Online course can help get you in step with RFID

DSN Retailing Today, July 5, 2004 by Sandra Kennedy

Although radio frequency identification (RFID) technology has been around for a number of years, it is now in pilot programs at several retailers, with others ready to roll out RFID in their supply chain in 2005. The promise of reduced on-hand inventory and less use of safety stock; of products being on the shelf when the customer wants them; and of reduced shrink and theft in the supply chain are beginning to become a reality. Many other retailers are waiting in the wings, watching these pilot programs to see if RFID can offer efficiencies in their operations.

Having been involved in this new technology since its inception at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Auto-ID Center, which has since evolved into EPCglobal, RILA has had the pulse of where RFID is really going--not the hype, but the reality. We've worked closely with those members--both retailers and their product suppliers--who are most interested in the technology. Their approaches to implementing RFID and its application are as different as is each retailer's strategy. Over the years, we've kept members up to date on RFID's progress through conferences and materials.

We've also kept watch on government and regulatory involvement in RFID. Questions about the new technology have continued to gain momentum in various states, most specifically California. As legislation has begun to appear, key government players at RILA have been involved, attending hearings, as well as advising and keeping members up to date on the status of RFID on both federal and state levels. Most recently, senior vp of industry relations Britt Wood spoke at a Federal Trade Commission workshop on the current status of RFID in the industry.

In preparation for these meetings, RILA convened a group of retail members key to the progression and success of RFID. We heard a variety of different perspectives and adjourned the meeting with a positive consensus on RFID's future. We asked what we could do to advance RFID. Attendees felt that RILA should play a vital role in educating not just supply chain and technology staff, but the entire retail community on the advantages of RFID and its potential benefit to the industry.

To that end, RILA has developed a Web-based management training course called Discovering RFID. Designed in conjunction with ePC Group and Sun Microsystems, this course is a primer for retailers and product suppliers on the successful implementation of RFID technology. Discovering RFID is geared toward mid- to senior-level managers who may have only a peripheral knowledge of RFID and what implications it has for their operations. The course, which takes approximately 40 minutes to complete, identifies key technology, infrastructure, culture and management issues that every company must consider before implementing RFID technology.

The course has been peer-reviewed by our membership and RFID experts and is a valuable tool for anyone in operations to get a better understanding of RFID. Our goal at RILA is to make it available to the widest audience possible.

The role of RFID is only going to grow in the operations of both retailers and product suppliers. At RILA, we're fortunate to have forged strong alliances between retailers, product manufacturers and service suppliers long before it became de rigueur to do so. These alliances have allowed us to keep pace with where the technology is going and develop courses like Discovering RFID to help educate the industry as a whole. If you want to know more about the benefits that RFID can bring and how its implementation affects operations as whole, I encourage to take the course and familiarize yourself with this promising technology.

For more information on Discovering RFID, you can contact Britt Wood at 703-600-2022 or at britt.wood@retailleaders.org.