Wal-Mart was highly influential in introducing the technology’s usage into the mainstream marketplace. Since the company made RFID tags a requirement for its top 100 suppliers’ pallets in 2005, the supply chain community has been forced to utilize RFID technology, which in turn sharply increased the availability of tags, tickets and labels among label manufacturers and suppliers. Wal-Mart’s suppliers are serviced by Donnick Label Systems, a Jacksonville, Florida-based converter of stock into finished labels and tags. According to David Frederick, director of sales and operations, the retail advantages of employing RFID will become clearer when tags are affixed to retail items, rather than only being used for warehouse inventory and identification—which is what privacy rights groups are honing in on, too.
Majority Report?
Privacy rights and RFID technology head to the marketplace