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Canadian RFID Centre Pilots Canada's First Grocery Industry Project

Markham, ON - July 6, 2006— Keeping shelves well stocked with products and improved delivery times are just two of the benefits that will be evaluated in Canada's first grocery industry Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) pilot project.

The Canadian RFID Centre has announced that the six-month pilot's objectives are to help participating companies better understand and experience how RFID solutions may help drive business benefits. It will focus on both the technological hurdles of applying RFID to perishable product categories, including fresh and frozen products, and provide guidance on conditions necessary for successful implementation. The pilot will help provide a foundation for developing industry-wide guidelines on RFID.

"This industry pilot is vital to ensuring CCGD members and their suppliers can understand the necessary conditions to make the RFID business case work," said David Wilkes, Chair, Canadian RFID Centre Steering Committee and Senior Vice-President, Trade and Business Development, CCGD. "This project will allow the industry to assess the RFID opportunities through proven facts and provide a model for all retailers and suppliers to assess the business case within their organizations. The pilot builds on the collaborative industry lead approach to understand the benefits of RFID technology for retailers, suppliers and Canadian consumers."

The pilot will demonstrate the use of RFID tags at the case and pallet level. The pilot will be conducted within the existing supply chain between the four consumer goods manufacturers and Loblaw's distribution and retail network, and will include the use of RFID tags on the various perishable and non-perishable products. The RFID tags will not be placed on any individual product for retail sale. The results of the pilot will be used to help validate the ability of RFID to improve overall supply chain performance.

"RFID is a proven technology used in many applications, such as transponders in cars and tracking hospital equipment, to help improve efficiency and lower costs," said Ilya Bahar, Distribution Sector Leader, IBM Global Business Services. "With this pilot, we will be able to measure increased supply chain efficiencies, reduced administrative time, increased product availability on retail shelves -- especially during promotions -- and better temperature controls."

Pilot participants will include Loblaw Companies Limited, Maple Leaf Foods, General Mills Canada, Scott Paper and Unilever. They will be working with the Centre's founding members including Canadian Council of Grocery Distributors (CCGD), Food & Consumer Products of Canada (FCPC), EPCglobal Canada, Intermec Inc., Symbol Technologies and IBM.

"When working on this project, it's important from an industry perspective to work closely with our technology partners and organizations such as EPCglobal Canada to address any consumer privacy and security concerns," said Elaine Smith, Senior Vice-President of Industry Affairs, FCPC. "The value of RFID technology, in the supply chain, has to be carefully balanced and considered alongside the needs and concerns of the consumer to find beneficial solutions for all parties concerned."

Opened only eight months ago, the Canadian RFID Centre is a unique facility in Canada. It was created by industry, for industry, to help understand RFID, its benefits and implications. The Markham facility allows manufacturers, distributors and retailers to experience how RFID can be a more accurate and cost effective way to implement food traceability. The Centre provides educational offerings and a product testing facility, which will be utilized in preparation for the pilot. The Centre has initially focused on the retail and consumer products industries on RFID-enablement of frozen, fresh and dry goods supply chain traceability.

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