Can RFID Save the Day for Spinach?

By Leslie K. Downey

For example, take strawberries. Bruising can vary a lot according to the temperature at the time of picking. If the data recorded in the field includes temperature along with the time of picking, growers will be able to determine the best times to harvest. They may find that in the morning, when it tends to be cooler, 90 percent of the strawberries picked are not bruised. However, in the afternoon, when temperatures have risen, the opposite occurs—80 percent of the berries picked are bruised. This kind of information can lead to millions [of dollars] more in salable product, not to mention improving consumer satisfaction.

Another benefit has to do with the growing trend toward vendor-managed inventory (VMI). With VMI, shippers are responsible for replenishing stock without receiving orders from customers. Given RFID and data sharing, shippers can more readily observe turnover of their products in a given store or region. Say customers' spinach inventory is moving slowly in the Southeast, but stores in the Midwest have put an item on sale and are seeing sales pick up. The shipper can react quickly and redirect millions of bags to the Midwest. The improved inventory allocation from better visibility boosts revenue.

It appears that the implementation of RFID in the fresh-produce industry will bring significant benefits to the industry and consumers alike. But what about implementation cost?

Dean: Well, of course, you have the tags. At 15 cents each, one can see why there isn't a rush to tag bags of spinach, for example. These products carry a very tight margin. However, as implementation throughout the industry progresses, the cost of tags will drop, and all of the other reasons for tagging will start driving the spinach and all the fresh produce industry toward full adoption of RFID.

The really hard work is in laying the foundation for data sharing. Even after EPCIS becomes a standard, this will not be easy. The fresh produce industry is still pretty fragmented. The USDA could play an active role here in bringing numerous companies together. Years could be cut out of the timeline to industry-wide implementation.

What incentive would USDA have to invest?

Dean: In addition to increased consumer safety, USDA has an economic incentive. Each day it publishes Market News, showing production of fresh produce in various regions of the country. All this data is compiled through a manually intensive process involving USDA agents calling shippers, who provide or fax back data that then must be entered into USDA's database. With full-scale implementation of RFID, USDA would collect more accurate data automatically, which could be made available in real time.

Of course, a nationwide RFID-enabled solution does not completely solve the consumer-safety challenge involved with fresh produce. Products are also being imported from other countries. But U.S. producers, sellers and consumers will have made a great leap forward.

Leslie Downey is a principal and founder of RFID Revolution, a Washington, D.C.-area firm providing RFID marketplace consulting services to RFID vendors and end users. She can be reached at 301-589-9791 or LDowney@rfidrevolution.com.