From Competition to Imitation

Technological advancements are the cornerstone of the Information Age. Because of this, many great technological inventions build off one another. For example, the internet had to be invented before Google could have been created to help make it a more productive tool. In addition, microchips had to be perfected in order for smartphones to be invented. These two instances exemplify how human ingenuity should work. People from many walks of life work with the inventions of others to create original, useful products.

With this same principle in mind, Solutions Providers who manufacture their own products not only build upon their own inventions but also build upon existing technologies. Consider Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS) technology. Although Nedap did not invent EAS technology, we successfully made it the best it can be by making our EAS systems RFID-capable, and by inventing Dynamic Beam Steering Technology. Consider Nedap’s iD Top, our signature ceiling-mounted RFID reader that takes up no selling space in the store, offers reliable detection and prevents false alarms with state-of-the-art tag filtering and direction detection. The iD Top is equipped with a sophisticated antenna array that dynamically creates a multitude of independent beams in different directions. With this Dynamic Beam Steering functionality, the smart integrated reader determines whether a tagged product is really moving or if it is stationary.

Consider these advantages for Loss Prevention:

When using Dynamic Beam Steering within the EAS solution, the following issues are reduced:

• People walking too close to the EAS system, which previously has caused false alarms.
• Items that were only read due to reflections (e.g. people with metallic shopping carts or suitcases) causing false alarms.
• Merchandise stored outside of the store being brought into the store caused false alarms.

Nedap’s Dynamic Beam Steering technology distinguishes between outgoing and incoming labels, thereby reducing false alarms.

Nedap’s use of RFID and our invention of Dynamic Beam Steering technology are perhaps the most important new advancements for an antiquated EAS technology. This has never been clearer when one considers how Nedap’s competitors have imitated this technology. But as with most imitations, they are fraught with service issues and other technological missteps.

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery

Charles Caleb Colton

Today, retailers need to be customer-centric. Installing security systems like EAS and having to contend with false alarms is a recipe for disaster. EAS systems, with or without RFID technology, negatively impact the customer experience and in today’s retail environment, customer experience is the golden goose. Charles Caleb Colton once said, “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery” and some may subscribe to that. But there is another interesting quote about imitation that seems more fitting in the world of technology.

Fixed RFID readers play an important role in the RFID
deployment in retail stores for goods receiving, stock
room-to-sales floor movements and loss prevention (EAS).

To ensure optimum performance, each of these roles
demands a different set of features. Fixed RFID readers with
beam steering offer significant advantages for RFID-based
loss prevention.

Using RFID overhead readers for EAS, the
beam steering feature produces reliable stray tag filtering
and direction detection, thereby boosting the reader’s
effectiveness for EAS. Nedap’s iD Top with the new Aerial
update uses beam steering for improved performance.

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Sales Director Nedap Retail Americas

Wouter Ubbels

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Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS)