Software for wireless warehouse processing of incoming goods.
Paxar supplies RFID Middleware to REWE Group

PAXAR Central Europe GmbH has been awarded a contract to develop RFID Middleware and to provide various hardware components for the Cologne-based REWE Group, a major retail corporation.

The middleware from Paxar is a data hub for processing incoming goods with innovative Radio Frequency Identification (RFID). Tags consisting of a microchip and an antenna are embedded in barcode labels and communicate with readers – without contact via radio. In exploring RFID technology, the REWE Group hopes initially to complement their usual barcode pallet labeling system and to replace it in the medium-term.

Paxar is the only supplier to provide RFID middleware to REWE after having successfully competed against several other companies. In the first phase, a pilot installation will be delivered to the RFID test laboratory of the REWE Group in Norderstedt near Hamburg. Following scheduled delivery at the end of January 2006, the system is to be tested for a period of three months. When test trials are successful, the system will serve as the basis for further installations.

PAXAR Central Europe GmbH delivers a sophisticated in-house development with their middleware. The software processes data from readers produced by different manufacturers and links them to logistics warehouse merchandise information systems. The middleware also configures and monitors every reader and RFID printer as well as signal systems and much more. The installation includes an intuitive user interface.

The middleware is compliant to the new RFID specifications “Generation 2” (Gen2). In August 2005, Paxar was the first vendor to put a barcode printer compliant to European specifications on the market. The multi-protocol printer Paxar 9855 RFID ME prints labels, tests embedded RFID tags, and programs them in a single step.

The REWE Group is testing the system with RFID shipping labels. Applied to pallets, the labels are automatically read in the receiving area as they pass through a gate. In addition to printers from their own production lines, Paxar also provides and installs readers manufactured by Paxar partner FEIG ELEKTRONIK GmbH. The FEIG readers have been adapted to the special requirements of the REWE Group within the scope of the “REWE Development Partnership RFID”. Paxar as a member of the partnership coordinated customization.

Jörg Sandlöhken, project manager RFID of the REWE Group, mentioned above all the “lean concept of the middleware” as the reason for Paxar’s selection. Just as important were also the “reliability and flexibility that Paxar demonstrated in the development partnership.”

PAXAR Central Europe GmbH is the German subsidiary of the Paxar Corporation, one of the global market leaders in product identification and distribution logistics. Paxar manufactures RFID printers and labels and offers system integrations including set up and operation of RFID labeling and identification systems. The US group is an accredited member of EPCglobal, the global standardization agency for RFID technology