Turning RFID-Enabled Visibility into Real-World Value

In an ideal world, supply chain systems would provide all trading partners with immediate, granular, comprehensive knowledge about every single item in the chain: what it is, where it is, where it's been and where it's going. As everyone in the consumer goods and retail industries knows, however, visibility in the real world falls far short of this ideal. In some cases there's only a slight knowledge gap; in others it's more like a Grand Canyon-sized chasm.

In two areas crucial to CG companies, reducing out-of-stock percentages and improving promotion effectiveness, these "knowledge gaps" are more than mere annoyances. The lack of visibility that results from slow, incomplete or incorrect information about product location and movement can lead to lost revenue opportunities, lower returns on marketing investments, higher operational costs, and a general inability to respond quickly to fast-changing market conditions