Metro Group expands its RFID initiative in China 麥德羅集團展開在中國RFID計劃

Now it's almost a year since UPM Raflatac, RFID tag and inlay manufacturer, announced that it is taking part in the largest retail RFID pilot project in China. The company had been selected by retail giant METRO Group to supply its Rafsec G2 ShortDipole RFID inlays for an innovative pilot scheme to track products along the supply chain from China to Germany.
一年前無線射頻標籤及嵌入式電子標籤製造商芬歐藍泰標籤公司, 曾宣佈參與一項在中國的大型零售業無線射頻辨識前導計劃，而這家廠商已被零售大廠麥德羅集團選為一項追蹤從中國至德國供應鏈產品之創新前導計劃中Rafsec G2 ShortDipole無線射頻嵌入標籤的供應商 。

It turned out that the big bet put by german giant has proven to be promising because Metro has expanded the use of smart tags from its stores in Europe to key producers in China as the German retailer moves to optimize its global logistics chain. According to ComputerWorld UK:
英國電腦世界雜誌報導，德國零售大廠麥德羅集團這項巨額的投資被認為相當具有前景，因為麥德羅集團已經將用於歐洲零售店的智慧型標籤擴展至中國的一些關鍵產品上，促始其全球物流供應鏈達到最佳化。

A three-month test, launched this week in Hong Kong, will require boxes and containers of products destined for Metro's distribution centre in Unna, Germany, to carry RFID (radio frequency identification) tags.
一項為期三個月的市場測試，預計本週從香港出發，運送好幾個貨櫃配有無線射頻辨識標籤的產品到麥德羅德國Unna的物流配銷中心

The pilot is part of the company's Advanced Logistics Asia (ALA) program, which kicked off in October 2006. The goal is to have more accurate, real-time data that will help the retailer improve control over its international supply chain, resulting in lower warehousing costs and fewer out-of-stock situations, according to a Metro spokesman.
根據麥德羅公司的發言人指出，這項在2006年10月開始的前導計劃只是麥德羅公司亞洲先進物流計劃的一部份，目的在提供有助於零售店之更精確、即時的資訊以促進對其全球供應鏈的掌控，進而降低倉儲成本及缺貨的情況

For the Hong Kong pilot, Chinese suppliers can either fit passive RFID tags to their shipments themselves or allow a consolidator to manage this process. The passive chips have no energy and a short reading distance, the spokesman said.
麥德羅公司發言人說明，在香港的前導計劃，中國的供應商可以自行將被動的無線射頻標籤附著在出口的產品上，或者交由負責整合的廠商來進行，這種被動無線射頻辨識晶片是沒有電力，及短距離的讀取功能。

Metro is collaborating with several IT companies, including IBM, Intel and SAP, and more than 40 additional consumer goods and technology suppliers to develop RFID systems for the retail sector. The retailer, which generated more than £40bn in sales last year through its 2,400 stores, operates Europe's largest RFID test bed.
麥德羅集團與好幾家資訊科技(IT)廠商都有合作，包括IBM, Intel, SAP, 以及超過40家的消費性產品及技術供應商，一同發展應用於零售業的無線射頻辨識系統(RFID systems)。零售大廠麥德羅集團2400家零售店，應用歐洲最大的無線射頻辨識測試平台，去年創下超過400億英磅的營業額。