Alliance, a division of Rock-Tenn and a producer of in-store promotional displays for retail environments, says it has made a financial investment in Goliath Solutions.

Located in Deerfield, Ill., Goliath offers an RFID-based system for tracking the use and effectiveness of in-store product displays. Late last year, Goliath entered into a multiyear agreement to install its system at more than 5,000 Walgreens stores (see Walgreen to Use Tagged Displays).

Alliance manufacturers some, though not all, of the displays Goliath is tracking at the stores. Jim Einstein, Alliance executive vice president and general manager, says his firm's investment in Goliath

"puts Alliance in a leadership role in helping our customers [consumer packaged goods manufacturers] get more information on the effectiveness of promotional displays."

Goliath will use the Alliance funding to enhance its research and development efforts. In related news, Larry Shutzberg, vice president and chief information officer of Rock-Tenn, has joined Goliath's board of advisors to help grow Goliath's business and technology strategies.