Consumers are often told that future kitchens will track our food stocks and order items before they run out or go all green and fuzzy. We’re still waiting on that but it looks like the other end of the retail food chain—the grocery stores—may soon be tracking carrots and spaghetti.
The first pilot of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology in the Canadian grocery industry concluded recently. The project was run by a number of tech and grocery companies and included retailers Loblaw Companies, Maple Leaf Foods, General Mills Canada, Kruger Products and Unilever Canada. RFID chips were placed on products in order to track their movement through the supply chain. Key conclusions from the pilot include: > best results were achieved when the tag was applied early in the supply chain > RFID technology avoids out-of-stock situations because the supply information is provided in real time, allowing employees to act more quickly on stock issues > RFID tags improved effectiveness of shipping and receiving processes by enabling operators to proactively identify wrong picks. The pilot showed retailers would be the first to see the benefits of RFID because of the presence of a critical mass of RFID-tagged cases and pallets. However, manufacturers would see varied results, depending on the sophistication of their supply chain network.
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