editor Posted March 20, 2006 Share Posted March 20, 2006 CNN/Money is carrying an interesting article with the CIO of FedEx. Remember when RFID tags were first introduced, they were going to be the ultimate way to track anything? It turns out that FedEx has tried it, and they don't work. At least not yet. He says it was all hype. Also interestingly, the CIO is a victim of identity theft and walks his dog with his Segway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MidtownCoog Posted March 20, 2006 Share Posted March 20, 2006 Wonder what Wal-Mart has to say abou this?Dallas was a test market for Wal-Mart RFID. It was going to change the world ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
editor Posted March 20, 2006 Author Share Posted March 20, 2006 Wonder what Wal-Mart has to say abou this?Dallas was a test market for Wal-Mart RFID. It was going to change the world ;-)I wonder if it would still work for Wal-mart because they use much much smaller shipping containers and pallets than FedEx. FedEx works on a 747-scale, while Wal-mart works on tractor trailer scale. Or maybe I'm reading too much into it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MidtownCoog Posted March 21, 2006 Share Posted March 21, 2006 I think you are right.Even with RFID, how much more effective would that be vs. having the worker scan inventory into their hand-helds?Do they really need inventory to order itself? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeightsGuy Posted March 21, 2006 Share Posted March 21, 2006 I wonder if it would still work for Wal-mart because they use much much smaller shipping containers and pallets than FedEx. FedEx works on a 747-scale, while Wal-mart works on tractor trailer scale. Or maybe I'm reading too much into it.Actually, quite the opposite, you're not reading enough into it. For Walmart, the efficiency gains with RFID's aren't so much at the shipping level as they are at the store level. An average Walmart probably takes a stocking crew a number of hours to inventory the entire store with hand scanners, which probably is done once a week or more for ordering purposes. If you had automated scanners perched on the ceiling reading individual RFID's on the merchandise, all the hand scanning goes away. Multiply that by the number of Walmarts out there and you get the idea of the amount of savings on labor alone. Add to that the ability of Walmart to know worldwide exactly how much stock they currently posess in each store and you get a picture of the efficiencies they can gain with ordering which could then be done more at the corporate level instead of the store level. Also knowing the current stock worldwide is an accountant's dream.True, we may be in year three of a two-ten cycle with RFID's, but they are coming, and they will change the way commodities businesses function for better or worse. To me, the worst part was showcased in New Orleans last year. When efficiencies are so good that warehouses become obsolete and product is only made and shipped in almost real-time, any break in the chain can have devastating effects. Even now, a city the size of Houston probably has no more than a few day supply of milk and bread. Cut that supply off for a few days and a city the size of Houston could be brought to it's knees. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.