Printable RFID Tags

According to Science Daily, in the article "Nano-Based RFID Tags Could Replace Bar Codes," inexpensive, printable transmitter currently exists. “It would allow a customer to walk a cart full of groceries or other goods past a scanner on the way to the car; the scanner would read all items in the cart at once, total them up and charge the customer's account while adjusting the store's inventory.”

I can identify some loopholes in this technology for grocery stores:

What about produce?

            People are selective when choosing produce. For example, a person may want different sizes, amounts, ripe, and unripe types of produce. Hence, having prepackaged produce so that a RFID tag could be placed would be inconvenient and give customers less of a choice.

 What about theft?

            -If the item is taken out of package then RFID tag would not work. The grocery store would lose hundreds or thousands of dollars on stolen inventory.

 Radiation from scanner?

The type of scanning radiation is unknown. The scanner could potentially harm someone’s health or an employees if used over and over again.

This technology could be beneficial for places like Costco and Sam’s where things are usually sold in wholesale amounts and are already packaged. This would be rather hard for a grocery store to implement or a convenience store where small things are purchased like one lemon or one avocado.

On the other hand, I do see the benefits of tracking inventory:

1.  Do not run out of stock[1]
2. Stop Wasting Money[2]
3. Be More Efficient[3]
4. Speed [4]
5. Timely Data[5]

Ways to track Inventory

1. Manually:[6] creating your own tags and keeping an inventory log book.
2. SKUs: use software like Big Commerce[7] that keeps track of your inventory. Usually                          used for small businesses
3. Get someone else to figure it out for you. Innovative way: this firm offers services to optimize inventory levels[8]

  Overall, I think managing inventory levels is important. It is a strategic thing to do, especially when focusing on the growth of your business. However, choosing a method to track your inventory requires due diligence and should be based on your product, business size and budget.

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[1] http://kestralptyltd.wordpress.com/2012/07/24/5-benefits-of-tracking-inventory/

[2] http://kestralptyltd.wordpress.com/2012/07/24/5-benefits-of-tracking-inventory/

[3] http://kestralptyltd.wordpress.com/2012/07/24/5-benefits-of-tracking-inventory/

[4] http://smallbusiness.chron.com/advantages-disadvantages-computerized-inventory-management-system-22513.html

[5] http://smallbusiness.chron.com/advantages-disadvantages-computerized-inventory-management-system-22513.html

[6] http://smallbusiness.chron.com/keep-track-inventory-manually-21920.html

[7] https://support.bigcommerce.com/questions/1541/How+do+I+manage+inventory+with+BigCommerce%3F

[8] http://www.innovativewayinc.com/services-inventorymanagement.aspx