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	March 1, 2004 RFID At What Cost? What Wal-Mart Compliance Really Means by Christine Spivey Overby with Joshua Walker, Charles P. Wilson

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Executive Summary

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.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Wal-Mart Makes RFID Demands Of Its Top Suppliers
• The Only Option Today Is "Slap-And-Ship"

RECOMMENDATIONS

• Wal-Mart Must Redefine Its January 2005 Deadline
• Suppliers Must Band Together To Shape Retailer Mandates
• Supplemental Material
• Related Research Documents

This is an excerpt

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