advanced theory and practice in sport marketing - Marshalls University

numbers telling retailers about the expiration dates of their perishable items –
numbers that will have to be stored, transmitted in real-time and shared with
warehouse management, inventory management, financial, and other enterprise
systems. In other words, it is going to have a really big impact.
Another benefit of RFIDs is that, unlike barcodes, RFID tags can be read
automatically by electronic readers. Imagine a truck carrying a container full of
widgets entering a shipping terminal in China. If the container is equipped with
an RFID tag, and the terminal has an RFID sensor network, that container’s
whereabouts can be automatically sent to Widget Co. without the truck ever
slowing down. It has the potential to add a substantial amount of visibility into
the extended supply chain. However, two of the biggest hurdles to widespread
RFID adoption are the cost of building the infrastructure and the lack of agreedupon
industry standards.
RFID: RETAILER DREAM OR ETHICAL NIGHTMARE
FOR CONSUMERS
For the past 35 years, barcodes have allowed retailers to keep track of products
in the store and as they leave the checkout counter. The system works
because each stock-keeping unit in the store has a unique barcode. But there
is a new technology that stands to revolutionize product labeling – and personal
privacy.
This technology, known as radio frequency identification (RFID), allows
retailers – as well as manufacturers – to uniquely label each individual package
with an identifying code. Although RFID has been around since World
War II, the idea of using it to track consumer goods is relatively new.
The RFID tag is a tiny silicon chip with a number called the EPC (Electronic
Product Code) on it. When an antenna (no larger than a postage stamp) is
attached to the tag, the code can be scanned by a remote reading device up
to 10 meters away. If equipped with a transmitter, the tag emits a signal that
can be picked up at much greater distances – even by satellites.
It is still too expensive to place individualized tags on each item in the
supermarket, so RFID is now chiefly used to identify shipping pallets and cargo
containers. But near-term futurists see the day when it will be cost effective
to label individual store items – perhaps no more than 5 or 10 years from now.
The positives of this technology is that it can be used to track shipments, aid
in inventory control, help with forecasting for a retail outlet, and even deter
stealing. However, it could also be used to gather personal information from
the consumer, track where a consumer goes with the product, and determine
its usage by the consumer. This issue is paramount in maintaining individual
privacy. The RFID tool could be used as a tracking device – barcodes let the
store know you purchased the product; RFID – if not removed from the
product – continue collecting information and potentially track every move
Continued
PURCHASING AND SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT IN SPORT 191