Sensormatic Joins Forces With MIT Auto-ID Center to Advance Identification Technology

    BOCA RATON, Fla.--Feb. 1, 2001--Sensormatic Electronics Corporation today announced its sponsorship of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Auto-ID Center, a not-for-profit research organization dedicated to advancing the use of identification technology throughout the retail supply chain.
    "The ability to identify and access the complete history of a product will bring enormous benefits to every aspect of the supply chain from manufacturers to distributors to retailers and consumers, especially in terms of product security," said Per-Olof Loof, president and CEO of Sensormatic. "The MIT Auto-ID Center, with its unique approach to developing and utilizing identification technology, provides an opportunity for Sensormatic to discover new ways to manage information and create new security solutions for our customers."
    By joining the Auto-ID Center, Sensormatic will collaborate with other industry leaders to develop future applications for identification technology. Sensormatic is currently developing and testing its own radio frequency identification system called smartEAS(TM) that incorporates its UltraMax(R) anti-theft system with RFID technology. The system is currently being tested by Movie Gallery, the nation's third largest video rental chain, for use with automated inventory returns and RFID tag programming, with future plans for inventory counting and reading and writing data at the point of sale. Specialty retailer J. Crew has also entered into an agreement to test smartEAS applications for store level inventory counting at the item level.
    "The retail industry is already beginning to witness the benefits identification technologies, such as RFID, bring to the table," Loof said. "But this is just the beginning, and the MIT Auto-ID Center creates a unique opportunity for industry leaders to combine strengths and deliver comprehensive supply chain solutions."
    Sensormatic joins other global companies in support of the center including The Procter & Gamble Company, The Gillette Company, International Paper, Sun Microsystems Inc., and Invensys.
    Sensormatic Electronics Corporation is the leading supplier of electronic security solutions to the retail, commercial and industrial marketplaces. Sensormatic is also the leader in integrated source tagging - a process where consumer goods manufacturers apply anti-theft tags at the point of packaging or manufacturing.
    The company is also the Official Electronic Security Supplier and a Sponsor of the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, Utah, and a sponsor of the U.S. Olympic Team through the year 2004.
    For more information on Sensormatic, visit its homepage on the World Wide Web at www.sensormatic.com.