Every day a company must strive to maintain a competitive advantage over its competition. By not adopting new technologies a business might lose any advantage that they may have. By using RFID (Radio-frequency identification) technology Wal-Mart has positioned the company to save money and therefore be able to keep costs down. RFID technology has enabled Wal-Mart to keep their inventory from becoming low and out of stock items a thing of the past. This greatly improves customer satisfaction and could be the deciding factor when a consumer is out shopping for a particular item.
RFID technology has streamlined the logistics operations at Wal-Mart and also has improved the efficiency of associates on the floor. Employees can carry a hand held computer and are prompted to not reorder if the out of stock items are still in the back room. Warehouse workers can now scan an entire pallet and know within an instant what the contents are and where to distribute them to.
Managers and employees would not have a difficult time getting used to using RFID. This technology is a prime example of a successful computer based Information Systems. Managers will have the ease and accuracy of instant reports on inventory, sales and shipments. Managers also need dependable information for decision making as inaccurate information could cost the company money.
One major drawback of RFID technology may be in the loss of jobs when warehouse workers could be replaced by automated systems.There may not be a need for associates to manually scan upc codes. Hopefully though employees will be retrained for different jobs within the company or be able to move into other positions.
Wal-Mart has paved the way for RFID technology and positioned itself for major growth. By providing their employees with a strong company to work for they have enabled families the comfort of knowing that they have a secure job.
