Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

rfidwatch

how they did it

The results of Wal-Mart's RFID pilot are no secret—the world has known about the 16-percent reduction in stock-outs and two-thirds drop in replenishment times since October. Now we're learning a little more about how they did it. In a white paper released late last year, the mega-retailer identified specific process improvements that helped it achieve those dazzling results.

Bentonville attributes most of the savings to its newfound ability to generate automatic pick lists of the specific items needed to restock shelves. As customers go through checkout, the RFID system swiftly combines point-of-sale data on their purchases with RFID-generated data on what's available in the back room to produce the pick lists. Basically,Wal-Mart changed its pick-list generation process from a reactive one that required associates to take the initiative to determine restocking needs, to a proactive one, in which lists are automatically created in real time, based on sales.


Though the study didn't attempt to quantify the savings, it appears that the RFID-enabled process also saves time and labor. Associates no longer need to scan store shelves to determine what's out of stock. Nor do they have to scan cartons and cases arriving at the stock room; RFID readers mounted at the doors collect data on the incoming goods. And there are no more wasted trips to the back room. Associates now have assurances that a box will be there when they go to retrieve it.

"The message here is that RFID is making a difference," says Bill Hardgrave, director of the RFID Research Center at the University of Arkansas' Sam M. Walton College of Business, which prepared the report for Wal-Mart. "The message is that the data that RFID collects can allow for process improvements."

The tests themselves date back to last February. For the study,Wal-Mart tracked 4,554 unique items, representing merchandise from nearly all of the stores' departments, as they moved through 24 stores. Twelve of those stores were outfitted with RFID readers/antennae at various locations, including receiving doors, sales floor doors and box crushers. The other 12, the control stores, were not.

Among other results, the tests demonstrated the depth of tracing detail RFID is able to provide. In one test, for example, Wal-Mart was able to determine that a particular product arrived at its distribution center on Aug. 4, that it was put on the conveyor system five days later and that it departed shortly thereafter. Upon arrival at the store (12 hours after it left the DC), the product was whisked to the store's back room and moved to the sales floor the following day.

Hardgrave says that his team of researchers is working on another white paper that will provide further details on Wal-Mart's RFID pilot. This one will describe the impact of RFID on specific product categories and store departments within Wal-Mart.

The Latest

More Stories

kion linde tugger truck

Kion Group plans layoffs in cost-cutting plan

The German forklift vendor Kion Group plans to lay off an unspecified number of workers as part of an “efficiency program” it is launching to strengthen the company’s resilience and maintain headroom for future investments, the company said today.

The new structural measures are intended to optimize Kion’s efficiency, executives said in their fourth quarter earnings report.

Keep ReadingShow less

Featured

map chart of truck freight shipments

U.S. Bank report: the truck freight market reboot is not here yet

The truck freight market continued to contract in the fourth quarter, closing out 2024 with further declines in shipments and spending, according to the latest U.S. Bank Freight Payment Index.

By the numbers, fourth quarter shipment volume was down 4.7% compared to the prior quarter, while spending dropped 2.2%.

Keep ReadingShow less
volvo and waabi self driving truck

Volvo deepens partnership with Waabi for self-driving truck tech

Volvo Autonomous Solutions will form a strategic partnership with autonomous driving technology and generative AI provider Waabi to jointly develop and deploy autonomous trucks, with testing scheduled to begin later this year.

The two companies said they will integrate Waabi's virtual driver system, the Waabi Driver, into the Volvo VNL Autonomous, Volvo’s autonomous truck with redundant systems for enabling safe autonomous operations. The Volvo VNL Autonomous will be produced at Volvo’s New River Valley assembly plant in Dublin, Virginia, and be designed to support diverse operational needs, use cases, and Volvo Group truck brands.

Keep ReadingShow less
containers stacked on a ship in harbor

Average container transit time in Q4 climbed from 60 days to 68 days

Businesses dependent on ocean freight are facing shipping delays due to volatile conditions, as the global average trip for ocean shipments climbed to 68 days in the fourth quarter compared to 60 days for that same quarter a year ago, counting time elapsed from initial booking to clearing the gate at the final port, according to E2open.

Those extended transit times and booking delays are the ripple effects of ongoing turmoil at key ports that is being caused by geopolitical tensions, labor shortages, and port congestion, Dallas-based E2open said in its quarterly “Ocean Shipping Index” report.

Keep ReadingShow less
chart of women's portion of transport and storage jobs

Women hold only 12% of transportation and storage jobs worldwide

Women are significantly underrepresented in the global transport sector workforce, comprising only 12% of transportation and storage workers worldwide as they face hurdles such as unfavorable workplace policies and significant gender gaps in operational, technical and leadership roles, a study from the World Bank Group shows.

This underrepresentation limits diverse perspectives in service design and decision-making, negatively affects businesses and undermines economic growth, according to the report, “Addressing Barriers to Women’s Participation in Transport.” The paper—which covers global trends and provides in-depth analysis of the women’s role in the transport sector in Europe and Central Asia (ECA) and Middle East and North Africa (MENA)—was prepared jointly by the World Bank Group, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), the European Investment Bank (EIB), and the International Transport Forum (ITF).

Keep ReadingShow less