Bill Hardgrave is famous for his study on RFID’s reduction of Out-of-Stock study at Wal-Mart.
What future trends does he see?
Photo : Bill Hardgrave
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Show Notes (below)
Interview summary
Bill heads the RFID Research Center at the University of Arkansas that investigates the business case for RFID. The Center focuses on Supply Chain applications and uses a 10 000 square foot facility located in a working warehouse and manufacturing location of Hanna’s Candle Company.
In it, they have a simulated store area that includes a distribution center with a conveyor system, forklift, dock doors, etc. as well as an area that represents the back room and sales floor of a store. The Center also uses a satellite lab as a way of having a controlled environment during their Cold-Chain research. RFID Cold-Chain research is all about bringing “The right product at the right time, at the right location AND the right temperature”.
Wal-mart’s reduction in Out-of-Stocks (OoS) was a win-win-win situation for the retailer, the supplier and the consumer. The study lasted 6 months and gathered data from 12 RFID stores and 12 control stores. The full report is available here.
Bill believes the following areas will see increased RFID interest:
Links to topics discussed in the podcast:
1st RFID Academic Convocation in Boston (presentations are available)
5th RFID Academic Convocation in Florida (presentations are available)
The Electronic Product Code (EPC) Network : a coding schema used in RFID and managed by EPC Global.
Sam M. Walton College of Business
RFID Research Center at the University of Arkansas
RFID’s Impact on Out of Stocks: A Sales Velocity Analysis. RFID reduced Out of Stocks by 30 percent for products selling between 0.1 and 15 units a day.
University of Arkansas Researchers Host Cold Chain Seminar at RFID Journal LIVE! 2007
Paul Freeman from Best Buy presented at RFID Journal LIVE! 2007
Cold-Chain Study performed in collaboration with Deloitte
“Intelligent Cold Chain” paper published by Deloitte
Definitions of terms mentioned in the podcast
Out-of-Stocks : Empty shelves at a store because the product is still in the back room or hasn’t been received yet. Out-of-Stocks usually result in lost sales.
RFID Cold-Chain : RFID tagging of perishable products (e.g. food) during transportation and environmental conditions (e.g. temperature) from sensors. The business goal is to get “the right product at the right time, at the right location AND the right temperature”.
Back room of a store : The part of a store that consumers don’t usually see. It’s where products are received and temporarily stored.
Sales floor of a store : The part of a store that consumers DO usually see. It’s where we shop.
Item level tagging : Using an RFID tag on an individual item (e.g. product) instead of on a higher packaging unit like a case or a pallet. Item level tagging usually involves Near-Field Communications (NFC) like HF RFID or the newer UHF tags that have coiled antennas.
Additional reading
School Studies RFID’s Effect on Wal-Mart
University Opens RFID Research Center
University of Arkansas Kicks Off Apparel and Footwear RFID Study
Best Buy Aims for Item-Level Tagging
Bill’s Out-of-Stock study at Wal-Mart drew quite a bit of attention from the business community and from consumers. Here are just a few blogs that quoted his work:
Is Wal-Mart About to Reinvent Retailing? from SuppyChainNetwork.com
Wal-Mart and RFID from Smart Mobs
Wal-Mart uses RFID tags to keep inventory stocked from BuzzRun.com
Spychips Update from The Experience Economist
Wal-Mart: RFID Boosts Sales from Branding Unbound
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Tags: Apparel and footwear, Auto-ID Lab, Bill Hardgrave, Cold-Chain tracking, EAS, EPC, Hanna’s Candle Company, HF, inventory, Item level tagging, LF, NFC, OoS, Paul Freeman, Retail, RFID, RFID Academic Convocation, RFID Research Center, UHF, University of Arkansas, Wal-Mart
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