FROM THE FACTORY FLOOR TO THE SHOP FLOOR – IMPROVED SUPPLY CHAIN FOR SUSTAINABLE COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE WITH ITEM-LEVEL RFID IN RETAIL

Technological innovations change our lives at a very fast rhythm and, many times, they can have the same effect on the way businesses are carried out.Industrial development is triggered by the changing consumption and production patterns. But in some cases, it takes a while until the right use of a new technology is found and until it can bring the expected benefits to the activity. This is the case of RFID tagging, that started in the 1990s at a pallet and case level and had not bring the major improvements people expected. But the discovery of the item-level tagging brought significant benefits to the retail industry, from the manufacturing stage, the logistics, to the shop floor presence and until the product is bought by a client, sometimes even for after sale warranty. This paper intends to analyze the advantages brought by the RFID item-level tagging to the retail business. After an introduction that covers shortly the history of the RFID use in manufacturing and retail, the authors will define the RFID worldwide market and will explain the numerous ways in which this technology can be used in different industries. The third chapter of this paper will establish the business value of RFID in supply chains in retail, based on examples of success stories. As this technology needs to be implemented by all actors across the supply chain, the analysis will not only focus on the retail level, but will also evaluate the benefits of using RFID in logistics and in manufacturing operations. In conclusion, the paper will reveal arguments in favor of RFID implementation at an item level to all actors across the supply chain, as it can represent a starting point for every professional intending to improve its retail business.