Companies Join to Reduce RFID Cost

Chicago and Richmond, British Columbia -- Two North American companies, Goliath Solutions LLC and Bulldog Technologies Inc., have formed a strategic alliance to develop RFID tags and sensors. The companies say the system will dramatically lower the cost of monitoring point-of-sale displays in retail establishments.A system developed by Goliath uses unique RFID tags attached to individual signs and displays to verify that the correct materials are in place when and where they should be. RFID sensors wirelessly read the tags several times each day and transmit the information via phone, Internet or paging service to Goliath's central server.The objective of the alliance between Goliath and Bulldog is to lower the installed cost of the system. "Neither the retailer nor the brand marketer will notice a difference in the performance of the system," says Robert Michelson, Goliath president and CEO. "What they will notice, however, is a big difference in its price tag."Michelson says brand marketers typically provide in-store display materials to retailers with specific instructions, and they need to know which stores are using the displays, where they are placing them, and whether they are being used for the entire promotional period. In the past, retailers and brand marketers relied on store clerks, their own sales staffs and outside audit firms to provide this information. "Unfortunately, data from these sources is often incomplete, inaccurate and expensive," says Michelson. "Many major retailers are familiar with RFID and are either already using it or plan to implement it as part of their supply chain operation," says Michelson. "However, that involves use of sensors that read tags over short distances in back room applications. This monitoring system assigns them a major role to play in the front of the store."The partnership takes advantage of Goliath's experience in designing display monitoring systems and Bulldog's expertise in separating the transmission and receiving functions in order to increase the distance over which they can operate. The way Bulldog plans to reduce the cost of the system is by reconfiguring its infrastructure to require fewer components. "Our area of expertise is designing cargo tracking systems using wireless transmission of GPS (global positioning system) data over long distances," explains Richard Booth, vice president, sales of Bulldog Technologies. "Because the next generation of in-store tags and readers will be able to operate over longer distances, the system will require fewer of them."

Companies Join to Reduce RFID Cost

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