LXE and Intellident collaborate on the Marks & Spencer RFID Food Supply Chain Project

LXE is pleased to announce that its MX5 mobile handheld computer has been selected by Intellident as the mobile handheld computer of choice for the Marks & Spencer RFID food supply chain project.

As a prime vendor for RFID hardware, LXE, in partnership with Intellident, have produced a solution, the MX5, that ensures the Marks & Spencer project operates efficiently. The MX5, LXEs toughest Windows based handheld computer, is ideally suited for chilled/cold storage facilities and is uniquely used to scan both barcodes and RFID tags before shipment out to stores. It has enabled the Marks & Spencer project to ensure the RFID tagged food produce trays are 100% accurately read during depot deliveries and epitomise the key driver of Marks & Spencers food supplier base to deliver the right product to the right place at the right time, every time.

Commenting on the successful collaboration, Damian Penney, Sales & Marketing Director, LXE, says We are extremely pleased to be associated with the worlds largest Food Supply Chain RFID implementation. The MX5s unique capability coupled with Intellidents world class RFID expertise should enable Marks& Spencer to fully realise the benefits of implementing RFID.

Andy Chadbourne, Marketing Manager at Intellident added, As part of our commitment to the M&S RFID food supply chain project, it is incredibly important that we can offer M&S food suppliers a wide range of products, from hand-held readers to full-scale industrial portals depending on their requirements. The MX5 product from

LXE allows us to offer the benefits of RFID to the many small to medium sized suppliers for whom larger fixed position reading equipment is not a suitable fit.

About the Food Supply Chain Project
The Marks & Spencer Food Supply Chain Project represents the single largest deployment of RFID technology within a food supply chain, globally. Intellident is the lead contractor responsible for the design and supply of a range of RFID reading and writing equipment to the supplier base, together with the tagging of over 4.5 million returnable assets (green trays, dollies and roll-cages).

Embedded within each of the 4.5 million green trays used for the delivery of fresh produce into M&S stores is an intelligent RFID tag, which is programmed by each of the food suppliers using a variety of writing equipment, including the MX5. Information written replaces the traditional barcode tray-end label and enables each of the six M&S distribution centres to receive deliveries quickly, accurately and efficiently using the information read on-mass from the trays as they are delivered.