RFID Technology Causes Buzz at Retail Trade Show.

Radio frequency identification technology hype buzzed loudly at the National Retail Foundation's annual trade show in New York this week. And it wasn't just the hardware vendors pushing their own brand of RFID chips. Infrastructure, applications software, and service providers such as Microsoft, SAP, Sun Microsystems, IBM, and Tibco Software, all made product announcements.

RFID chips (or tags) store data for transmission to nearby receivers for tracking inventories across the retail supply chain. Unlike traditional barcodes, RF tags can be "read" from a distance, making them very attractive to retailers, shippers, logistics firms and manufacturers.

At the New York show, Microsoft unveiled its "Smarter Retailing" initiative, a framework for developing standards-based tools for the retail sector. Microsoft said it is fleshing out a portfolio of retail-focused software, using the Windows XP Embedded operating system introduced in late 2001 as the foundation. The initiative has the backing of 20 partners including Accenture Ltd, which has already developed complementary systems and tools that allow consumers to scan and pay for items as they are selected, instead of waiting in a checkout line.

Meanwhile, SAP AG announced the planned mid-2004 release of an RFID middleware package for capturing data and automating inventory processes. The product, which is now in pilot phase, is built on the SAP Web Application Server, and incorporates several other SAP modules. SAP is emerging as a surprising front-runner in RFID application software. At the company's TechEd show last autumn, it used RFID chips to store information on attendee badges.

SAP is also working with European retail giant Metro Group as part of the latter's Future Store project, an initiative focused on a shop in Rheinberg, Germany, which is seen as a "test-bed" store for implementing RFID technologies. IBM Global Services is serving as the main systems integrator for Metro Group's company-wide RFID roll-out. Elsewhere, IBM is also working with Sears Roebuck and Co to replace its existing POS terminals in its US stores with IBM SurePOS 740 systems and IBM receipt printers and flat-panel monitors. The roll-out is expected to be completed by summer 2005.

Sun Microsystems is poised to open an RFID testing center in Dallas, Texas. Sun officials also plan to open a second center in Scotland. The company is testing a set of RFID hardware, software and service offerings that are slated for delivery in the second quarter this year. Sun is working with retailers such as Benetton Group SpA and Office Depot Inc on its RFID initiatives.

Integration software provider Tibco has joined forces with RFID chipmaker Alien Technology Corp to develop a system for linking business processes with RFID-generated events.

Much of the enthusiasm of IT vendors for RFID is driven by retailing giant Wal-Mart Stores Inc, which last year made it mandatory for its top 100 suppliers to begin RF-tagging shipments by January 2005.