Having product-level RFID tags from manufacturing through Point-of-Sale (POS) offers the opportunity to automate the entire supply chain. Consumer’s can go through a RFID-checkout line without handling goods except to possibly bag them to carry home (stores could even automate home delivery). Stores with the right automation can receive goods and stock them. The only handling needed would be where materiel handling automation is not available to store and stock shelves. No more looking for stuff or even making decisions on where to slot pallets or products in backrooms. The RFID tags automatically inform store computer systems what stuff is coming in and out of the stores. No more ordering or wall-to-wall physical inventories.
At distribution centers and warehouses with the right materiel-handling automation, everything is automated. All humans would do is to do management-by-exception type activities and maintenance. Even manufacturers could further automate finished product material handling.
Wal-Mart is setting the standard for a fully RFID-enabled supply chain by moving from various RFID pilots to specific plans to implement RFID at the product-level at Sam’s Club by 2010. Their schedule is as follows:
- Jan. 30, 2008. All solid SKU pallets sent to Sam’s DeSoto, Tex. distribution center must be tagged
- Oct. 31, 2008. All pallets sent to four additional DCs must be tagged; tagging of cases and mixed case pallets for product sent to the DeSoto DC
- Jan. 30, 2009. Pallet-level tagging at the remaining 17 Sam’s DCs; tagging of cases and mixed case pallets for product sent to the four DCs in the October 31, 2008 pallet program
- Oct. 31, 2009. Tagging of cases and mixed case pallets for product sent to the other 17 Sam’s DCs; selling unit tagging for DeSoto
- Jan. 30, 2010. Selling unit tagging at the next four DCs
- Oct. 31, 2010. Selling unit tagging at the remaining DCs
See SupplyChainDigest’s article, RFID News: As Wal-Mart Gets Tough with Sam’s Club Compliance, Some Clarity, While a Few Questions Remain, for more details. RFID tags are “finally” going to revolutionize the world (I think).
