve the company's distribution needs in New England.

Closing the North Haven distribution center will affect approximately 850 union and non-union Stop & Shop associates. The company will offer employees a separation package including comprehensive career center assistance. For union associates, this package will be based on discussions with their union leadership.

RFID Producing Huge Benefits For Germany's METRO Group

he METRO Group stands to save about $10 million (or 8.5 million euros) as a result of its use of radio frequency identification (RFID) and electronic data interchange (EDI), according to a new study that the German retailer presented at the National Retail Federation's annual convention and expo in New York last month.

The study, conducted in cooperation with Minneapolis-based Procter & Gamble and IBM, involved warehouses and stores of METRO's Cash & Carry and Real divisions, as well as a Procter & Gamble warehouse.

"The research results confirm our optimism about RFID technology," says Dr. Gerd Wolfram, managing director of METRO Group Information Technology GmbH. "Thanks to RFID, we're able to significantly accelerate time-consuming standard processes in the incoming goods area."

The study also found that in order-picking and at the outgoing goods portal, 16 seconds per pallet can be saved. This is complemented by reduced logistics costs as the faster handling of incoming goods processes shortens waiting times for delivery trucks.

The METRO Group has been introducing RFID in stages along its entire supply chain since November 2004, and has been working with international committees such as EPCglobal and GS1, both headquartered in Brussels, Belgium, to further the development of universal standards for RFID use.

During the course of this year, the METRO Group will be introducing Generation 2 RFID tags throughout it network. Comprehensive tests on the latest chip technology have already produced convincing results, such as improved reading precision.

 

At NRF's Big Show

Lift truck-mounted radio frequency identification readers are the modern-day Holy Grail of warehouse distribution, and the industry may be one step closer to reaching that goal. Symbol Technologies, Holtsville, NY, introduced a prototype of a forklift-mounted RFID reader at the National Retail Federation's annual convention and expo in New York last month.
The reader, which measures about 8 inches wide by 6 inches high by 2 inches deep, fits between the forklift's arms at the back of the carriage.

Symbol has been working with forklift manufacturer Crown Equipment Corp., New Bremen, OH, in developing and positioning the reader to ensure adequate read rates, and has also been working with the material handling equipment manufacturer to develop a forklift backrest that can be outfitted with external RFID reader antennae for easier data capture by a forklift traveling throughout the warehouse.

The readers are going to be equipped with wireless antennae that will allow them to interact with the VC5090, Symbol's newest vehicle-mounted mobile computer model, wirelessly transmitting scanned data to the computer terminal to help extend real-time decision-making right on the warehouse floor.

"A warehouse worker can scan with RFID and interact right on the forklift with the VC5090 so that you not only scan the data but then can run the software applications on the spot to tell you what to do with the product," explains Lou Steinberg, chief technology officer and vice president of Symbol.

According to Steinberg and others at Symbol, the company also has been hard at work making sure that the reader is durable enough to withstand the rough handling of a warehouse, giving special consideration to things like temperature changes, moisture and dust. It is currently piloting the product at a number of customer sites, and anticipates making it commercially available in the third quarter of this year.

This, they say, will give Symbol time to make sure the product is certified by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission and EPCglobal as compliant with all Generation 2 RFID standards.

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