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I am interesting in RFID for Walmart and what the pros and con's would be?

2006-11-15 12:36:45 · 2 answers · asked by garineal 1 in Business & Finance Corporations

2 answers

Radio Frequency Identification. This is where passive electronic tags are put into goods (e.g. think like the security strips at the store, but smarter in that they contain way more information or perhaps a non-powered version of the electronic toll pass in your car). The goods are passed through an electronic gantry that scans the codes and passes along the information. That way you know everything that is in a pallet, container or box - how many, what color, what size, where they are from, where they are going. All that time spent counting and categorizing by person is now done via technology.


Pros:
1. Faster inventory velocity through the supply chain
2. Lower costs of logistics
3. Higher visibility of goods when in transit
4. Lower shrinkage due to less container packing/unpacking/inspection
5. Lower inventory levels needed as inventory can get more efficient.
6. Lower total cost to consumer

Cons:
1. Higher initial costs to logistics suppliers (who have to buy RFID systems)
2. Fewer safeguards. RFID tagged containers are sealed, which means less eyes on the container from origin to destination. US Port Security acts means they may be inspected once they reach the US port, but it is only on a sample basis.
3. Higher barrier to entry against competition as Walmart builds its cost advantage against competitors (i.e. you start to worry about anti-trust issues).
4. Concerns that success at commercial level would spill over to personnel level, which would infringe upon personal privacy issues. However, electronic building passes already use this technology.

2006-11-15 12:58:35 · answer #1 · answered by csanda 6 · 0 0

What is RFID? I've worked for the company for 3 years and I have no Idea what this is!

2006-11-15 12:40:12 · answer #2 · answered by Krissy 3 · 0 0

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