Radio-frequency identification (RFID) tracking technology is used in only a tiny slice of the supply chains that carry the stuff companies make to the shelves where we buy it. Despite that narrow application, companies such as Gillette, Levi Strauss, and Wal-Mart are getting data they've never had about where goods get stalled on the way to shoppers.
One Wal-Mart supplier found that some shipments spent 24 hours longer than it expected at one point along delivery, Simon Langford, manager of global RFID strategy for Wal-Mart, told attendees Tuesday at this week's Retail Systems show in Chicago. That prompted the company, which isn't tagging every product line coming to Wal-Mart's RFID-enabled distribution center, to tag at least one case on each shipment, so it can track its progress.
"When they started seeing that data, and getting that visibility, there were some 'Wows' in there," Langford said.
Here are some other insights shared Tuesday by executives from Gillette, Wal-Mart, Levi Strauss, and Michelin:
