Improved supply chain performance through RFID technology: comparative case analysis of Metro Group and Wal-Mart

Introducing RFID technology into retail industry enhances and increases the speed, accuracy, detailing and visibility of operational information updates for specific units of business production. This research examines the impact of RFID technology on supply chain (SC) performance. It focuses on RFID technology and its implementation at two retail chains in the United States (US) and Europe which have successfully implemented this technology, and identifies the impact of RFID technology on improving SC performance in the retail industry. This study has examined a wide range of research literature and secondary data sources. The researcher has concentrated on both explorative and indicative studies in an effort to understand the impact that the adoption of RFID technology will have on improving the performance of the SC by comparing two different case studies. This study has found that coordination and integration operations are important for inventory management and related operations and they are also important factors which contribute to performance improvement in both case studies. In addition, this study has found that RFID’s information-sharing support for buyers in the SC has promoted the accuracy of purchasing forecasts. Finally, it is found that RFID has provided increased flexibility of operations, using smart shelves and reducing the cost of inventory management. This study concludes that the implementation of RFID technology helps retail SC perform the operational process as well as resource visualisation. A limitation of this research was the use of secondary sources rather than the adoption of a primary data collection approach, which latter would have provided a real-time representation of current RFID implementation. Future research could focus on the comparison of three or four case studies in order to arrive at more detailed and supported recommendations.