TABLE OF CONTENTS A case study will help illustrate how a firm moves through an analysis of the potential of RFID and first establishes a vision of where it wants to go with applications and then builds a solid model and strategy for execution. Our case firm is Marks & Spencer, a British retailer selling entirely proprietary-branded products, with annual turnover of $15 billion. Its food division sells almost $7 billion of merchandise per year, equating to 150 million cases of annual throughput. Marks & Spencer Foods has 200 suppliers, many of which are fully dedicated to the firm. The company operates six stockless regional distribution centers that service 400 stores, replenishing stores twice per day without having to carry back room inventories. It is a very fast supply chain that operates with 24-hour supplier-order-to-shelf lead time for key categories of product. Many stores receive daily deliveries, with a delivery window of 15 minutes.
Marks & Spencer Foods utilizes reusable plastic trays to transport a significant percentage of merchandise through its supply chain. In 2001, the organization decided to replace the tray pool, moving from an imperial to a metric footprint. A compelling business case existed, based on improved vehicle and warehouse utilization. This program necessitated the removal and replacement of all trays and presented Marks & Spencer with a unique opportunity to embrace RFID technology. The decision was taken to "tag" all trays prior to their release into the network at a cost of $0.75 per tray.
Marks...
