The aim of the applications is to reduce out-of-stock by providing visibility into the location of goods with RFID tags. At each of their stores the company has installed RFID readers at the receiving docks at the back of the building, near the trash compactors and between the back store and retail floor. For the cases of goods that are shipped to the stores with RFID tags, Wal-Mart records their arrival by reading the tag on each case and then reads the tags again before the cases are brought out to the sales floor.

By using data from its existing point-of-sales system, which is not using RFID, Wal-Mart subtracts the number of cases of a particular item that are sold to customers from the number of cases brought out to the sales floor. Based on that information, software monitors which items will soon be depleted from the shelves and automatically generates a list of items that need to be picked from the back store in order to replenish sales floor shelves.

Wal-Mart has developed a handheld RFID reader that acts like a kind of Geiger counter, beeping when the back store staff gets close to the item he or she needs to pick.

The retailer is also sharing this data from all of its read points with suppliers. In effect when a case is brought out into the sales floor, the system records that it's being put in shelves and when the empty case is read at the trash compactor, the status within the system is changed to " on shelf ". Suppliers can access this data within 30 minutes of this movement taking place.

RESCU Solutions with their software and professional services partner, Spartan Solutions can help you prepare for RFID adoption and help manage your own supply chain more effectively

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