I just found these articles about Wal-Mart's introduction of RFID (radio frequency identification) labeling technology to a group of 300 of its suppliers.
Zebra Technologies worked with a large number of the original 300 suppliers as the RFID technology was implemented. They have put together an annotated list of 10 best practices to help the next group of 300.
I'm already impressed for two reasons. First, Wal-Mart is taking a tiered approach to implementation. That is always preferred when possible. Although we Buyers often like to "flip the switch" with a new vendor or procedure integrating changes all at one time, it is often better to do a trial run or to implement in stages so we can learn how to improve the implementations as we go along. The second thing I like is the collaborative approach to using knowledge gained during the process.
Another thing that struck me about the top 10 list was its usefulness to any implementation. Although the descriptions of the steps are clearly helpful for the particulars of the situation, they can and should be adapted to any implementation scenario.
As an example, here are two of the 10: Pick the right partners and look beyond compliance for ROI, which are always good pieces of advice always. Wal-Mart knows how to buy and mange vendors efficiently. I'd pay attention to these steps if I were you!
To see the abbreviated version, visit the Supply & Demand Chain Executive website. To view the full version, visit the Zebra Technologies website.
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