Wal-Mart's Faltering RFID Initiative

itphobe writes "Baseline magazine has up an in-depth look at Wal-Mart's years-old RFID initiative. Things apparently haven't gone so well for the retail giant. 'The lack of any obvious concrete gains has raised questions as to whether Wal-Mart should delay or freeze its RFID plans. For now, however, Wal-Mart says it will stay the course ... By January 2006 the company hoped to have as many as 12 of its roughly 130 distribution centers fully outfitted with RFID. That effort stalled at just five distribution centers. Instead, the company is now focusing on implementing RFID in stores fed by those five distribution centers so it can gain a bigger window into its supply chain.' Overall the article focuses on the original intentions of the RFID project vs. their implementation. It also discusses several of the technical elements required to adapt RFID for the US juggernaut."

good strategery, Wal-Mart

[User 956]

For now, however, Wal-Mart says it will stay the course ...

Ah, yes, because we all know how well "staying the course" works out.

Re:Fuck Walmart

[Anonymous Coward]

Why is the parent modded "flamebait"? Do you really think someone here is going to violently come to Wal-Mart's defense?

Re:Intimate Walmart/RFID info

[penguinstorm]

Well, sir, if your FRIEND said it than it must be true. The guy who welded my bicycle knows everything there is to know about RFID, after all.

Wait wait wait a second here...

[badboy_tw2002]

I've read here on \. that the RFIDs were going to be used by the government to track my sneakers from space and that the second I walked into the Gap I was going to get bombarded with ads based off the stuff I was wearing.

After reading that, I became extremely paranoid and started wrapping myself in tinfoil every day. But then I realized the RFID could be in the tinfoil itself. So I rewrapped that tinfoil in other tinfoil. They told me I could kill it with microwaves, so I took the tinfoil I was wrapping the other tinfoil in and put that in the microwave. That didn't really work out to well. Now I've been walking around looking like some 1950's space alien comfortable that my previous purchases of BVDs would be safely hidden beneath my shorts and you're telling me that these guys can't even read an RFID out in the open? ...

You guys are just big jerks you know that?

Re:Intimate Walmart/RFID info

[SoCalChris]

My good friend works for the world's largest bicycle distribution companies, feeding Walmart amongst others.

Sounds like he works for Huffy. He should be used to crap that doesn't work :)

Re:good strategery, Wal-Mart

[Anonymous Coward]

As the RFIDs stand up, we will stand down.

Re:Fun with RFID

[onkelonkel]

From the been there done that dept...

The undergrad library at $Canadian_University had magnetic strips in all the books, and exit turnstiles under the mag strip scanners. If the scanner detected a strip it locked the turnstile and set off an alarm.

I peel a strip out of a book and slip it into my buddy's backpack. I distract him a bit as it get close to class time and then say "Holy kerap, you're going to be late for your lab" Buddy takes off for the exit at a dead run.

BEEEP...CLICK...WHAM! The scanner triggers, the alarm goes off, and the turnstile locks, all at the same moment. Buddy hits it at full speed, folds in half at the hips and then flies through the air like something from an ESPN highlight clip.

I snuck the strip out of his bag at our next class, and he never did figure out what happened.