And what metric is that measured against?
—Name withheld
———
Sorry, I do not know the percentage.
In 2003, Walmart began asking suppliers to tag pallets and cases being shipped to its distribution centers and stores (see Wal-Mart Expands RFID Mandate and Wal-Mart Details RFID Requirement). That effort was abandoned after the recession in 2008 and 2009, however, as suppliers felt they were not seeing sufficient benefits, and Walmart did not want to push them to continue tagging, and to bear the cost of that in the downturn. Instead, the retailer began looking at RFID for internal use, and started tracking jeans and men's basics (see Wal-Mart Relaunches EPC RFID Effort, Starting With Men's Jeans and Basics and Wal-Mart Takes a New Approach to RFID). That effort was extended to cover suppliers of these products that wanted to tag voluntarily; there was no requirement to tag. As far as I am aware, only a small percentage of suppliers agreed to this.
Walmart temporarily suspended its RFID program last year due a patent-infringement lawsuit launched by Round Rock Research (see Update on the Round Rock Patent-Infringement Lawsuit and Round Rock Completes Licensing Deals With Majority of RFID Vendors). That suit is now resolved, however, and Walmart is expected to resume its RFID efforts.
—Mark Roberti, Founder and Editor, RFID Journal
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