"We are confident that RFID technology will further enhance our service to customers by improving consumer demand chain management," said Bob Dunst, executive vice president and chief technology officer. "We'll be able to instantly locate products as they flow through our supply chain, making sure the right products are in the right place at the right time as we focus on making our customers' lives easier."
The company believes that the technology will improve its supply chain management system and enhance operational efficiency. "RFID is a cutting-edge tool that will give us a win-win advantage with both customers and suppliers," claimed Gabe Gabriel, executive vice president, merchandising and supply chain for Albertsons.
Albertsons, which has an annual revenue of $36 billion, is the latest major retailer to demand greater traceability from its suppliers. This is a trend that looks set to continue.
"Traceability is all about record keeping," Scot McLeod, Ross Systems vice president for marketing, North America told FoodProductionDaily.com. "It means keeping track of raw materials through to shipping a final product, and everything in between." This increase in accountability means that producers are under a lot of pressure. "Imagine if you supply a retail chain, and you have 30 customers," said McLeod. "Each one makes up a large percentage of your business. If you are not protecting them, then you will lose them.
"For example, if a customer phones up and demands information on a certain product at a certain point in the supply chain, a company with a fully automated system should be able to trace it within three hours. If they can't, then the customer is likely to take their business elsewhere."
Food retailers are getting organised. Albertsons is an active participant in EPCglobal, a newly formed not-for-profit organisation whose goal is the standardisation of retail consumer demand chain management. EPCglobal plans to develop and oversee commercial and technical standards for the Electronic Product Code (EPC) Network.
The group comprises of around 100 global companies and five of the leading research universities in the world.
"Albertsons' participation in EPCglobal is a strong indication of its support in commercialising this technology to ultimately help other companies in multiple industries view their consumer demand chains in real time, saving time, money and speed to market," said Dicki Lulay, president of EPCglobal.