Wal-Mart Canada to launch RFID pilot

Wal-Mart Canada will launch its RFID pilot in the third quarter of this year involving 16 suppliers, Wal-Mart Canada's Mississauga distribution centre and 20 of its 272 Wal-Mart stores in Canada.

The retailer is organising a meeting for the suppliers and has invited a select number who are already involved with Wal-Mart’s RFID implementation in the US. “So far, we have only extended an invitation to 16,” says Wal-Mart spokesperson Christi Gallagher. “The ultimate goal is to keep the pilot small and controlled, leveraging what we have already seen in the United States… Our goal is to do it right, rather than fast,” says Gallagher in an interview with RFID Journal.

In the US, Wal-Mart has 300 suppliers using RFID tracking, with another 300 suppliers in the process of implementing the technology. Wal-Mart’s Canadian RFID pilot is expected to run until next year and does not have a scheduled follow-up phase. Suppliers will use EPC Gen 2 tags in cases and pallets of goods before shipping them to the distribution centre.