Wal-Mart steps up the pace

Wal-Mart says its RFID efforts are still on track, with the next wave of 300 suppliers expected to be delivering tagged cases and pallets in January 2007 and another 500 stores to be RFID-enabled by the end of the year.

This means by the end of 2006, more than 1 000 of its traditional and Sam`s Clubs stores will be RFID-ready, which represents nearly 25% of the company`s US retail locations.

However, Supply Chain Digest says Wal-Mart is simply reaffirming its commitment to the RFID/EPC programme, and touting the benefits, but how the Wal-Mart schedule will impact the various "tipping points" for manufacturers and suppliers is still not clear.

Scientists at University College London (UCL) are developing a system that tracks passenger movements at airports using RFID tags on boarding cards and high definition cameras, VNU Net reports.

The EU-funded Optag project is intended to help airlines keep track of passengers and help them reach departure gates on time, reducing the risk of missing valuable take-off slots.

The system is expected to be especially helpful for flights using large aircraft such as the new Airbus A380 that carries up to 700 passengers. The system could also be used in places such as theme parks to find lost children, or delegates in large conference centres.

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is using more than 1 000 RFID-enabled marker balls around a new runway at the Atlanta airport to locate and identify utility pipes and cables with handheld readers.

The RFID Journal says the system uses high-density polyethylene plastic marker balls, each containing a coil antenna and a passive RFID chip floating in a liquid combining water and biodegradable propylene glycol to ensure the liquid does not freeze.

The RFID chip`s 256-bit memory includes the ball`s unique serial number and also allows users to program additional data on the chip such as what the cable is used for, whether it is fibre or copper, and who is responsible for the cable`s maintenance.

RFID company TR3 Solutions has released a white paper that addresses the top 10 myths surrounding the potential value of RFID data to global manufacturers.

More RFID says the focus around RFID compliance has mostly been on the financial cost and technological burden of implementing RFID, but the new white paper offers insights into how manufacturers can benefit from better supply chain visibility.

The white paper is aimed at demystifying the most common misconceptions preventing manufacturers from realising tangible business insights and value. The myths dispelled cover a variety of aspects around RFID including: read rates, data quality, out-of-stock opportunities and how to use the data to work with retailers.

Digital Angel CEO Kevin McGrath says sales of RFID tags for livestock identification, location tracking and condition monitoring are expected to surpass 1.9 million tags by the end of September. He says this is already nearly 12% higher than total sales in 2005.

McGrath says that while the national system is not due to be fully implemented until 2009, cattle ranchers are beginning to make the move toward electronic tagging which enables beef purchasers to know where the cattle have been throughout their lives, reports Agriculture Online.

The report says Canada is also working toward implementing a national livestock identification system and is further along in the process than the US.

Savi Technology has won the 2006 Frost & Sullivan Product Innovation Award in the defence RFID supply chain market in recognition of the company`s success in implementing RFID-based networks to track, manage and secure supply chain assets and military consignment.

SDA-India says the US Department of Defense has recognised the role RFID-enabled systems have played in increasing the visibility of supply chains, reducing inventory by over 40% and cutting backlog requests for items by about 90% in operations in Iraq.

Savi Technology has developed several new product types for solving specific supply chain problems. These include RFID tags that incorporate door-intrusion sensors as well as shipping container monitors for temperature, humidity, and shock.