RFID in retail industry: integration to application in Indian perspective

The need for retail and manufacturing companies to better track inventory and raw materials, and the decreasing cost of microchips have led to enhanced interest in automatic identification systems. Retailers continue to face challenges in managing their business due to inconsistencies in data and are often unable to use the same to the fullest competitive advantage. In addition, retailers aren’ always able to quantify key performance indicators across the enterprise and have difficulty providing financial and non‐financial (including sales, marketing and operational) metrics across the enterprise. Automatic identification technologies try to overcome this by allowing machines to identify objects and capture information, providing organizations with much greater degrees of control and flexibility in managing goods as they move through the supply chain. The aim of most auto‐ID systems is to increase efficiency, reduce data entry errors and free up staff to perform more value‐added functions, such as providing customer service. One such automatic identification technology is Radio Frequency Identification (RFID). This article led through a series of case study, is an attempt to explore application of RFID in retail systems. The literature survey, case studies, managerial and ethical issues discussed here have important implications for system developments. Seen by the industry as the next transformational technology, RFID promises higher quality information and real‐time tracking.