ETD: 699 Support: Best and worst; Radio Frequency
Identification (RFID); National Do Not Call Registry
E-Tailer's Digest
etd_post@gapent.com
Tue, 01 Jul 2003 08:17:50 -0400
E-Tailer's Digest --- Everything for the Retailer
Issue #0699 July 1, 2003
George Matyjewicz, Moderator mailto:georgem@gapent.com
Published by: GAP Enterprises, Ltd. http://www.etailersdigest.com
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CONTENTS
[1] Greetings
[2] Support: Best and worst
[3] Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)
[4] National Do Not Call Registry
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[1] Greetings.
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Hi All:
Today we have some interesting information on RFID, which I believe will be
the way of the future - the near future. The opportunities are
wonderful. And, it ties in with my "Retailing in 2023." I can't wait to
see how this plays out. Just when you thought you had the UPC and ASN down
pat, along comes new terms - EPC, ONS and PML.
Last week, in the U.S., a new service was announced - the National Do Not
Call registry. You can register now, and not be bothered with those
annoying telemarketing calls, mandatory on October 1. Now if they can only
fix the Spam issue.
I read a couple of interesting surveys this week, which got me to
thinking. How much business are you losing because of inadequate customer
service? How much more business can you obtain with better customer
service? What are you doing to provide good customer service? The trick
to customer service is to make the customer happy always, and to
continually follow up to keep your name in front of them always. Good
customers should get good or better service. I'm always amazed how airline
crew have no clue as to how many miles a passenger travels, and to treat
them very well. Yes, they do get perks for frequent flying, but there is
nothing on a passenger list that says you travelled a kzillion miles or
this is your first flight ever! What do you do to keep your name in
front of customers?
Looks like I will have a couple of articles published in leading trade
journals, which is always exciting. I submit articles to many trade
journals on a regular basis. The publicity is well worth the effort. How
about you? What do you do to get known?
Now, let's get to everything for the retailer.
Sincerely
Dr. George Matyjewicz
Chief Global Strategist, GAP Enterprises, Ltd.
mailto:georgem@gapent.com
http://www.etailersdigest.com
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[2] Support: Best and worst
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The Atlanta Journal Constitution had an article on customer
disservice. And Reader's Digest tested company responses to customer
complaints. The results were quite shocking.
Reader's Digest e-mailed ten companies asking how to register a
complaint. Here's how long they waited for a personalized reply:
1. AIG - 30 minutes
2. Microsoft - 1 hour
3. IBM - 2 hours
4. Wal-Mart - 2 hours
5. General Electric - 15 hours
6. Proctor & Gamble - 23 hours
7. Costco - 25 hours
8. Kroger - 35 hours
9. AOL Time Warner - 3 days
10. Home Depot - Still waiting
What's really a surprise with that report is AOL. They are an online
company and should know better.
The AJC surveyed 1,280 volunteers who answered questions on the Internet
(not a scientific survey). They found that supermarkets had the most
positive customer service (73%), and cable TV companies had the worst
(22%), lower than Health Insurance providers (38%) and Telephone companies
(39%). The second most positive customer service were at banks (59%)
followed by ISPs (53%) and Airlines (40%).
What are you doing to improve customer service? Would you be on one of
these lists?
George
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[3] Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)
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I've been reading a lot about the new RFID, and I am convinced this will be
the way of the future. In another couple of years, RFID will be
everywhere, and may even be the start of my "Retailing in 2023" Special
Report in issue 697. So what is RFID?
Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), under development by Auto-ID Center,
is a unique partnership among nearly 100 companies and five leading
research universities, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
(MIT), the University of Cambridge in the UK, the University of Adelaide in
Australia, Keio University in Japan, and the University of St. Gallen in
Switzerland. Together they are creating the standards and assembling the
building blocks needed to create an "Internet of things."
Radio frequency identification (RFID) is a simple concept with enormous
implications. Put a tag - a microchip with an antenna - on a can of Coke or
a car axle, and suddenly a computer can "see" it. Put tags on every can of
Coke and every car axle, and suddenly the world changes. No more inventory
counts. No more lost or misdirected shipments. No more guessing how much
material is in the supply chain - or how much product is on the store shelves.
The Auto-ID Center is designing, building, testing and deploying a global
infrastructure - a layer on top of the Internet - that will make it
possible for computers to identify any object anywhere in the world
instantly. This network will not just provide the means to feed reliable,
accurate, real-time information into existing business applications; it
will usher in a whole new era of innovation and opportunity.
The New Network
The Auto-ID Center is designing the critical elements of the new network.
These elements include: Electronic Product Code or EPC, specification for
cheap tags and cheap agile readers, Object Naming Service or ONS, Product
Mark-up Language or PML and Savant software technology.
Auto-ID technology will redefine how we make, buy, and sell our products.
This technology will give us greater visibility into our supply chain,
track and trace our products, optimize and secure our supply chains, and
achieve the highest customer satisfaction.
To understand the impact of Auto-ID for your company, they have created a
simple tool for you to use. The purpose of the Auto-ID Calculator is to
give you an initial understanding on some of the implications when
implementing Auto-ID to your business. I tried it, and, while the
implementation cost is high, the return is quite impressive.
The results of this tool will be based on information about your company's
supply chain. In case data is not available, default values based on
industry averages have been provided. The more accurate information
provided, the more reliable the results in gauging the success of Auto-ID
in your environment.
Future Vision
This futuristic vision is becoming a reality as manufacturers and retailers
alike deploy RFID to track items such as products, equipment and raw
materials.
The Gillette Company is looking to RFID to shave errors and losses from its
supply chain. With annual sales of nearly $8.5 billion, the Boston-based
firm is the world leader in male and female grooming products, such as
razors and shaving cream. In addition, it owns Duracell, the world’s
leading manufacturer of high-performance alkaline batteries.
According to Gillette spokesperson Paul Fox, the company’s number one goal
in deploying RFID is to ensure its products reach retailers.
“The retail sector loses $70 billion annually because products are not on
the shelf, or because products get lost within the supply chain through
being misplaced or stolen,” says Fox. These losses, according to Fox, are
why more CG companies are migrating to RFID technology.
Brewing.
In the brewing industry, tracking beer kegs is enough to drive one to
drink. The brewer must collect, wash and refill kegs before sending them to
the marketplace.
According to Graham Miller, senior projects manager, logistics services,
with the Edinburgh, Scotland brewing company Scottish & Newcastle plc,
“Eighty percent of beer in the UK is dispensed in draught form, rather than
in bottles and cans.”
In the UK, the brewing industry annually loses four percent of its
inventory of beer kegs, a number that translates into costs in American
dollars of between $15 million and $20 million per year. As a result,
Scottish & Newcastle began implementing RFID tags to more accurately track
its beer kegs.
With total sales of $6 billion, Scottish & Newcastle is the number one
brewer in both the UK and Europe. Scottish & Newcastle now has RFID tags on
1.9 million beer kegs, according to Miller. These are “read-write” tags,
meaning the company can write data on the tag about such things as when the
barrel was filled, or when it was delivered. The technology for the tags is
being provided by TrenStar, a global leader in mobile asset management,
that specializes in the brewing, food, beverage and chemical industries.
Excel Beefs Up
With production facilities in the United States, Canada and Australia,
Excel Corporation provides premium beef and pork products to retail and
commercial markets. Randy Cooper, corporate project manager at Excel,
explains that prior to implementing RFID, the company used a system in
which a camera examined drilled hole patterns on each of the company’s meat
hooks. To improve accuracy and read-rates Excel turned to RFID last year.
The company partnered with Intermec Technologies Corp., a leader in global
supply chain solutions including the development and integration of RFID
systems. Intermec provides durable, high frequency RFID chips that Excel
attaches to the plant’s meat hooks. The chips are far cheaper to install
and also create more reading sites within the plant.
“With the camera-based system, we had an average of six reading sites per
plant. Now we have an average of eight, and we expect this number to grow,”
says Cooper.
Excel hopes to have the new RFID system installed throughout all of its
plants by the end of 2003. Anticipated benefits, according to Cooper,
include better asset tracking, lower system maintenance requirements and
more effective use of human resources.
Summary.
It looks like RFID will become the standard within the next couple of
years. Suppliers and retailers will be jumping on the bandwagon,
especially as the cost of entry is reduced. The target is 5-10 cents per
tag. Right now, it seems to be 50 cents to $1.
See links at end of digest.
George
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[4] National Do Not Call Registry
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The U.S. Federal Trade Commission, the Federal Communications Commission,
and the states will begin enforcing the National Do Not Call Registry on
Oct. 1, 2003. That's when consumers who put their numbers on the registry
by August 31, 2003 will notice a downturn in the number of telemarketing
calls they get. Placing your number on the National Do Not Call Registry
will stop most, but not all, telemarketing calls.
The National Do Not Call Registry is open for business. The Federal
Government created the national registry to make it easier and more
efficient for you to stop getting telemarketing sales calls you don't want.
You can register online at DONOTCALL.GOV if you have an active email
address. If you live in a state west of the Mississippi River (including
Minnesota or Louisiana), you can call toll-free, 1-888-382-1222, from the
number you wish to register. Phone registration will open to the entire
nation on July 7. Registration is free.
This site has information for you—whether you're a consumer interested in
signing up for the National Do Not Call Registry, or a telemarketer or
seller interested in learning more about your responsibilities related to
the Telemarketing Sales Rule.
I registered all of our telephone numbers. My first attempt did
nothing. You are supposed to get an e-message which you need to confirm
within 72 hours. I didn't get the message, so I did it again, and this
time it did work. Perhaps it was a glitch. Anyway, the registration does
work. We'll see if the telemarketing stops, especially in Atlanta, where
we are bombarded - it's like Spam.
Details at...
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/donotcall/index.html
Now, if they could only do something about Spam!
George
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Links to follow
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GAP Enterprises, Ltd. http://www.gapent.com/
Sarbanes-Oxley 2002 http://www.sarbanes-oxley2002.com
E-Tailer's Digest http://www.etailersdigest.com
ETD Archives: http://topica.com/lists/etailer/read
Prior to 29 Dec
1999 http://etailersdigest.com/archives/index.htm
Marketing Your Web http://www.gapent.com/myweb/
Automated Press Releases http://www.automatedpr.com
The AutoID Center...
http://www.autoidcenter.org/aboutthecenter.asp
AutoID calculator....
http://www.autoidcenter.org/calculator/calculator.asp
Companies using RFID...
http://www.consumergoods.com/issue/june03_art3.htm