Ripple effectEHV...great post. Its the anticipated ripple effect leading to an all out tsunami that we are looking for in the supply chain side of RFID Looks like METRO will be leading the wave. Add to this ODIN's endorsement and METRO is using Sirit readers and things look swimmingly good! Oh, and Norbert is buying shares...all good stuff.
" According to Collins, METRO's ramp-up will have a positive near-term effect on the RFID reader market in Europe. ABI estimates that METRO itself will deploy about 220 readers in this first stage, which will see infrastructure installed at the company's Cash & Carry supermarkets, Real hypermarkets, and the distribution centers that serve them. Intermec and Sirit are providing the readers. Then there are the readers that the METRO suppliers themselves will have to deploy. Collins noted that it is hard to predict how many reader purchases will result from supplier demand, since some suppliers will only need one, some will need many more than one, and some will need none, opting to pay the penalty instead of comply.
Collins also believes that METRO's expansion will have a ripple effect across Europe, as other companies perceive the retailer's forward movement as a validation of the technology. "The METRO deployment is a good signal that a lot of the hurdles can be managed and that UHF RFID can be done," said Collins, referring to the Europe-specific regulatory challenges that had stalled supply chain adoption on the continent. "The reasons for thinking RFID is a better investment are becoming clear." Furthermore, as one of Europe's leading RFID evangelists, METRO has invested a lot resources in working through the challenges and laying the groundwork from which others can now benefit. "
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