4A THE JOURNAL OF COMMERCE www.joc.com SEPTEMBER 21.2015
SPECIAL
REPORT
GLOBAL
LOGISTICS
FOCUS
2015
IT'S
BEEN
A
decade
since
Wal-Mart
told
its
top
suppliers
that
the
world's
larg-
est
retailer
would
charge
a
fee
for
each
pallet
of
goods
they
shipped
without
a
radio-frequency
identifi
cation
tag
to
the
giant
Sam's
Club
distribution
cen-
ter
in
Texas.
The
bold
initiative
came
at
a
time
when
many
technology
pundits
were
touting
the
long-term
benefits
RFID
would
provide,
not
just
to
Wal-
Mart
but
also
to
its
suppliers.
Much
like
e-commerce,
hailed
during
the
late
Its
potential
for
inventory
management
across
the
retail
spectrum
long
since
extinguished,
the
technology
is
fi
nding
its
footing
in
high-value
goods
By
Alan
M.
Field
RFID: FROM
REVOLUTION
TO EVOLUTION
