(Length: 14 pages)

Executive Summary (This is a document excerpt)

Wal-Mart's RFID mandate carries ambitious requirements: Suppliers must ensure 100% readability of all case and pallet RFID tags and treat RFID as a strategic initiative versus a cost of doing business. But Wal-Mart can't get what it's asking for, because today's technology market is in constant flux and suppliers lack a near-term business case. What's more: A typical supplier that attempts to comply can expect to spend as much as $9 million on RFID — depending on its distribution network and Wal-Mart volume. The largest expenditures — tag costs and additional warehouse labor — underscore the problems that RFID vendors must solve to help suppliers' efforts. Wal-Mart should narrow the scope of its mandate to make the January 1, 2005, deadline attainable.