TORONTO – Bell Canada today announced that it’s been selected by a major group of suppliers and retailers called the Supply Chain Network Project (SCN) to deploy Canada’s first end-to-end EPC/RFID (Electronic Product Code/Radio Frequency Identification) pilot.
The pilot will involve up to four suppliers, one warehouse and one STAPLES Business Depot location, and will encompass pallet, case and item level tagging using the EPCO Gen2 standard. (EPCO is the approved global product code standard to support RFID. Gen2 is the newest standard for RFID tagging.)
With this RFID enabled supply chain, the consortium of retailers and suppliers will explore how RFID can be used within their retail eco-system to enable them to reduce their costs, increase their productivity and create a better customer experience.
"This project is about increasing STAPLES Business Depot’s productivity and decreasing their costs," said Paul Rowe, vice-president, enterprise solutions, Bell Canada. "STAPLES’ and the SCN Group’s commitment represents a significant leap forward for the industry. "
The SCN is dedicated to furthering the understanding and impact of emerging technology on the supply chain and is made up of leading organizations including; STAPLES Business Depot, Unisource, UPS Supply Chain Solutions, ACCO Canada Inc., Fellowes Canada and Western Inventory Service. All of these organizations have participated in the initial funding and feasibility analysis resulting in this SCN Pilot Project. Ongoing program management for SCN is provided by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.
"We see RFID as having a strong value proposition in retail," said Joe Soares, director, retail process for STAPLES Business Depot. "The savings can be significant in a number of areas. We can use the technology to optimize supply chain resources and reduce our handling costs."
“While there have been some isolated EPC /RFID pilot projects in the past, this is the first end-to-end EPC/RFID pilot of its kind in Canada, spanning manufacturers, distributors and a retailer and adhering to global EPC standards," said N. Art Smith, president & CEO of EPCglobal Canada and CEO of GS1 Canada. "This is a significant development for EPC based RFID solutions."
www.supplychainnetwork.com
www.bell.ca
www.staples.ca
www.symbol.com
www.shipcomwireless.com
www.pwc.com
www.fellowes.com
www.acco.ca
www.unisource.ca
www.wisinternational.com
www.ups-scs.com
www.epcglobalcanada.org
