As more companies move to comply with Walmart's recent radio-frequency identification (RFID) tagging mandates, Avery Dennison keeping a strong signal on the transition. The company showcased its RFID technology and shared insights for brands adopting the tags at Labelexpo Americas 2024 in Rosemont, IL.
"We are very committed to this technology. We see a future where every physical product has a digital twin, so brands can track it through brand-specific applications, or through UPS for shipping, so they can always have a digital version for authenticity," says Shane Hutton, business development manager, RFID at Avery Dennison.
Following the Walmart RFID mandates
Walmart is rolling out RFID tag mandates for all item level products in coming years, and the process has already begun with easier-to-tag items like apparel.
"They've started moving department by department to gradually more difficult items to tag. Things that contain metal, glass or water-based liquids that don't play well with RF, those are being added toward the end of the rollout," explains Hutton. "Walmart wants its employees to [accurately and quickly scan inventory] in real time, and not just guess at its inventory accuracy. That's what's driving the Walmart initiative."
This is not Walmart's first foray with RFID. The retailer attempted an RFID initiative in the mid 2000s, but most brands failed to meet its mandate. One of the biggest barriers to entry, cost, has been mostly alleviated.
"RFID chips are nice in that with new technology, they tend to get cheaper, which is rare when you look at smartphones and other technologies; the new generation is always more expensive. Chips are the opposite so far, because producers have become more efficient in the cutting process," says Hutton. Where RFID chips may have cost 20 cents apiece a decade ago, they can now cost under five cents depending on the volume and chosen inlay.
Steps to implement RFID
Hutton explains the move to RFID involves only a few steps to consider. It starts with checking the Auburn Univeristy RFID Lab website to choose an inlay, as the lab acts as a third-party validator of inlay options for Walmart.
After picking an inlay, "it really comes down to three things. You insert the inlay into the label. You need to encode certain information; that's just the technical term for digitally storing information on the chip. Then you apply the label to the product, which is already being done at some point anyway, and the RFID inlay doesn't really impact that application step," says Hutton.
The encoding step might cause confusion for some brands, and "sometimes the converter knows RFID and can help them, but sometimes they can't," says Hutton. "It's our job to really educate those converters and help them to be as successful with those brands as possible."
As RFID adoption continues across product types, companies can take advantage of these support systems to streamline adoption.
