12:00

Preconference seminars open/working lunch

Working Lunch: RFID Basics
New to RFID? Here's your opportunity to gain a basic introduction to the fundamentals of radio frequency identification. The differences between the various classes of tags will be explained, including active and passive systems, and the need for additional IT systems to build upon RFID in real-world applications will be highlighted. This session will also include a very brief overview of the EPCglobal network, the future of ISO standards, ETSI reader regulations and the latest standardization efforts worldwide. Finally, the relationship between different standards in the areas of RFID and EPC, including the latest EPC Gen 2 standard, will be presented.

Speaker:

Mark Roberti, Founder and Editor, RFID Journal LLC

13:15

Preconference Seminar Breaks into Separate Room

     RFID Journal University

17:00

Preconference Seminar Concludes

08:00

Continental Breakfast

08:30

Welcome and Introduction

Speaker:

Mark Roberti, Founder and Editor, RFID Journal LLC

09:00

Keynote Session:
ROI Along the Entire Retail Value Chain

Speaker:

Gerd Wolfram, Managing Director, METRO Group

09:45

General Session:
RFID in Perspective: Looking 5 Years Ahead

There has been a lot written about RFID not living up to its promise. In this session, leaders from key industries that launched the RFID movement by backing the Electronic Product Code (EPC) standard look at what happened over the past five years, where we are now and how companies will likely use the technology over the next five years.

10:30

Refreshment Break in Exhibit Hall

11:15

General Session:
Real-World RFID for Supply-Chain Optimization

Senior executives need to understand RFID's growing importance for supply chain efficiency, inventory accuracy and reverse logistics throughout each product's lifecycle. Using RFID to enhance its retail replenishment strategy, a global agricultural company is currently tracking its products with unprecedented levels of granularity, utilizing item-level tagging across its entire enterprise. In this session, the company will share how it

12:00

Keynote Session:
Planning for an RFID Infrastructure that Will Deliver Long-Term Benefits

Most companies are deploying RFID systems without much long-term planning, but how you build out your RFID infrastructure will either make business a lot easier or a lot more difficult down the road. Learn how one major manufacturer is mapping future active and passive applications, analyzing potential needs and planning an infrastructure rollout that will meet its needs for years to come.

12:45

Lunch in the Exhibit Hall

Supply Chain/Logistics:
Sony Bridges the Supply Chain Gap With RFID Implementation

Sony has been instrumental in pushing the boundaries of RFID in Europe, through its involvement in one of the business development work-packages in the prestigious EU project known as BRIDGE ("Building Radio frequency IDentification solutions for the Global Environment"). Through BRIDGE, Sony has implemented one of the first EPC RFID pilot infrastructures across its end-to-end supply chain. In this session, hear how the use of EPC RFID initiatives at Sony's production factory extends from warehousing and distribution, all the way to retail and consumer service operations. Using the Discovery Service software prototype, developed by a group of BRIDGE researchers, find out how Sony obtains data on the movement of goods along its supply chain, and predicts the likely destination for those items.

Speaker:

Wolfgang Schoenfeld, Senior Manager Logistics Europe, Sony Corporation

Takeaways:

• How EPC RFID infrastructure can be developed and deployed in the context of the operations of a European supply chain
• Deeper insight into the benefits that arise from enhanced data-sharing and item-level information

Retail:
Krause Outlet Takes Window-Shopping to the Ultimate Level

Krause Outlet, a retail store in an industrial park in northern Germany, is employing radio frequency identification to display information regarding each garment presented in its store windows, thereby enabling a consumer to purchase that exact item on the spot, via a vending machine. Before RFID was implemented, customers had to wait for up to two weeks before purchasing clothing displayed in a particular window. A clerk would manually write down the shopper's name and telephone number by hand, then call that person when the requested item was taken out of the window and became available for purchase. In this session, learn how information regarding each garment is displayed, thereby enabling shoppers to utilize their mobile phones to reserve the clothes they see, then purchase those outfits via a vending machine.

Speaker:

Erwin Krause, Owner, Krause Outlet

Takeaways:

• How RFID is being used to encourage 24-hour sales at a retail location
• Using radio frequency identification to automate the sales process

Manufacturing/Operations:
Using RFID to Overcome Rugged Conditions

Schneider Electric, a global energy-management company headquartered in France, needs to know the status of its parts and equipment at all times. The company's products are placed in very harsh environments with high voltage and high current that prohibit the use of wired sensors. Its equipment is often installed in areas in which no wires can be added and no battery can be used. In this session, hear how the firm is developing a system that employs RFID tags, along with wireless and battery-less sensors, to reduce costs in challenging conditions.

Speaker:

Dr. Fabrice Roudet, Technical Project Leader and Wireless Communications Expert, Schneider Electric

Takeaways:

• How RFID can be used to gain a competitive advantage
• Insights into how this solution utilizes commonly available tags and readers

15:05

Sponsored Breakout Sessions

15:45

Refreshment Break in Exhibit Hall

Manufacturing/Operations:
Smart Bottles Reduce Glass Breakage

One of the largest glass container makers in the world is using facsimile bottles with built-in active RFID tags and sensors to identify sites on assembly lines that subject the glass to damaging pressure or collisions. The system improves the manufacturing process and limits the amount of damage done to bottles, as well as identifying trouble spots. In this session, hear how a bottle factory is using an RFID-enabled system to identify which glass is at risk of breakage, as well as improving line performance and quality control as it manufactures the bottles. By locating the sources of such problems as excessive pressure or collisions between bottles and machinery or other bottles, the manufacturer will share how it is reducing the cost of losing products, as well as minimizing the strain on landfills resulting from broken glass.

Takeaways:

• Insights into how the use of smart bottles (those with built-in RFID tags with sensors) on the assembly line can identify the exact point in the process at which real glass containers would likely be damaged
• Using RFID to improve the manufacturing process

Supply Chain/Logistics:
Automotive Parts Supplier Uses RFID to Replenish Parts for Production Lines

An internationally known automotive parts supplier is employing RFID-tagged kanban cards to trigger the replenishment of components for the diesel fuel injectors it manufactures at two separate locations in Germany. The cards contain passive high-frequency (HF) RFID tags at one site, and passive ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) RFID tags at another. At both plants, the company builds diesel fuel injectors on several production lines with machinery primarily controlled by computer. Workers oversee the machines and fill them with parts, such as screws and springs, as necessary. Hear how the use of RFID has resulted in significant time and cost savings by speeding up the parts replenishment process.

Takeaways:

• Improving a company's return on investment with RFID
• How an RFID system can reduce errors in the production process

Retail:
How Retailers Benefit from Using RFID to Improve Inventory Accuracy

For the past several years, the University of Arkansas' RFID Research Center has been studying the impact various retailers have achieved by employing radio frequency identification to improve inventory accuracy and replenishment. The center has now aggregated this information, and plans to provide baseline data revealing the benefits the typical apparel retailer can expect to achieve with RFID. Attendees will also learn how the technology can be applied to improving inventory accuracy and reducing the out-of-stock problem that has long plagued retailers.

Speaker:

Bill Hardgrave, Director, RFID Research Center, University of Arkansas

Takeaways:

• Baseline data and new insights regarding the ROI that apparel retailers can expect to achieve using RFID
• The requirements for applying RFID to out-of-stocks

16:45

Day 1 conference program concludes

08:00

Continental Breakfast

08:30

Keynote Session:
Controlling Quality and Streamlining Production With RFID

An equipment manufacturer is employing passive RFID at one of its factories to monitor work-in-process and ensure parts are at the right place at the proper time. The company has also deployed an RFID system in conjunction with its manufacturing execution system (MES) in order to improve production efficiencies and accuracies at another factory. Hear how these systems are helping the firm reduce costs and improve its manufacturing operations.

09:10

General Session:
Using RFID as an Incentive to Good Health

More than 1 million Scottish citizens currently carry a National Entitlement Card (NEC), a contactless card solution that reduces the handling of cash and promotes the use of certain services. Each card contains a contactless chip encoded with a unique ID number linked to relevant data regarding the card's user, such as his or her name, and services that person can receive in a back-end database managed by the agency. In this session, hear how the city of Dundee has focused on health improvement and easy cash payment solutions by encouraging pregnant women to use their NEC cards to prove they don't smoke, enabling them to earn free food. The program, known as Give It Up for Baby, provides an NEC card to pregnant smokers who agree to attempt to stop smoking. Each woman is provided with an NEC card, and when she visits one of the 36 pharmacies participating in the program, she then blows into a device that measures carbon monoxide levels to determine whether she has been smoking. If the pharmacy finds her to be smoke-free, it directs that information to the Dundee Local Authority, which credits her card with money she can then use to purchase food at designated stores.

Speaker:

Sid Bulloch, National Entitlement Card Manager, City of Dundee

Takeaways:

• How the system has successfully aided pregnant women in kicking the smoking habit by allowing them to step out of the socially acceptable norm of smoking since they are getting paid to quit
• Future uses of RFID-enabled monitoring, plus incentive programs by local governments

09:45

General Session:
Perishables Traceability: Critical for Today's Supply Chains

Today's supply chains that handle perishable goods are increasingly global and diverse in nature. This diversity stems from the variety of players involved, as well as their sizes, technological and process maturities, and geographic locations. Traceability is critical, with issues ranging from product recalls and food safety to managing risk, improving shrinkage and reducing costs, advancing a consumer's right to know, and improving supply chain visibility. This session will discuss one company's visibility project, and provide a global perspective on perishables traceability and reusable container tracking, as well as a standards-based roadmap for achieving incremental traceability on a proven platform.

10:15

Refreshment Break in Exhibit Hall

Manufacturing/Operations:
German Manufacturer Uses RFID to Improve Assembly Process

A German manufacturer of bathroom fittings, showers, shower systems and kitchen mixers is using RFID technology in its assembly processes. Since 2008, the company has employed RFID-enabled kanban cards to track containers regularly shipped between two of its production locations. In this session, learn how the firm is utilizing RFID-based kanban cards to speed up the receiving of goods, as well as making sure it has sufficient parts available, in the right location, to assemble end products.

Takeaways:

• The advantages of adding EPC Gen 2 RFID tags to bar-coded kanban cards that are placed in sleeves on shipping containers
• How RFID is being used to track which components have been used, and which items have been assembled

Supply Chain/Logistics:
RFID Helps Beverage Maker Track Shipping Containers

A Norwegian beverage company is employing EPC Gen 2 UHF RFID tags to track its reusable containers as they are shipped, filled with products, to retailers, and then returned empty to its distribution center. The company is tracking containers of beer and other beverages with RFID as they leave and return to its distribution center (DC) in Oslo, Norway. Hear how the system is improving the management of containers in the DC's large shipping yard, as well as providing data regarding the movement of product in those containers, whether by truck or by rail.

Takeaways:

• The benefits of using a system that lets a producer know how many containers—and of what size—are available for loading, as well as the exact time they are loaded and then depart the yard
• How RFID can be used to minimize load and unload times

Retail:
Bringing RFID to Shoppers

At its store in Finland, a women's clothing designer has extended its existing RFID system to the sales floor. The company—which sells women's fashion at 500 retail locations in Scandinavia and Russia, as well as at 10 of its own stores—has created a smart store, employing RFID sensors in its dressing rooms and on its shelves to provide customers with improved and more personalized service. In this session, learn how NP expanded its RFID system to fitting rooms, store shelves and sales counters.

Takeaways:

• How RFID is improving customers' shopping experiences
• Insights into how the system speeds up the payment process

12:00

Lunch in the Exhibit Hall

Manufacturing/Operations:
Magnet-Triggered RFID Solution Lowers Cost at Manufacturing Plant

C-parts (small screws, pegs and bolts used in production) represent a large portion of procurement costs for companies since it's difficult to order new C-parts at the right time to ensure the proper amount always remains on hand. To help make sure it always has the C-parts it requires, a Switzerland-based developer and manufacturer of binding equipment for adhesive-bound books has adopted an RFID system that automates the reordering of materials, thanks to active RFID tags mounted on parts containers.

Takeaways:

• How to save up to 50 percent on process costs by using an RFID replenishment system
• How an RFID system can trigger an automatic order to replenish components, which reduces payroll costs by eliminating the need for training

Supply Chain/Logistics:
Setting Standards for RFID in the Worldwide Supply Chain

Recently, several end-user companies began testing the use of the EPC Information Service to track products in cartons, containers and pallets from Tokyo to Amsterdam. In this session, learn how supply chain partners tracked shipments from a third-party logistics provider in Japan to a distribution warehouse in the Netherlands, and how they used EPCIS to store, access and share real-time event data regarding objects moving throughout different points in the supply chain.

Takeaways:

• Why Electronic Product Code (EPC) tags were read only by fixed interrogators
• How the test results will be used to drive the development of standards for conveyance asset tags and passive e-seals

Retail:
Retail Chain Tracks Items from Production to Point of Sale

A European fashion retail chain has deployed one of the world's first end-to-end supply chain tracking solutions at the item level. The company has its suppliers tag clothing items at eight production facilities in China. The goods are then tracked through a warehouse at the port of Shanghai, as well as at European distribution centers, the backs of four stores in Slovenia, on the retail floor and, finally, at the point of sale. In this session, find out how the system is being used effectively, as well as plans for future use.

Takeaways:

• Using RFID to improve on-shelf replenishment
• How the system helps stock-taking, inventory management and the management of the store's back room

Manufacturing/Operations:
Using RFID to Track the Location and Movement of Forklifts and Containers

An iron foundry located in the eastern part of Germany is using an RFID-based system to track forklifts and containers at three of its facilities. The system employs ultra-wideband (UWB) active RFID tags for tracking 20 to 30 forklifts, as well as passive ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) EPC Gen 2 RFID tags for tracking 10,000 metal containers and their contents. Learn how the real-time locating system (RTLS) captures the signals and unique ID numbers sent out by the forklift tags, then analyzes each forklift's location within the warehouse. Hear how the tags are placed at different points on the vehicle, enabling the system to also determine in which direction it is moving.

Takeaways:

• How to use a combination of active and passive RFID technology to track the location and movement of equipment
• The benefits to a manufacturing facility in locating specific items quickly, thereby providing a better overview of production

Supply Chain/Logistics:
Using Passive UHF RFID to Create The Intelligent Airport

Airports and other large, complex infrastructures have diverse communications needs that include complex and often varying service requirements, traffic profiles and user expectations. The Intelligent Airport project (TINA) was created to address these future and present needs. This three-year research project is being carried out by the University of Cambridge (with research conducted by Sithamparanathan Sabesan, Michael Crisp, Richard Penty and Ian White), the University College London and the University of Leeds, and funding has been provided by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). In this session, hear how TINA will manage a wide range of fixed and mobile equipment, including passenger information and entertainment services, security cameras, biometric sensors, and explosive and chemical detectors, as well as providing logistical support for airport retailers, transport services and runway operations.

Speaker:

Sithamparanathan Sabesan, Researcher, Centre for Photonic Systems, Cambridge University

Takeaways:

• Improving efficiency and security through the active tracking of passengers and employees by using RFID tags to aid in the detection and identification of possible threats by intruders
• How RFID can locate checked-in passengers who are either missing or late, thereby facilitating the reduction of passenger-induced delays and speeding up aircraft turnaround

Retail:
RFID-enabled Store Display Making an Impression

An RFID-enabled retail display created for a London store has shown early signs of success. Within the first two days the display was active, 800 customer interactions were recorded. The display, installed at a large department store in London, features a line of skin-care products for men. When an RFID-tagged product in the display is picked up, related video footage plays on screens embedded in the display, including recommendations for accompanying products. Hear how each customer interaction, or impression, is recorded by the display's software and encourages sales.

Takeaways:

• Using RFID to track which items attract the most interest from customers
• Understanding how that information corresponds to sales at the checkout counter

Manufacturing/Operations:
Using RFID to Detect and Identify People and Objects in Hazardous Situations

A European nuclear fuel and waste company that manages and disposes of all radioactive waste from centrally located nuclear plants is employing RFID to identify individuals and objects at a hard rock laboratory. The underground lab is where the company compiles and refines knowledge of all the processes that occur in a final repository of nuclear waste, and tests various technical solutions on a full scale, as well as in a realistic environment.

Takeaways:

• How an RFID-enabled system can be an integrated part of a fire and security system
• Insights into the use of RFID technology in high-risk situations

Supply Chain/Logistics:
Forensic Institute Turns to RFID to Track Crime-Scene Evidence

A forensic institute is employing an RFID-enabled track-and-trace system to establish and guarantee the chain of custody of crime-scene evidence. Evidence is collected, packed and sent to the institute for forensic analysis. All materials are tagged using a smart label with a bar code, readable text and a built-in RFID tag, either at the scene or upon arriving at the lab. In the building, 50 doors are equipped with an RFID reader and antennas to track the movements of items and personnel. Hear how the system is used to prove two items were never present in the same room at the same time, thereby excluding the possibility of cross-contamination. What's more, learn how evidence is protected—and how, if it illegally leaves the building, an audible alarm is sounded immediately.

Takeaways:

•How RFID reduces expenses associated with tracking evidence and maintaining a documentation of each item's chain of custody
• How the technology eliminates errors associated with scanning bar codes to track the movement of evidence

Retail:
Protecting Profits With RFID

An Austrian outdoor apparel and equipment retailer is using a dual-function tag at one of its flagship stores that enables the company not only to manage its inventory, but also to deter theft. The tag functions as a passive EPC Gen 2 UHF RFID tag, as well as a security tag that alerts retail store employees that an item is being stolen. In this session, find out how the retailer quantified the number and value of products stolen, and how it accelerated its inventory speed by 80 percent.

Takeaways:

• The financial advantages of combining article information for inventory purposes and anti-theft functionality into a single tag
• The impact of an RFID system on a store's theft rate

15:50

Conference Adjourns