Apparel maker meshes RFID, NFC and QR together — and makes it all piece of work

This is an impressive piece of engineering. By combining RFID, NFC and QR, Moncler is trying to deliver the best of all approaches.

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The idea of embedding RFID tags into vesture is hardly new, having been function of the anti-theft efforts of manufacturers and retailers for more than than a decade. But one European apparel manufacturer, Moncler, has come up upward with a new marketing twist. Instead of inviting consumer protests on invasion of privacy fears — recall this book? — information technology has flipped the argument. Moncler is positioning the RFID tags as customer tools to fight piracy and to verify that the product is legitimate.

Item-level RFID is something that has never caught on because the tags would but be cost-effective on college-priced items. Moncler garments — such equally this $1,490 men's coat or this $ii,595 woman's coat— certainly qualify. Early RFID efforts envisioned a utopia where all of a retailer's products would be RFID-tagged, allowing for amazingly precise production location. Alas, that no longer looks viable.

Only tagging a lot of dress absolutely is viable, and Moncler'due south approach provides a nice way to boost tracking in-store, through the supply concatenation, on assembly lines, and retrieving boxes that autumn behind displays as pallets are emptied. All this and positioning it equally a customer service — which, I suppose, it is. Nice!

Moncler's approach, though, does non characteristic an old-fashioned, ordinary RFID tag. No, that would never practise for Moncler. It has somehow incorporated a mashup of RFID, NFC and QR codes. Said Moncler: This tag is "an advanced instrument that has an unambiguous alphanumeric code and a QRcode, as well as an NFC (Nigh Field Advice)  tag that is shaped just similar the emblematic logo of the Fashion House from Monestier-de-Clermont. The chip, that is normally used for payments, is in this case used to confirm the authenticity of the product and makes it possible to offering a more interactive and effective verification procedure, past visiting the lawmaking.moncler.com website, or reading the QRcode or NFC code with specific APPs that tin can be easily downloaded on to customers' smartphones."

The manufacturer continued, although it'due south difficult to top describing the shape of an RFID tag every bit being "just like the emblematic logo of the Mode Business firm from Monestier-de-Clermont." But it proceeded anyhow: "Since 2009, Moncler has undertaken an all-encompassing campaign in defense of its consumers with a complete and structured activity to safeguard the authenticity of the production. With a unique heritage, engineering science, quality and performance, and an inimitable drive towards innovation and stylistic research, the Italian-French make has decided to protect its values by focusing on authenticity-traceability fifty-fifty in the after-sale phase."

Is this an RFID tag or a Mercedes?

Sarcasm aside, this is an impressive piece of engineering. Past combining RFID, NFC and QR — and I repent for generating such an acronym-intensive sentence — information technology is trying to deliver the best of all approaches. With RFID, the tags tin exist scanned at long distances, allowing for inventory updates at the pallet and truck level. Merchandise tin can be easily located and, in theory, anti-shoplift systems are made a lot easier.

With NFC, Moncler has the potential for a very piece of cake and quick interface with shopper'southward phones that happen to be NFC-friendly, with the possibility of information being displayed without a specific app beingness launched (as in Apple Pay). And QR codes make this work with the millions of phones out there that happen to not be NFC-friendly, as long every bit the phone has a camera and the ability to house apps.

All in all, not shabby for a company that sells $2,600 coats.

Evan Schuman has covered Information technology issues for a lot longer than he'll ever admit. The founding editor of retail technology site StorefrontBacktalk, he'southward been a columnist for CBSNews.com, RetailWeek, Computerworld and eWeek. Evan tin can exist reached at eschuman@thecontentfirm.com and he tin can be followed at twitter.com/eschuman.

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