Wall Street Journal Wrong On Wal-Mart RFID Story By Dean Frew, Xterprise Incorporated

Last week the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) published an article written by Gary McWilliams criticizing Wal-Mart's RFID initiatives alleging they are not providing the value Wal-Mart intended ("Wal-Mart's Radio-Tracked Inventory Hits Snag"). The story was quite one-sided with no commentary from Wal-Mart to confirm or deny the criticism.

For years I have enjoyed Gary McWilliams' articles in the WSJ regarding various technology topics from notebooks to battery development. However, this article clearly shows that supply chain is not Gary's strength. He obviously reported on the issue of RFID in the supply chain the same way he reports on new cellular technologies, the latest notebook computer, the new Windows Vista release or labor relations at Wal-Mart. He should have looked at this from the business and supply chain process standpoint and the process innovation value that Wal-Mart is gaining from RFID-enabled supply chain solutions. And, he should have included commentary from Wal-Mart so the article provided "fair and balanced reporting" or not published it at all since they are the subject of the story.

RFID is not about the technology. It is about creating a new level of inventory visibility so product can be replenished faster.

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 Bert Moore, editor of AIM Global, RFID: Successful Failure.