Albertsons gives top suppliers one year to start shipping with RFID tags
Adding to the movement toward RFID-driven supply chains, Albertsons Inc. has joined Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Target Corp. in telling its top 100 suppliers they must ship cases and pallets with radio frequency identification tags early next year. "We are confident that RFID technology will further enhance our service to customers by improving consumer demand chain management," says Bob Dunst, executive vice president and chief technology officer for Albertsons.
Albertsons, which operates about 2,300 stores in 31 states and has annual revenue close to $36 billion, is already testing RFID with its top suppliers and expects them to begin participating in a permanent RFID program by April 2005.
RFID technology uses a system of radio frequency tags and readers, under which readers placed in distribution centers, store warehouses and other points in the supply chain read identifier codes on tags attached to cases, pallets or individual products. The identifier is then matched with product details on a computer network and transmitted over the Internet to authorized managers who need to track shipments, helping them better prepare for in-store displays and react to unexpected supply chain disruptions.
"We`ll be able to instantly locate products as they flow through our supply chain, making sure the right products are in the right place at the right time,” Dunst says.
Target has also set an April 2005 deadline for its top suppliers to begin shipping RFID-tagged cases and pallets. Wal-Mart is ahead of the pack with a deadline of January 2005.
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