Radio frequency identification has finally found its rightful place in the retail IT ecosystem.

Food-processing technology company Marel has released an RFID-enabled system that moves fish through weighing, trimming and quality-control processes, while tracking data and identifying product for inspection, based on information collected by RFID readers and antennas.

An oil and gas company is installing a solution to locate personnel in the event of an emergency at its construction site in Newfoundland, Canada, using radio frequency identification technology provided by systems integrator Focus FS. The system consists of active RFID tags, readers, exciters and software from GuardRFID Solutions.

Several industrial linen companies in the United Kingdom and France are testing a new RFID tag that is literally woven into a textile or fabric product, which could hamper counterfeiters and thieves.

Department store Kohl's has completed its installation of a radio frequency identification solution to track garments in select categories at its stores, as well as distribution centers.

Hundreds of recreational marijuana shops are slated to open in Colorado on Jan. 1. Once that happens, every package of buds or processed products, such as marijuana-laced brownies, will have an RFID tag attached to it, intended to help the state regulate product and ensure that it comes from authorized sources.

After two years of trialing and then deploying an inventory-tracking RFID system for a large European apparel retailer, sister companies IER and SDV are now marketing a solution based on that deployment. The offering, known as iD by SDV, combines SDV's software and logistics services with IER's RFID tags and readers, enabling users to track goods from the point of manufacture to the point of sale.

While browsing through shoe displays at 32 of Bon-Ton's U.S. department stores, shoppers can use their near field communication (NFC)-enabled phones to learn more about each style, as well as whether a specific size and color is available at the store"”and, if not, how they can most efficiently acquire the shoes they are seeking.

Valio, a Finnish company that manufactures dairy consumer products, as well as powdered milk and other ingredients for the food industry, is piloting an automated solution for monitoring products as they move through packing and shipping processes, via RFID-enabled wheels on carts, also known as trolleys, that transport the goods.