Marks & Spencer launches major in-store RFID tagging project

In what is thought to be the largest ever in-store clothing tagging project in the world, Intellident has won the contract to supply its RFID tracking technology to retail group Marks & Spencer. This follows Intellident’s successful implementation last year of RFID tagging on 3.5 million produce delivery trays in Marks & Spencer’s food supply chain.

Intellident will be using a new generation of UHF (ultra high frequency) tags for this application. UHF tags offer faster data transfer speeds and longer read ranges than the high frequency (HF) tags that have proved so effective in the Marks & Spencer food logistics chain. This makes them highly suitable for applications in which many fast moving individual items need to be read - even if they are in very close proximity to each other, for example in rails of hanging garments or stacked shirts.

Each tag will carry a unique electronic product code (EPC) divided into numbers that identify the manufacturer, product, version and serial number - similar to a barcode. However, the tag product code uses an extra set of digits to identify unique items, vital in the tracking of fast moving items through the supply chain.
The EPC is the only information stored on the RFID tag’s microchip. This keeps the unit cost of the tag down and provides flexibility, since any amount of dynamic data can be associated with the serial number.

Said James Stafford, technical executive, who is leading the tagging programme for Marks & Spencer, ‘RFID technology is the next big thing in retailing. It means we can aim for perfect availability for customers. We can also reduce handling and counting to free staff to spend more time serving customers.’

The first RFID pilot for Marks & Spencer’s clothing division will begin in Q3 this year.