Supply chain execution and optimisation solutions specialist Manhattan Associates is to open five RFID demonstration labs across Europe.

The facilities, in Paris and Sophia Antipolis in France, Munich, Utrecht and Bracknell, will showcase Manhattan’s “RFID in a Box” system and provide an environment in which suppliers to the big retailers can learn how to deploy RFID tags and labels to enable them to conform to the requirements of recent retailer mandates. Live demonstrations will show how to deploy RFID components in conjunction with a warehouse management system to enable information on pallets, cases and items to be automatically captured.

The Sophia Antipolis and Utrecht facilities will also serve as product assessment testing labs, with simulated customer environments enabling Manhattan to assess the suitability of various RFID technologies and equipment for specific client products.

The labs’ opening has been made possible with the help of Microsoft and several of Manhattan Associates’ key alliance partners.