Wal-Mart has admitted that its suppliers will not be able to RFID tag 100 per cent of their pallets by the January 1 deadline set by the retailer.
During recent consultations, suppliers said that the 100 per cent target was unreachable. Wal-Mart asked suppliers to suggest a more reasonable figure, and has adopted their average answer - 65 per cent - a spokesman said.
The news comes as Wal-Mart reports positive results from its pioneering RFID trial in Texas. On April 30, eight suppliers in the Dallas area started shipping 21 product lines to Wal-Mart's distribution centre in Sanger, Texas. These are being sold through seven local Wal-Mart Supercenters.
Wal-Mart executive vice president and chief information officer Linda Dillman said that so far the trial has had 'no glitches - only positive glimpses of what is to come'.
Wal-Mart will share insights from the trial with its 300 top suppliers at meetings in Arkansas next month.
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