El Corte Inglés uses innovative product identification RFID system to control and speed up the load of trucks

• Main elements of the system include: an RFID dock portal reader with reading aerial and voice system form MOINSA, Toshiba RFID label printers, and UPM Raflatac DogBone tags.

MADRID, November 2011 - El Corte Inglés is the first great enterprise in the distribution and retail sector in Europe that uses RFID technology to load their trucks. The company has implanted this new systems in CAD Valdemoro (Madrid), its central wharehouse, which has an area of more than half of million square meters and more than 400 loading docks. CAD Valdemoro serves to 586 shopping centers and delivery more than 10,000 pallets and 650,000 products every day.

All pallets that leave El Corte Inglés’ central warehouse are labeled with an RFID chip. Each dock has an portal reader that reads the chip when the pallet passes under it. Then a green light indicates that the load must go in that truck and a voice message announces that all is “right”. This process only takes a few seconds.

This system has minimized the impact of human error, reduced the load time of each truck and prevents the exit of goods to a wrong destination. This implies a significant reduction in logistics costs for El Corte Inglés. This RFID application is very easy to use, so adaptation and learning of the staff took a few minutes only.

TOSHIBA TEC partner MOINSA integrated the diferent technologies and equipment in the El Corte Inglés new identification systems. This is composed for an arch with aerial reading an a voice systems, Toshiba’s RFID label printers and UPM Raflatac’s dogbone tags. The project was coordinate by El Corte Inglés’ Information Systems Department.

The solution includes a security application in case of a tag reading failure, although to date there have been very few mistakes. In case of failure to identify the tag, a voice warning device alerts the operator that he must read the tag again with a bar code reader. The tag reading is then re-confirmed, determining if the pallet whether or not corresponds to a particular truck.

About TOSHIBA TEC Corporation

TOSHIBA TEC Corporation manages product planning, marketing, sales, service support and distribution of point of sale systems, cash registers, scales, barcode printers, peripherals and software information systems throughout Europe, the Middle East and Africa. As a total solution provider, TOSHIBA TEC Europe offers a complete package from consulting and system design to system installation, operation and maintenance.
Headquartered in Brussels, Belgium TOSHIBA TEC Europe has three divisions: the Retail division; the Auto ID division and the Services division.
TOSHIBA TEC is an independent operating company of Toshiba Corporation, the seventh largest electronics/electrical equipment company and the world's 91st largest company in terms of sales. Toshiba is a world leader and innovator in pioneering high technology, a diversified manufacturer and marketer of advanced electronic and electrical products spanning information & communications systems; digital consumer products; electronic devices and components; power systems, including nuclear energy; industrial and social infrastructure systems; and home appliances.
Toshiba was founded in 1875, and today operates a global network of more than 740 companies, with 204,000 staff worldwide and 2009 annual sales surpassing 6.3 trillion yen (US$68 billion).
For more information on TOSHIBA TEC point of sale systems, cash registers, scales, RFID-ready barcode printers, peripherals, retail and Auto ID software solutions, or for a dealer in your area, call +44 (0)870 890 7200 or visit the TERIS web site at www.toshibatec-eu.co.uk.

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TOSHIBA TEC Europe Retail Information Systems - UK Operations
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