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February 15, 2007

Hopes Pinned on Walmart's RFID Rollout Recede

By Glenn Fleishman

RFID tags were supposed to be cheap and easy to use by now for logistics: But even with Walmart requiring top suppliers to use the radio tags, and equipping several warehouses for scanning, the effort is still nascent. Suppliers don’t want to criticize Walmart, but it’s clear that there’s no return on investment due to a lack of full integration of RFID into existing software systems for handling inventory, shipping, and tracking, and to the continued high per-tag cost. RFID tags used in this fashion are disposable.

As with Bluetooth, the hype preceded the utility. With a bazillion Bluetooth devices on the market, automotive integration, and audio use, you can’t find anyone now declaring Bluetooth dead, as was the case even a year or two ago. (Bluetooth still needs to evolve, of course.) Likewise, it’s not that RFID has failed, but rather that Walmart’s efforts have outstripped the pieces necessary to provide a real return on investment for either the retail giant or its suppliers.

Posted by Glennf at February 15, 2007 12:55 PM

Categories: Industry

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