ADT Supports University of Arkansas Theft Deterrence Research
Apr 15, 2008 3:16 PM
ADT announces its support of a landmark study by the University of Arkansas Information Technology Research Institute that tested and compared the effectiveness of both Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS) and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) for perimeter theft protection in a retail environment.
"This research was important because we believe EAS and RFID are complementary technologies that can provide retailers with several approaches to preventing theft while improving operational efficiency, depending on their needs," says Stanley Kong, vice president, ADT Retail Sales and Services for Asia.
"Many retailers can benefit from dual EAS-RFID functionality while others may require a sequential, layered approach," Kong says. "Ultimately this research will help retailers develop strategies to guide their decisions about the most cost-effective way to deploy these technologies."
RFID is a 60-year-old technology that has been used outside the retail space for decades. Now, with the release of the Class 1, Generation 2 UHF protocol, RFID is emerging as an in-store application to streamline operations and inventory management.
Given ADT's experience with RFID, it considers the apparel industry may be well-suited to be a natural early adopter of the technology because apparel is considered an RFID-friendly environment. In contrast, UHF RFID does not perform well on liquids, metallic packaging and many types of boxed goods. It also has practical drawbacks such as the cost and size of RFID tags, hang-tag integrity and the cost of an RFID infrastructure in these applications.
ADT took part in the study based on its long experience of providing the world's leading retailers with apparel source tagging and EAS solutions from its Sensormatic portfolio. In the most recent study, ADT worked with the University's researchers to set up systems, to confirm protocols and to support testing in diverse retail theft scenarios.
ADT has deployed RFID in a variety of applications including supply chain management, item-level apparel and asset tracking. In fact, ADT's Sensormatic business unit operates two of the world's eight EPC global-certified RFID labs. ADT's other retail offerings include fire and security protection as well as Sensormatic traffic-sensing and business analytics applications.
The University's research was sponsored by the Voluntary Interindustry Commerce Solutions (VICS) Association, a group of retailers and consumer-focused firms driving innovation and efficiencies in the retail supply chain.
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© 2008 Penton Media Inc.
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