The U.S. Department of Defense has also launched a similar initiative.
RFID is data-collection technology that uses electronic tags to store identification data, and a wireless transmitter gun to capture it and send it to a warehouse management system. Retailers believe the technology can cut costs through better alignment between the inventory on hand and actual demand. Companies often pay more for storing inventory that doesn't sell well, or lose money by not having enough of fast-selling goods.
The technology, however, is far from perfect. Experts say standards for storing product data in RFID tags are still under development, and readers used to capture data do not yet reach acceptable levels of accuracy.
Nevertheless, the technology's potential has sparked strategic initiatives from some retail giants and top suppliers, such as Procter & Gamble Co., Unilever and Kimberly-Clark Corp. The next question, however, is how far suppliers below the top 15 will take the technology.
"Based on conversations we're having, the next 60 or so suppliers are doing whatever it takes to comply with retailers as cheaply and easily as possible," Erik Michielsen, analyst for ABI Research, said. "The largest companies are an important piece, but how far the smaller companies are willing to deploy it will determine how pervasive RFID becomes in the industry."
To realize the benefits of cloud-native software, an application must actually be cloud-native—designed to run in the cloud, interacting with disaggregated cloud services, fully manageable as code—to deliver the expected benefits.
By combining resources and expertise, the AI-Enabled ICT Workforce Consortium will offer a blueprint for how industries can adapt to an AI-dominated future.
IT leaders should heed the guidance of cybersecurity insurance providers who think businesses should prioritize security education, incident preparedness, regular internal audits, and ongoing vulnerability scanning and patching.
