NYT: Wal-Mart Slows RFID Plans, Suppliers Resist

securitas writes "The New York Times' Barnaby Feder reports that Wal-Mart has scaled back its plans to deploy RFID tags because the majority of its top 100 suppliers will not be able to meet the Jan. 1, 2005 deadline that the retailer demanded. Suppliers are resisting Wal-Mart's RFID demand for a variety of reasons according to AMR Research. Only 40 suppliers will meet the deadline, with two suppliers 'so tied up in a complete overhaul of their entire information technology infrastructure that they have put off attempting to introduce radio tagging.' A more pragmatic reason for the delay is that 'no one who uses the technology has systems that can reliably read the information 100 percent of the time in factories, warehouses and stores; Wal-Mart said the rate was around 60 percent in its stores.' It's hard to make the case that RFID will help track inventory when you can't reliably find 40% of it."

Re:Am I the only one who likes RFID?

[neverutterwhen]

I don't have DNA anymore. It cost a lot but my right to privacy remains intact.

When you take this into consideration...

[ProppaT]

I can only find what I'm looking for in Wal Mart about 60% of the time anyway, so really it all balances out in the long run...

hmmm....

[Macrolord]

It's hard to make the case that RFID will help track inventory when you can't reliably find 40% of it."

Sounds like Kmart to me.