Wal-Mart will expand RFID applications to improve inventory accuracy

It is reported that Wal-Mart headquarters has notified suppliers to extend its labels to some new product categories. As of September, these newly expanded products will be put on the shelves of Wal-Mart Stores with smart labels equipped with RFID technology.

The newly expanded areas include the following:

1. Consumer electronics (such as TV, xbox)

2. Wireless (such as mobile phones, tablets, accessories)

3. Kitchen and dining

4. Home decoration

5. Bathtub and shower

6. Storage and Organization

7. Car battery

As early as 2005, Wal-Mart required its top 100 suppliers to adopt RFID technology. The introduction of RFID tags has further improved the efficiency of Wal-Mart's supply chain: it took hours for the staff of all retail stores to check the goods on the shelves before, but now it only takes 30 minutes to complete.

Walmart’s memo to suppliers also included the following statement, according to Advertising Age:

1. "In the past year, we have successfully implemented RFID technology in our clothing department and achieved remarkable results."

2. "We have improved the accuracy of On Hand, thereby expanding online order fulfillment. These dramatic improvements have had a significant impact on the sales pipeline and customer satisfaction."

3. "With the success of this initiative, Wal-Mart plans to continue to expand the project to other departments and categories. RFID will help improve inventory accuracy, bring customers a better in-store shopping experience, and more online and In-store pickup capabilities, and greater opportunity for sales."

Walmart's decision to improve its store-level inventory accuracy in home goods, wireless and consumer electronics is now turning the spotlight on the value RFID is already delivering in these other market segments.

In the era of manual orders, such a large workload is prone to errors; and the automated workflow based on RFID technology can realize automatic order placement, sorting and screening. After adopting RFID technology, the system automatically generates electronic orders, reduces the inventory of goods, saves warehouse space, and improves the flow rate of funds.

A previous quantitative relationship experiment showed that by using RFID, the shortage of goods was reduced by 16%, which indicated that sales increased by 16%; and the replenishment rate of goods using RFID barcodes was 3 times faster than that of goods without labels, which can It is said that the competition of the overall core competence of the RFID supply chain has become the mainstream of modern market competition, and the competition between supply chains is related to the fate of retail enterprises.

Not only that, RFID technology also effectively reduces the labor cost of supply chain management, makes information flow, logistics, and capital flow more compact and effective, and increases efficiency; at the same time, the visibility of the warehouse is greatly improved, allowing suppliers and managers to control The ratio of inventory and arrival is clear at a glance.

Under the widespread use of RFID tag technology in the Internet of Things, the role of electronic information technology in supply chain management will be expanded, and the logistics cost will be reduced from the source of supply, and finally achieve the overall positive balance of the Retail Industry.