Wal-Mart moves ahead with RFID

Wal-Mart moves ahead with RFID

   Wal-Mart will begin a pilot test of radio frequency identification technology at a single regional distribution center in the Dallas area in April, marking the next milestone in the giant retailer’s push to gain better inventory control by placing electronic license plates on pallets and carton carrying goods for its stores.

   Wal-Mart is pursuing an aggressive plan to get its Top 100 suppliers to deploy the tracking technology by the beginning of 2005. The rest of the company’s vendors have until 2006 to become compliant or risk losing Wal-Mart’s business. At least 36 additional companies have volunteered to participate in the initial rollout since Wal-Mart announced its goal last summer, said Simon Langford, the company’s manager of RFID strategy.

   Langford kicked off a full day of presentations at the Logicon 2004 conference in Las Vegas devoted to the potential benefits and challenges of implementing RFID technology throughout a company’s supply chain.

   Eight suppliers, who are interested in getting out in front with RFID adoption and integrating the data with their own systems, are participating in the test program in Dallas, Langford said. The distribution center there supports seven stores.

   In June, Wal-Mart will host its second RFID Symposium at its Bentonville, Ark.-based headquarters, to acquaint the next wave of 100 suppliers with Wal-Mart’s requirements, Langford said.

   Officials from several commercial products suppliers were non-committal or expressed doubt about whether vendors would be able to have all of their facilities equipped by Wal-Mart’s 2005 deadline.