Pressuring Suppliers: Wal-Mart Demands RFID Tags

Daisy Brands says its investment in RFID has been a boon, helping it better manage the flow of its perishable products through Wal-Mart stores and ensure marketing promotions proceed as planned.

That’s pretty much “it”, in a nutshell…

Wow, Sounds like the argument when they started using bar code. Look how much barcodes have saved us today.

Big Brother is watching you.  With RFID technology anyone can drive down your street, point a scanner at your house, and ‘read’ all the tagged products within.  They will know the make & model & serial number of your electronics, how many tubes of tooth paste you have in the hall closet, and what kind of clothes you wear.  Isn’t technology wonderful?

GG in Clark County, WA

Your tagging the package, not the actual product.  Nobody will be able to drive down your street scanning the products in your home.  Maybe your garbage.  As of now, we are only tagging pallets.  Eventualy it will be on the individual packages.  As a supplier, I look forward to getting the RFID information back so that I can make shopping better for the shopper/consumer.  Just think, better assortment, shelving.

“RFID industry experts say item-level tagging can help with “shrinkage”

And what do these RFID “experts” say about switched RFID tags or mis-tagged items.  Sounds like an accident waiting to happen.

It sounds like an opportunity for someone to really mess up a Wal-Mart store’s inventory.  Can you imagine switching around several hundred RFID tags in a store just before inventory?

Oops...we meant to order 200 tubes of toothpaste...instead we ended up ordering 200 flat screen TV’s.

I’m sure all those highly trained and consciencious “associates” are going to be watching this real close once they are trained to “wave a device” or wand over a coded item.

The above article doesn’t state if these suppliers are foreign or domestic. I did see a reference to all suppliers-but realistically,with all the Chinese products being imported,is this really believable by these dates? According to RFID Journal, WalMart has formed a 3 way partnership with GSI HongKong and Trade Bureau of Changcheng Distributors. I did not see a time frame mentioned in the article,as to a deadline. ..for the Chinese companies.

And what do these RFID “experts” say about switched RFID tags or mis-tagged items.  Sounds like an accident waiting to happen.

Such tags are usually embedded in the packaging (much like the PayPass chip on your MasterCard)...not affixed on “after the fact”.

The thing that has been holding RFID back is the cost. Even with all the pressure from retailers, tag makers still haven’t been able to get the cost low enough to make it economic to tag individual items.

There is a printed circuit, a small memory chip and a simple type of cpu which provides the encoding of the signal and the RF transmitter. Right now I think prices are around ten cents. You can’t put that on a 79 cent item without having a major impact on the price.

Walmart is hoping to pressure the RFID industry into finding further cost savings. Their effort may pay off eventually. There are things that can be done to preserve privacy, like hitting them with a destruct signal after purchase. Europe is more interested in this aspect than the US, but if the technology becomes widespread it will probably be used elsewhere.

rdf: Too bad the RFID can’t detect counterfeit goods,or can they? I saw on the news the arrest of several people today for trafficking in counterfeit imports. Hmmm-wonder if this tecnology could curb piracy on electronic games,etc.? To detect BEFORE they’re chipped if they are contraband? Sooner or later, think there will be counterfeit RFID to imbed in counterfeit goods, too?

“And what do these RFID “experts” say about switched RFID tags or mis-tagged items.  Sounds like an accident waiting to happen.”

Anyone, who has ever done a manual inventory, knows that it will probably be more subject to mistakes than a computer driven inventory!!  All it takes, is for 1 number in the item number code to be accidently wrong and it does the same as changing a pallet RFID!!  Funny, how Screwedby came up with a way to screw the company, wonder if he does that sort of thing where he works!!

wm is doing it to themselves,anything good can be used against them ,has nothing to do with SDV, someone will mess it up on purpose.

Funny, how Screwedby came up with a way to screw the company, wonder if he does that sort of thing where he works!!

You mean he has a real job? 

That’s a hard notion to fathom…

Properly designed RFID tags have encrypted codes that are unique, counterfeiters won’t be able to duplicate this.

Much “counterfeit” material is actually made in the same factories as the “real” material, it’s just sold on the black market as a way for the manufacturer to boost his income. If it was also tagged with valid RFID tags it would be easy to trace the source of the material.

Many people buy actual fakes because they only want to be seen with the expensive item, they don’t really care if they have the real thing. Just look at the volume of fake diamond sales.

bbrd,

I just thought of something, it would make NO difference, if RFID tags were switched to other pallets, the inventory count would remain the same, in the computer, as the tag amounts are counted, not the actual number of boxes on the pallet, whereas, if pallet non-RFID tags were mixed up before a physical inventory, actual item counts would be off!!

robertdfeinman: Thanks for the info. I had read long ago about RFID technology and that it ,if properly encoded, could detect contraband goods PRIOR to tagging.  Considering the lawsuits against W/M for marketing counterfeit goods, and a recent incident with Sam’s selling knock off designer goods,the ability to do this “smart” encryption,if it exists would be a god send to many,not just W/M, who had to pay $6.4 million to settle a case in 1999.(Tommy Hilfiger Corps vs. WalMart)-WalMart continued to sell fake T.H. items,ignoring twice, despite a court ordered injunction to cease and desist doing so.) The WSJ did a story on this.

After the supply/inventory debacle of Wal-Mart’s ‘upscale’ attempt, I’d say they could use all the help they can get.

Have they gotten rid of all the ‘skinny jeans’ and ‘slutty tops’ yet?

“The dogs bark but the caravan moves on.” ~ Arabian proverb

I Just Love the Syntax You Use, RDS

“I just thought of something, it would make NO difference...

This is true for most of your “thoughts"… they make little difference.

i used to work for Avery Dennison Printer Systems, a major supplier in RFID tags and printers. Walmart did this for a reason: To be an industry technology driver for RFID… When they first mandated it, NO ONE had RFID… You should have heard al the frantic calls we got from bewildered Customers. They are deliberatly forcing companies to take on this new technolgy when it was not needed or wanted.

Why? So the technology advances faster, and the per-label price drops significantly. So far they have been very successful in this. I had Customers who had to label American-made toys that actually cost less to manufacture than the RFID label that is required for it. It is pushing-up costs for the vendors, forcing the few American-mfg ones over seas, too. And it is paving the way for RIFD to be used in nearly every facet of our lives in the future.

Did many of you know that RFID readers (really transceivers) are going up on light polls all along roadways in the US? And not for tolls, either....

Walmart’s agenda is not purely business. It is political and social… They want to change our country, our entire way of life, and they are succeeding.

Hillart Clinton used to be on the board of directors at walmart. As far as im concerned, that disqualifies her as a legitimate candidate.

jibbguy: I’m surprised WalMart doesn’t have a division or partner to manufacture these RFIDs,thereby eliminating the middleman. If they don’t now,can it be far behind?

Interesting!  jibbguy in key west

I don’t claim to understand the whole RFID thing.  All I can say is that for every “advance” in technology there is usually a corresponding “advance” to counter that technology.

I don’t suppose it will be very long before someone figures out a face to “mess with” the RFID tags that Wal-Mart is so bent on using.  If there are things like transceivers and radio frequencies used, then I would think there would be a way to jam or confuse signals.  We are using some kind of technology like this to jam the signals so that roadside bombs won’t go off in Iraq.

We have managed to get along without this technology for this long… Wal-Mart should just give up this bullshit idea.

Screwedby,

“We have managed to get along without this technology for this long”

Right!!  Why not get rid of all the technology that we were able to get along without before and go back to the ‘Stone Age’?  No more “Forward” movement, just go backwards or stay stagnant, right?

“We have managed to get along without this technology for this long”

That’s without a doubt one of the dumbest statements you have made to date Screwed.

mary,

“That’s without a doubt one of the dumbest statements you have made to date Screwed.”

Just one of MANY!!

They want to change our country, our entire way of life, and they are succeeding.

Why do you care, “jib-jab”?  Last time we checked, there were no Wal-Marts in/near Key West…

Wal-Mart should just give up this bullshit idea.

Let’s try changing the words “Wal-Mart” to “Screwed"… ;-)

bbrd:"Why do you care “jib-jab”? Last time we checked, there were no Wal-Marts in/near Key West...” To borrow a phrase from “Mary","That’s without a doubt one of the dumbest statements you have made to date bbrd.” BTW, jib’s post clearly states WHY he (or she) cares-that W/M’s intentions,in his (her) opinion, are further reaching than RFID technology-hence, extending far past Key West.

BTW: Who’s the “we”,as in “Last time WE checked?”

I’m Lov’in It!

Right on cue.  There’s bbrd coming in with his part to make that 3 part harmony with RDS and “mary” as they sing their praise in the Wal-Mart choir.

So you guys are all big advocates of seeing science fiction become reality huh?  If someone can dream it up it SHOULD BE DONE, right?  It’s about “progress” right?

Well let’s go ALL the way!  Why stop with putting RFID tags on pallets and individual items… let’s inject an RFID chip under either the right or left wrist of every man, woman, and child in this country. (Yeah we’ll still give the consumers some choice in the matter… “right wrist of left?")

Think about it!  No more long lines at the checkouts.  There won’t be any checkouts!  The RFID chip imbedded just under the skin of consumers will instantaneously be read, and the item will be “rung up” the minute they pull that can of Pork ‘N Beans from the shelf.

Wal-Mart has got to love this idea too.  No more ditched packages of Hamburger Helper laying around in women’s underwear, left there by inconsiderate consumers.  Wal-Mart “Associates” would love this idea too.  No longer will they have to run all over the store, reshelfing merchandise that has been abandoned wherever the customer decided to drop it.  If a consumer decides they don’t want an item, they will be forced to return the product to the proper shelf so that the RFID chip under their skin can be read once again, to get the item taken off their shopping bill, and the item is put back into inventory.  Imagine this… not only will Wal-Mart know the instant something leaves the shelf, they will know who bought it.  They will be able to track the brand preferences, and monitor the shopping patterns for all their “valued customers.” Imagine all of the cross marketing potential.  As a customer pulls that can of sardines from the shelf, that RFID chip is scanned and then triggers an instant pre-recorded message: “We noticed you just bought a can of sardines.  Would you like some crackers to go with that?  Keebler is offering $.50 off on their new “Cheesy Taste-Ums.”

I can hear Frank Sinatra singing the theme song now, as Wal-Mart tries to convince customers that RFID technology is the ONLY way to shop!

“ I’ve got you under my skin
I’ve got you deep in the heart of me
So deep in my heart, that youre really a part of me
I’ve got you under my skin”

Now… that’s what I call “progress.”

Screwedby: Well,doesn’t that align with the 666 computation of yours? Gives a whole different meaning to “Mark of the Beast”,don’t you think?

BTW: Just a hunch, but my guess is that a portion of that three part harmony is actually ventriloquism.

P.S.: Or, as a nod to SDV, should I say,ventriloquislings?

ddrb - your “puns” are about as sharp as your “detective work"…

...can’t tell one from the other!

BTW: Who’s the “we”,as in “Last time WE checked?”

Tell you what, ddrb, I’ll tell you a little more about “us” if you tell us the Wal-Mart store # which is located “30 feet from the neighborhood”.

Inquiring minds want to know (about the store, not about your address).

Somehow, I didn’t think you had the fortitude to go for it, either…

doesn’t matter what the store # is,they all suck.

bbrd: How coincidental-Just as I can’t tell the difference between you and Mary’s posts.(Can the “I smell a rat” and limp dishrag remarks be far behind?)

BTW: Isn’t that a diversionary tactic to change the subject away from WalMart and RFID technology on your part,bbrd?

BTW: Isn’t that a diversionary tactic to change the subject away from WalMart and RFID technology on your part,bbrd?

Absolutely not—I’m all for pushing logisitics into the 21st century (which is why I support RFID tagging).

You see, I don’t live in the past, like so many others around here…

Screwedby,

“I’ve got you deep in the heart of me”

Shouldn’t that be ‘deep in the wrist of me’?

“Now… that’s what I call “progress.””

Didn’t you say you were a ‘progressive’?

bbrd,

“How coincidental-Just as I can’t tell the difference between you and Mary’s posts.” ~ ddrb

There they go again, with the old ‘you are all the same person’ crap!!  They just can’t believe that there is more than 1 person who sees things differently than they do!!

Get it RIght, Would You RDS?

I distinguish between “progressive” and “Progressive.” Notice the capitalization?

Many of today’s Democrats have hijacked that word much in the same way Republicans have hijacked the word “christian.” Many Democrats are “progressives.” Many Republicans are “christians.”

I think of Progressives in the tradition of Theodore Roosevelt, who happened to be a Republican also, and Robert “Fighting Bob” LaFollette.

I’m a Progressive at heart, not a “progressive.”

Why Limit Yourself, bbrd?

Why are you limiting yourself to the 21st Century, bbrd?  Don’t you have any vision of how wonderful the Wal-Mart shopping experience could actually be?

Right wrist or left?

There they go again, with the old ‘you are all the same person’ crap!!  They just can’t believe that there is more than 1 person who sees things differently than they do!!

Then, they are going to be shocked when they pull themselves away from the computer and venture out into the real world to see for themselves…

KEN V; There is an excellent,informative site called Daily Tech.The January 18,2008 story"Champion of RFD...WalMart?” has a very informative blog that addresses many of the concerns that have been bandied about on this blog.Worth a look.

Correction: That should have been addressed to Screwedby. Sorry.

OOPS! That should have been addressed to Screwedby.Sorry.

ddrb,

From the Daily Tech article:

“RFID already has a bad rap largely due to the unsavory prospects of human implantation, possibly by employer coercion.  There is a significant public wariness to the technology, which largely stems from these issues, which unfortunately causes people to often overlook its practical business uses.

By using RFID tags during shipping, pallets of goods can easily be located, identified and tracked as they move across the country.  This can lead to great cost savings while enhancing the supply chain.  Such devices operate in either the 433 MHz and 2.4 GHz frequency, and thus pose no more electromagnetic radiation concern to users than the myriad of other wireless signals that surround us in our daily lives.”

Guess Screwedby sees ‘Big Brother’ and conspiracy, in all sorts of places!!

RDS: The blog entries on Daily Tech I referred to(that may have been of interest to Screwed re:implants into the body) are toward the end of the blogroll. Depenfding upon one’s interests,one can cherry pick any number of posts in the commentaries. That’s why I posted the web address. I thought it would be informative on MANY facets of this issue,for those who may want a “bigger picture” for a larger frame of reference.

ddrb,

It’s that “bigger picture” that I’m talking about, if you only look at the ‘conspiracy’ side of everything, eventually, you can find things ‘wrong’ with Everything and, should we forego ALL ‘new’ technology, because it could be used for ‘evil’ purposes?

It is not the technology generally itself. Technological development is magnification, amplification involving speed, distance, and time usually producing convenience and comfort perhaps. The effect also magnifies, ampifies the human component and the inescapable fact of the sin nature in all humans and the danger this always poses for abuse. After WWII Douglas MacArthur noted “...we have had our last chance.” We have become servants of the machine. This is where it leads…

16 “And he causeth all, both small and great, rich or poor, free or bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:

17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.” Revelation 13:16-17

This is descriptive of the commerce in the near future of a horrifying Jesus Christ rejecting and Anti-Christ deluded period on the earth known as the ‘Tribulation’. Notice the word ‘in’ and not ‘on’ for the hand and forehead. Also the return of slavery with the word ‘bond’ and the additional notations to mercantilism in Revelation 18: 11-14…

11 “And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more:

12 The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble,

13 And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men.

14 And the fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee, and all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and thou shalt find them no more at all.”

Slaves and a psychopath commerce of extremist exploitation out of control and without restraint. WalMart is a shadow, an indicator of things to come awash in avarice, greed, and ‘the love of money’ psychopathy that has rejected a Jesus Christ governing spirit and consciousness. The use of the term ‘beast’ in Revelation refers to a government or type of such.

How’s that for “Big Brother” and ‘conspiracy’?

WalMart- Slave more. Lie Better.

SDV: I would think that when the Superport at Lazaro Cardenas ,Mexico is in full swing,palletts on the WalMart fleet of trucks will be easier to monitor as they travel the Nafta Superhighway ,the inland ports and the railway systems that are an integral part of this Nafta corridor. This Superhighway will extend from the coast of western Mexico.,up through the middle of the American heartland,all the way to Canada.

Super HIGH Way

The Port of Long Beach and the Port of Los Angeles are choke points to WalMart China trade. Any number of disruptions can affect these two ports of entry. Close, block, strike, interrupt these two ports and ultimately you could kill WalMart.

WalMart- We need alternatives to all the anger from the American people that will show up and that we have brought upon ourselves. If only we could import and sell heroin. We can make America like London was with the opium trade with justifications like the British did with China 170 years ago. With the Mexican drug lords we can make it the new ‘American Way’. Where is Ron Paul when you need him?

SDV: From my understanding,WalMart was looking for alternatives to Long Beach,long ago because of congestion and labor issues. The Superport at Lazaro Cardenas is on the western coast of Mexico-easy to bypass long Beach . Once at Lazaro Cardenas,many of the restrictions that might be required of an American port,may not apply. I do not know if the TWIC cards will be used at this Mexican facility. However, this Superport is woven into the design of the Nafta Super Corridor,with inland ports(Not water ports)along the interior of the U.S. The Kansas City inland superport is up and running. It has a maze of railways running alongside it . WalMart has been assissting with the Chinese firm who is designing the Mexican Superport at Lazaro Cardenas.This same firm is in charge of expanding the Panama Canal.Just a thought,but could that$1’6 billion project in NW Arkansas create an artery to the Supercorridor?Just wondering.

P.S. If you check out a U.S. map, you will see Kansas City due north-a straight shot-from N.W. Arkansas (Fayetteville) , where this $1.6 billion dollar infrastructure would be built-a direct conduit to and from the Kansas City Superport. Coincidentally,Kansas City was the location of the WalMart meeting last week.

ddrb,

Right. The 540 through Bella Vista then the 71 into Kansas City. How do you say ‘autobahn’ in Spanish?