Are Companies Ready for RFID? by Dr. Barbara Osyk and Dr. B. S. Vijayaraman   Where do companies stand in the implementation of RFID technology? A survey instrument was mailed to 1,495 member companies of WERC in August 2004 and a total of 211 responses were received. The survey results indicated that 44% of the respondents are not considering RFID technology at present and only 14% were either pilot testing or implementing RFID technology. Walmart compliance and better inventory and supply chain visibility were the top reasons for deploying RFID among companies that are implementing or considering RFID. These companies are planning to invest a significant amount of money into this technology over the next three years. Most of the cost savings are expected to come from minimizing out of stock and inventory losses. A reduction in labor costs due to less material handling was also expected. It is clear from the survey that a number of concerns still exist and there appears to be a fair amount of skepticism among manufacturing companies about the potential for RFID to deliver cost savings or a positive ROI in the near future. The retailers are the most optimistic and expect a positive ROI. There was a strong agreement among the respondents that retailers will see both cost savings and benefit from RFID and retailers will gain more than manufacturers. Other concerns of the survey respondents were integration, standards, and security. None of the RFID adopting companies is very satisfied with RFID implementation. Satisfaction with respect to performance and back-end integration were both higher than satisfaction with security and cost. The overall satisfaction with the RFID project was very low. This research was supported by a grant from Warehousing Education and Research Council.   An Empirical Study of RFID Implementation In the Warehousing Industry By B. S. Vijayaraman & Barbara A. Osyk Some experts predict RFID will be the next big technology to revolutionize supply chain management.  The RFID mandates, as announced by the Department of Defense (DOD), Federal Drug Administration (FDA), and big retail companies have made it a requirement for some large organizations to implement RFID technology,  while other medium to small sized organizations are evaluating the potential costs and benefits of such adoption.  But does the empirical data support the hype?  In order to establish some benchmark points, this study surveyed members of the Warehousing Education and Research Council (WERC) to see if they are implementing RFID technology and what subsequent challenges they face.  The results indicate that a high percentage of respondents are not currently considering RFID technology.  Based on the survey results, we may conclude that many WERC member organizations (44% of our sample) are not yet ready to jump on the bandwagon.  Comments such as “this project is at least two years away” and the “demand is not there yet” were typical of the reasons cited for those that are not planning an RFID initiative in the near future.  Companies that are implementing or considering RFID plan to invest a significant amount of money into this technology over the next three years.  But a number of concerns still exist, and skepticism remains about the potential for RFID to deliver cost savings or a positive ROI in the near future.