SML launches its first UK retail RFID technology centre

Technology company SML has opened a new space in the UK dedicated to showcasing its RFID tag technology and other products. A retail concept space (RIS) in Corby, Northamptonshire was added to similar sites the company opened this year in Texas, USA and Shanghai, China.

SML will use UK space to entertain retailers, talk to retailers through RFID deployments, and host "academic" seminars, which will enable interested parties to explore a variety of technologies and processes to increase their operational efficiency.

About 40% of retail stores using SML's Clarity technology are located in the UK, including the F & F apparel divisions of Matalan and Tesco, which makes brick and mortar stores in the country a viable business decision for suppliers.

In addition to demonstrating its core RFID technology, SML will also use RIS in CORby to demonstrate how its product range supports omni-channel picking, customer experience, self-checkout, and robotics deployment.

SML's RIS program is the result of Dean Frew, the company's vice president and chief technology officer, and his team. The UK headquarters is overseen by UK General Manager Shane Clarke.

"The UK market is one of the world's leading regions adopting RFID, and retailers such as Tesco and Matalan have implemented major RFID technology rollouts in hundreds of stores across the country."

"Besides France and Sweden, UK retailers are also swarming a large number of retail-based item-level RFID pilot projects, so Corby's RIS is the ideal place for SML to support customers' RFID implementation.

Frew added: "With the rapid development of item-level RFID solutions in the retail industry in Europe, particularly in the UK, the location of RIS is clearly the choice of SML."