RFID and the decrease in out-of-stocks (OOS) at Wal-Mart

What I found most surprising, after reading the study by Bill Hargrave and his associates at the University of Arkansas, was that Wal-Mart was not making use of Point of Sale (POS) transaction data for the generation of automatic pick lists to replenish stock. Ever since the adoption of the UPC code in the ‘70’s, super markets have used POS data for inventory control.

One has to wonder how much of the 30% decrease in OOS is due to the use of the Automatic Pick List, and how much, if any, is due to RFID.