Home Improvement
Home improvement retailer Lowe’s is applying supply chain technology to its efforts to thwart shoplifters. As many retailers combat shrinkage by placing product out of reach of potential shoplifters, Lowe’s is exploring a different approach by making pilfered items useless to shoplifters. It has introduced Project Unlock, which combines RFID and blockchain technology to protect both retailers and consumers. Here’s how it works. Lowe’s asks manufacturers to embed a wireless RFID chip into a powered product, such as a drill. This tag is preloaded with the item’s serial number and the box’s barcode and disables operation until scanned at the point-of-sale. When a shopper hits the checkout line, a point- of-sale RFID scanner reads all tags in range, finds the tool, and writes a unique secret key value that activates the tool for use. What this all means is that if a power tool is stolen, it will not work. In tandem with the RFID capabilities, Project Unlock uses blockchain to create an anonymous record of product purchases. Legitimate purchases are recorded to the blockchain, which contains no personal information. Retailers, manufacturers, and law enforcement can use this information to validate authentic purchases. SUPPLY CHAIN TECH TAKES ON LOSS PREVENTION
BUILDING SMARTER HOMES Consumers love their smart home devices. Spending on smart home hardware that includes individual devices, such as automated lighting systems and controllers, grew in 2022. It surpassed $30 billion worldwide, up 15% over 2021 spending, according to an ABI Research market data report. Manufacturers have taken notice. The largest consumer technology and home goods players, including Amazon, Apple, and Google, have expanded their product ranges to connect into existing smart home systems, finds the report. To simplify purchase and installation of new devices for consumers, Version 1.0 of the Matter specification, a royalty-free standard for home automation devices that enables cross-vendor device interoperability, was released in October 2022 and may spur further growth. Version 2.0 could arrive in spring 2023 and may include support for robotic vacuum cleaners, ambient motion and presence sensing, smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, environmental sensing and controls, closure sensors, energy management, Wi-Fi access points, cameras, and major appliances. Other growth may come from previously under-served markets such as multi-dwelling units and hospitality, the report notes. “That is not to say growth will be even across device categories or vendors,” says Jonathan Collins, smart homes and buildings research director at ABI Research. “Interoperability, functionality, and application integration will all be key to spending as consumers increasingly transition from single device purchasing to building out whole-home systems.”
12 Inbound Logistics • February 2023
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