Wal-Mart Cancels RFID Trial

EABird writes "CNet is reporting that Wal-mart has announced that they have canceled the RFID trial they were planning. Unfortunately, it looks like they are canceling it to focus on the use of the same technology in the warehouses and distribution centers instead, and waiting for the cost to come down before using the RFIDs in the stores."

Comments

But you CAN track your pets with RFID tags...

[dpbsmith]

I can't tell whether or not the poster was completely aware of this and joking about it, but you CAN track your pets with RFID tags (and it's been possible for many years). Most animal hospitals offer this service, which they refer to as "microchipping your pet."

Animal shelters scan incoming pets for microchips and contact the owner. It's an ID tag that is hard to lose. The American Kennel Club recommends the procedure.

See this article for more information.

RFID in the warehouse

[FranTaylor]

I used to work in Quality Control for a big grocery wholesaler. One of their biggest problems was inventory control. Not necessarily theft, but human errors such as omissions, extra cases, and mistaken identity (for example, strawberry yogurt instead of strawberry banana yogurt). Sometimes stock was not rotated correctly and it would sit in the warehouse until after its expiration date. We stocked hundreds of grocery stores from each warehouse; I am talking about a LOT of inventory here! They expended a lot of time and energy to track down and minimize these errors. The error rates were watched closely by upper management, because the impact on the bottom line was quite significant. RFID has the potential to detect these sorts of errors ahead of time. The grocery business (in general) is highly competitive and margins are paper-thin, so any technology that helps to cut down on these sorts of problems will show up as lower prices on groceries for you and me. If the RFID tags are associated with cases instead of individual items, consumers will not encounter them, and there is no threat.

The big problem in retail stores is theft, because they let the public roam the aisles. Stuff on the shelves represents tied-up money, so store inventories are kept to a minimum, therefore keeping track of stuff in the stores is not that big a deal. They already use tags to deter theft of big-ticket items such as health and beauty aids. RFID will not help them with this problem any more than the existing tags, so there is not much incentive to use them there. No worries, at least yet.