Radio Frequency Identification Technology

Part 1: Topic Plan

A multitude of companies across the globe have plans underway to implement the infamous Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology in an effort to ensure efficiency in an increasingly competitive modern market. The retail industry is one of the sectors keen on the adoption and implementation of the technology (Ahsan, Shah, & Kingston, 2010). The paper provides a systematic and holistic RIFD implementation framework for a cashier-less program in the global retail giant, Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart was one of the first organizations to embrace RFID more than two decades ago in their supply chain management. Indeed, operating more than 12,000 stores across the globe under more than sixty company names with more than 2.5 million employees in 30 countries requires a detailed and efficient application of logistical and operational systems. RIFD has been successful in the efficient management of Wal-Mart’s thirty two billion dollars inventory. However, while the organization has effectively applied the technology in supply management, it has lagged behind in embracing the technology to improve the customer shopping experience.

The application of RIFD technology in Wal-Mart’s cashier-less program will apply an almost similar system that was adopted by Amazon go three years ago, although Amazon asserts that it is not using RIFD technology in Amazon Go. Specifically, the Wal-Mart’s cashier-less program will leverage RIFD technology to create a shopping experience of the future. A Wal-Mart cashier-free store will largely rely on a sensor-enabled inventory management technique. Indeed, already Wal-Mart applies RIFD technology in the supply chain management, implying the organization already monitors their inventory using RIFD. For a seamless application of RIFD in the cashier-less program RIFD technology will replace the barcode technology to ensure effective tracking of the inventory. The cashier-less program will facilitate Wal-Mart’s retail giant status since it will ensure accuracy, speed and efficiency in the shopping process.

Part 2: Outline of the Plan

Implementing RFID technology in the cashier-less system will involve four core steps. These steps are broadly categorized as managing expectations, processing evaluations, acquiring documentation and performing site service (Ting , Albert, & Tsang, 2013). The management of expectations encompasses conducting a feasibility analysis on whether RFID is the best technological solution that provides a projected future benefit to Wal-Mart as an organization. It involves evaluating the business expectations of Wal-Mart against what the cashier-less system that uses RFID provides.

The next stage, process evaluation, consists of underrating key processes of Wal-Mart in addition to the previous and future place of RFID technology. The stage primarily is about recognizing RFID implementation as a process of improvement in Wal-Mart as an organization. It encompasses gathering information from multiple stakeholders to ensure the upcoming business practices including the cashier-less program will benefit from RFID technology.

The next step includes creating a requirements document. A requirements document will describe Wal-Mart’s preferred process flow and the specific requirements necessary to implement RFID technology in the cashier-less project. Factors to consider in the requirement document include but are not limited to; software, hardware, RFID tags, environmental components, regulatory aspects, reliability, security concerns, network, and maintenance (Wamba, Anand, & Carter, 2013). The stage will involve outlining functional responsibilities. The application of the RFID technology in Wal-Mart’s cashier-less program envisions making retail shopping simpler and convenient for the shoppers who do not want to spend time queuing waiting to be served by cashiers.

The next stage in the implementation process involves conducting a site survey. Specifically, the cashier-less program will be initially implemented in one Wal-Mart store in Los Angeles. The survey will include both RF-spectrum analyses in addition to the physical survey to ensure the installation of the readers. One good thing is that Wal-Mart already has an extensive usage of the RF technology in their inventory. Therefore the analysis of the site will encompass analyzing the feasibility of the cashier-less project.

References

Ahsan, K., Shah, H., & Kingston, P. (2010). RFID applications: An introductory and exploratory study. International Journal of Computer science, 1-7.

Ting , S. L., Albert, H., & Tsang, Y. k. (2013). A Framework for the Implementation of RFID Systems. International Journal of Engineering Business Management.

Wamba, F. S., Anand, A., & Carter, L. (2013). RFID applications, issues, methods and theory: A review of the AIS basket of Top journals. Procedia Technology, 421-430.