Wal-Mart's RFID Efforts: No Big Bang, But Good Progress



Last Friday, Wal-Mart CIO Linda Dillman and the core RFID team shared their pilot experiences — and what the world should expect in January. The bottom line: All 137 suppliers will ship cases and pallets soon, but there will be no "big bang" cutover at the beginning of the year. Instead, suppliers will begin to ship tagged cases and pallets through the first several weeks of January and early February. Wal-Mart's efforts — as well as those from Target, the Department of the Defense, and others — have played an important role in adoption. But users and vendors must address several collaboration and technology issues for broader adoption.