SHARE

Study Sees RFID Savings For Wal-Mart

RFID could make for happier Wal-Mart shoppers, a study showed. University researchers found a 16 percent reduction in so-called ”out of stocks” at Wal-Mart Stores that were using RFID to track products from the time they left the factory to when they were sold off the shelf. The independent study, released on Friday by the […]

Written By

Susan Kuchinskas

Oct 19, 2005

Datamation content and product recommendations are editorially independent. We may make money when you click on links to our partners. Learn More

RFID could make for happier Wal-Mart shoppers, a study showed.

University researchers found a 16 percent reduction in so-called ”out of stocks” at Wal-Mart Stores that were using RFID to track products from the time they left the factory to when they were sold off the shelf.

The independent study, released on Friday by the RFID Research Center at the University of Arkansas, sought not only to find out whether use of the product tracking technology improved operations, but also to quantify any savings. The study was commissioned by Wal-Mart.

They found a 16 percent reduction in out-of-stocks, as well as a reduction in excess inventory. Moreover, items bearing electronic product codes (EPCs) that could be read by RFID readers were replenished three times faster than comparable items marked with bar codes. Overall, RFID-enabled stores were 63 percent more effective in replenishing out-of-stocks than the control stores.

”This is no longer a take-it-on-faith initiative,” Linda Dillman, executive vice president and CIO for Wal-Mart, said in a statement. ”This study provides conclusive evidence that EPCs increase how often we put products in the hands of customers who want to buy them.”

Gartner analyst Jeff Woods said studies analyzing the business case for RFID are one of the most important efforts in the industry. ”It’s admirable and beyond the call of duty for Wal-Mart to step up to the plate with this much information,” he said.

Wal-Mart jump-started the RFID industry with a mandate that its top 100 suppliers begin using RFID tags on shipments to the stores. It later extended the mandate to its top 200 suppliers.

University researchers spent 29 weeks analyzing out-of-stock merchandise at 12 pilot stores equipped with RFID technology and 12 control stores without the technology.

This article was first published on internetnews.com. To read the full article, click here.

Ethics and Artificial Intelligence: Driving Greater Equality

FEATURE | By James Maguire,
December 16, 2020
AI vs. Machine Learning vs. Deep Learning

FEATURE | By Cynthia Harvey,
December 11, 2020
Huawei’s AI Update: Things Are Moving Faster Than We Think

FEATURE | By Rob Enderle,
December 04, 2020
Keeping Machine Learning Algorithms Honest in the ‘Ethics-First’ Era

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | By Guest Author,
November 18, 2020
Key Trends in Chatbots and RPA

FEATURE | By Guest Author,
November 10, 2020
Top 10 AIOps Companies

FEATURE | By Samuel Greengard,
November 05, 2020
What is Text Analysis?

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | By Guest Author,
November 02, 2020
How Intel’s Work With Autonomous Cars Could Redefine General Purpose AI

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | By Rob Enderle,
October 29, 2020
Dell Technologies World: Weaving Together Human And Machine Interaction For AI And Robotics

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | By Rob Enderle,
October 23, 2020
The Super Moderator, or How IBM Project Debater Could Save Social Media

FEATURE | By Rob Enderle,
October 16, 2020
Top 10 Chatbot Platforms

FEATURE | By Cynthia Harvey,
October 07, 2020
Finding a Career Path in AI

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | By Guest Author,
October 05, 2020
CIOs Discuss the Promise of AI and Data Science

FEATURE | By Guest Author,
September 25, 2020
Microsoft Is Building An AI Product That Could Predict The Future

FEATURE | By Rob Enderle,
September 25, 2020
Top 10 Machine Learning Companies 2021

FEATURE | By Cynthia Harvey,
September 22, 2020
NVIDIA and ARM: Massively Changing The AI Landscape

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | By Rob Enderle,
September 18, 2020
Continuous Intelligence: Expert Discussion [Video and Podcast]

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | By James Maguire,
September 14, 2020
Artificial Intelligence: Governance and Ethics [Video]

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | By James Maguire,
September 13, 2020
IBM Watson At The US Open: Showcasing The Power Of A Mature Enterprise-Class AI

FEATURE | By Rob Enderle,
September 11, 2020
Artificial Intelligence: Perception vs. Reality

FEATURE | By James Maguire,
September 09, 2020

SEE ALL
ARTICLES

Study Sees RFID Savings For Wal-Mart

Susan Kuchinskas

Recommended for you...

Company

Categories

Study Sees RFID Savings For Wal-Mart

RELATED NEWS AND ANALYSIS

Susan Kuchinskas

Recommended for you...

Company

Categories