McDonald’s France serves up RFID

Fast food giant McDonald’s France is to incorporate RFID technology into its new reusable container

The move comes following McDonald’s commitment to eliminating unnecessary packaging and contributing to the improvement of recycling systems. It also coincides with the introduction of new French legislation – that came into effect in January 2023 – and aims to fight waste to preserve biodiversity and natural resources.

Following an extensive two-year consultation process, Checkpoint Systems was appointed to work with McDonald’s France in 2021 to deliver the project which involved the installation of RFID hardware and software in restaurants across the country.

The project will help McDonald’s reduce waste by providing unrivalled real-time visibility of its reusable tableware stock, delivering fast and efficient inventory management, optimising replenishment and ensuring the restaurant’s stock lines are protected for long-term security and usability.

Design

Through laboratory test sessions and product consultations, Checkpoint Systems developed one of the first ever food-safe, heat-and water-resistant, RFID solution.

The pioneering design has been applied from cups and bottles to fries’ containers, enabling them to be monitored and potentially tracked through an automated database.

In addition, the database will provide McDonald’s France with real-time data on stock inventory – including the container type and quantities – and replenishment requirements, delivering up to 99% accuracy. Through its automated track and trace function, restaurants can also pinpoint the location of nearby containers (in case a container is accidentally discarded into a rubbish bin) to minimise the risk of shrink. To date, Checkpoint has supplied RFID solutions to more than 1,200 McDonald’s France restaurants.