RFID: Successful Failure Bert Moore, AIM Global

Used with permission from AIM Global. AIM Global, the trade association for the Automatic Identification and Mobility industry, is the source for technically accurate, unbiased, commercial-free, and up-to-date information on all AIM technologies. For additional information, please visit www.aimglobal.org.

An article in the February 15, 2006 Wall Street Journal ("Wal-Mart's Radio-Tracked Inventory Hits Static") points out that Wal-Mart's roll-out has not met early projections and cites cost and lack of supplier ROI as potential elements that might derail the whole project.

And, while the article's facts are essentially correct, it seems to have been written with the idea that "bad news is good news" -- that is, focusing on the negatives makes better reading. It also seems to suggest that, if implementation of new technology does not go exactly as planned and on a strict schedule, it's destined to fail.

One is reminded, at this point, of the (in)famous article published in a reputable business magazine (that shall remain nameless) ten years after the announcement of the original U.P.C. code and symbol entitled, "UPC, the Grand Experiment That Failed."

Read the Wall Street Journal article of question, Wal-Mart's Radio-Tracked Inventory Hits Snag. And for additional thoughts on the issue, read another editorial piece by Dean Frew, President and CEO of Xterprise Incorporated, Wall Street Journal Wrong On Wal-Mart RFID Story.