RFID
As prices for RFID continue to
fall, this technology becomes a part of our lives more and more whether we like
it or not. Implications are broad, and
include medical management, inventory control, passport/ID protection, etc… Larger players such as Wal-Mart have profound
impacts on smaller companies regarding RFID.
Regarding inventory control, Wal-Mart requires suppliers to provide RFID
as part of its shipment packages. Some
suppliers are not otherwise incentivized to incur such an expense, but must do
so anyway to continue doing business with Wal-Mart. Over time, however, this seems to have lost
momentum, and many stores do not use this technology yet. RFID appears to be a great idea on the
surface, but it is not without its critics.
As with most technology, there are others who can exploit weaknesses in
RFID to steal identities of others, conduct corporate espionage, and pose risks
to military/government organizations that use this technology. There are also issues with standardizing
chips that are used, so that they may be readable from company to company, and
from any overseeing agency that needs to regulate a given industry. Although there are a fair share of potential
issues, RFID has many uses in the future, and managers of all industries may
likely be exposed to this technology and must be aware of its
implications.
“RFID Technology Transforming Food Retailers Like Walmart”,
http://seekingalpha.com/article/194466-rfid-technology-transforming-food-retailers-like-wal-mart,
retrieved 11/20/2012.
RFID's
Second Wave, BusinessWeek, retrieved 11/20/2012.
"Radio
Silence". The Economist. 7 June 2007. http://economist.com/printedition/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9249278.
RFID seems to me to be the way of the future for automated inventory and re-purchasing management. Wonder if Walmart ever considered trying to combine RFID along automated checkout that and robotics for re-stocking shelves as a way to reduce their labor costs - basically they'd simply need a security agent at the door, a maintenance person to tend to all the automated equpiment, and cleaner to keep the place tidy.
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