Wal-Mart continues RFID expansion

More than 1,000 stores and clubs to use RFID by end of year

-- Modern Materials Handling, 9/12/2006

Wal-Mart plans to bring another 500 stores and clubs online with its RFID initiative by the end of the year, bringing the total number of its stores using the technology to more than 1,000. The company has more than 3,900 locations in the United States.

"Recent internal analysis of our ongoing efforts, along with the launch of EPCglobal Generation 2 tags, reinforces the value of this technology,” says Rollin Ford, chief information officer for Wal-Mart. "We're aggressively moving forward with the expansion of RFID-enabled facilities."

Wal-Mart installations will read only Gen 2 tags from now on, says Ford. The company will convert all its systems to Gen 2 as the remaining pallets and cases with Gen 1 tags make their way through the distribution network.

Ford says Wal-Mart continues to work with its next 300 largest suppliers, which are expected to begin shipping test cases in October. These suppliers will go live with their shipments in January 2007, bringing to more than 600 the number of Wal-Mart suppliers meeting RFID mandates.

"We are actively engaged in designing some new initiatives that will accelerate our program even further and, in so doing, create even more value for everyone involved,” says Ford. “We'll announce those initiatives as we roll them out."