Companies are scrambling to figure out how to pay for and implement radio-frequency identification technology in order to comply with mandates from some of the world's largest retailers, such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Target Corp., as well as the Department of Defense. But the rush is hitting some serious speed bumps.
A report released last week by Forrester Research predicts that less than a quarter of Wal-Mart's top 100 suppliers will meet the retailer's Jan. 1 deadline. "It's not possible for these suppliers to meet Wal-Mart's 100% readability-rate deadline in the next 276 days," says Forrester Research analyst Christine Spivey Overby. Smaller suppliers, which have an extra year, are likely even further behind. "We've only begun to examine using RFID and may not be ready in time to meet the deadline," says an executive at a small consumer packaged-goods company, who declined to be identified.
