RFID: an enabler of supply chain operations

Abstract

Purpose: The desire to cut supply chain costs has made RFID technology one of today's most discussed retail technologies. Given the current implementation pace, the objective of this paper is to go beyond the hype and explore basic issues related to RFID technology, including its promises as well as its pitfalls. Design/methodology/approach: The author provides a conceptual discussion of the evolution of RFID, addresses its capabilities and its application in various industries, discusses implementation challenges, identifies adoption phases, and reviews RFID's success factors. Findings: RFID is the most recent prolific technology that provides supply chain collaboration and visibility. An RFID systems solution will increase corporate ROI while at the same time improving retail supply chain communication. Handled properly, RFID technology can result in an evolutionary change incorporating legacy systems with the real‐time supply chain management of tomorrow. Its stumbling point seems only to be a variety of issues outside the technology itself: marketing problems, false promises, security and privacy considerations, and a lack of standards. Research limitations/implications: The paper was constrained by empirical evidence of, for example, technology deployment, adoption drivers, and success factors. Practical implications: The paper confirms the power of RFID – a technology in its infancy with as yet untapped potential for supply chain collaboration. It also examines some of the popular RFID products and services. Originality/value: The paper discusses implementation challenges, identifies adoption phases, and reviews RFID's success factors. It identifies the biggest implementation challenge as the challenge for IT experts of determining how to integrate RFID with existing supply chain management (SCM), customer relationship management (CRM), and enterprise resource planning (ERP) applications.