Consumer Goods Technology for the week of April 10, 2004

Microsoft Forms RFID Council

Microsoft forms a new Microsoft Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Council focused on RFID technology. The group will look at RFID requirements and how to take advantage of today's technology to make it easier for retailers and manufacturers to track and ship merchandise. The company also highlighted a growing ecosystem of partners that are building innovative RFID solutions on the Microsoft platform to enhance control of key business processes, improve inventory visibility and provide better customer service for manufacturers, distributors and retailers.

Microsoft is providing a platform on which partners can create RFID solutions to enable their customers to reduce human error in data collection, reduce inventories and improve product availability, while at the same time respecting the privacy expectations and concerns around the use of RFID technology. The company plans to hold the first Microsoft RFID Council meeting in April and already has several partners, including Accenture, GlobeRanger, HighJump Software, Intermec Technologies, Manhattan Associates and Provia Software, signed up to participate. As a part of the Microsoft RFID Council, Microsoft and partners plan to address industry needs for RFID solutions that are low-cost, simple to deploy and built on a robust scalable technology stack.

"With RFID in the early stages of adoption, we are continuing to expand and evolve our partner-driven strategy based on the needs of the industry," said Javed Sikander, program manager for RFID strategy at Microsoft. "There is a wide spectrum of partners building RFID solutions on the Microsoft platform today; the formation of the Microsoft RFID Council is part of our commitment to continue to work closely with our customers and partners to ensure they receive the greatest value and opportunity when building their RFID solutions with Microsoft technologies."

Pathmark Selects Unicru to Optimize Workforce Selection

Pathmark Stores selects Unicru's workforce acquisition solution to enhance operations and pursue growth opportunities in the highly competitive Northeastern region. Employing more than 25,000 associates, Pathmark will deploy Unicru's solution to all of its 142 stores located in the New York/New Jersey/Philadelphia corridor. Currently, one-third of the top 25 grocers are Unicru customers.

As a key element of Pathmark's competitive strategy, Unicru will help the supermarket retailer consistently apply best hiring practices across locations, giving its managers more time to focus on customer service and store operations by enabling them to more quickly and efficiently hire the candidates best able to deliver the exceptional quality of service for which Pathmark is known.

J. Jill Chooses Experian to Host Multi-Channel Database

The J. Jill Group selects Experian to provide a multi-channel, integrated database solution that synchronizes information from disparate databases to form a single customer-centric platform. With an expanding universe of customers, this data management system links transactional data from retail point-of-sale with direct call center and Web information to keep J. Jill's brand message consistent and their customers connected.

As a multi-channel specialty retailer of high quality women's apparel and accessories, J. Jill uses its catalog, retail stores, e-commerce website and superior customer service to develop strong relationships with its customers. The Experian solution, currently being implemented, maximizes J. Jill's customer interactions through a centralized data warehouse of customer information that supports trade area analysis and campaign deployment for both online and offline activities.

Save Mart Selects Lawson 2.11 Merchandising Suite to Meet GTIN Compliance

Save Mart Supermarkets migrates from the company's existing merchandising software to Lawson's 2.11 Merchandising Suite to centralize merchandising support and meet Global Trade Item Number (GTIN) compliance. Lawson signed the contract with Save Mart Supermarkets in Lawson's third quarter, which ended Feb. 29, 2004.

"We were impressed by Lawson's team and their understanding of our industry," said A.J. Gross, IT Applications and Programming manager for Save Mart Supermarkets. "The decision to migrate to Lawson's Merchandising Suite was clearly a wise move and will mean enhanced stability and support of our distribution and replenishment process as well as bringing our system current to meet GTIN compliance."

Macs Convenience Stores Expands E-Services into Canada

Macs Convenience Stores, a subsidiary of Alimentation Couche-Tard, expands ZapLink e-services program into the Canadian market. Initial deployments will be in 34 Vancouver-area Macs convenience stores.

Powered by Info-Touch's Surfnet Premiere software, the ZapLink network was launched in Phoenix, Arizona in 2001 by The Circle K Corporation, which operates 1,663 convenience stores in 16 states. ZapLink e-service terminals are now operating in 2 states enabling customers to perform a wide range of transactions, from bill payments to mobile content purchases, quickly and easily using cash and credit cards. Info Touch will deploy and manage the Canadian network of ZapLink e-service terminals.

RedPrairie Announces Direct To Consumer Supply Chain Technology Suite

RedPrairie releases a new suite of solutions designed to meet the unique challenges of direct to consumer (DTC) retailers for both direct distribution and drop ship environments. The suite includes new applications, such as DLx SourceRight, a rules-based order sourcing Internet module and tailored versions of RedPrairie's warehouse, transportation and productivity management systems as well as advanced process management and optimization capabilities.

The DTC suite includes the order management capabilities of DLx SourceRight, a user-configurable inventory sourcing and allocation component that provides network wide visibility to orders and inventory to enable lowest cost, best service allocation and shipment, while balancing workflow.

Tyco Fire & Security Completes First RFID Compliance Tests

Tyco Fire & Security, a global provider of radio frequency identification (RFID) solutions through its Sensormatic and SensorID branded solutions, completes its first series of RFID compliance tests for a Fortune 100 consumer goods manufacturer, a North American customer of its ADT Security Services unit.

The RFID product compliance testing process is one of the services offered by Tyco Fire & Security's Sensormatic Performance Center. The Sensormatic Performance Center offers integration testing, which tests RFID configurations that go beyond compliance.

MicroStrategy Unveils MicroStrategy Office

MicroStrategy unveils MicroStrategy Office, bringing high-value business intelligence technology to users of Microsoft Office applications, including Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and Outlook. MicroStrategy Office can significantly expand the ranks of an enterprise's knowledge workers who can access enterprise data and enhance their work in all facets of business operations.

"For the first time, average business users will be empowered to serve themselves business information as needed, simply by using the Microsoft Office productivity tools with which they are already so familiar," says MicroStrategy's COO Sanju Bansal."

BridgePoint Expands Supply Chain Visibility Solution Set

BridgePoint develops iPlexa Vendor Process Management (iPlex VPM) to meet the needs of multimode supply chain visibility and exception management. iPlex VPM is a distributed order visibility solution that provides visibility to the life cycle of an order, from the issuance of a PO, through receipt at the customer site. By adding distributed order event management to the iPlex solution suite, BridgePoint offers its customers with visibility "inside the four walls" of their partners' factories, distribution centers, and warehouse operations, as well as "outside the four walls" shipment visibility.

Inovis Enhances UCCnet Item Synch Management

Inovis enhances its UCCnet solution suite with the release of BizSync, a component that acts as the management and control layer in the orchestration of various workflows related to item synchronization. With this addition, trading partners can gain visibility to the flow of transactions in the item synchronization process as well as keep track of the status of items as they are defined, validated and registered at the UCCnet GLOBALregistry and published to specific customers. All aspects of the process including extraction of the data, staging and manual corrections, message translation and communication can be handled and managed through this management console.