Tesco has started an RFID trial within its non-food supply chain, centred around its non-food distribution centre at Milton Keynes.
The trial involves tagging transportation cases destined for two stores at Peterborough and St Neots and has been set up to see how RFID tagging in the supply chain can help improve visibility in the system.
In a statement, Tesco IT director Colin Cobain said: 'This trial is helping us to improve product availability for customers and makes life simpler for staff.'
Tags and readers are supplied by Alien Technology, with the systems software supplied by IBM Business Consulting Services.
Other partners are Intel and Integrated Product Intelligence.
Tesco's RFID trial follows the launch of technology partner IBM's dedicated service for retailers considering the adoption of RFID in the supply chain.
Tesco previously conducted a trial to test the effectiveness of RFID on the shelf. It combined RFID tags with a CCTV network to combat shoplifting, but scaled back item-level tagging following protests mounted by privacy lobbyists.
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