RFID in the Retail Supply Chain

Abstract

RFID is a technology that has existed for many years. Recently RFID received much fanfare about its application into retail supply chains. Consumers were first introduced to RFID at hotels and in employee ID cards. Soon, as RFID can be read by anyone with a reader, privacy concerns pushed customers away from RFID. Next, Wal-Mart said it would mandate its suppliers begin tagging shipments with RFID, later Wal-Mart would reverse course. Perhaps RFID should be used at the store level rather than the distribution level. This paper looks to explore new applications for RFID in the retail supply chain.