This study examines the impact of radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology on the inventory control practices of a small-to-medium retailer using a proof of concept (PoC) approach. The exploratory study was conducted using a single case study of a hardware retailer stocking 5000 product lines provided by 110 active suppliers. To analyze the present mode of operation, procedural documents, semi-structured interviews and a participant observation was conducted. The basis for the proof of concept was a future mode of operation using a quasi-experimental design. Results indicate that in a small-to-medium retail environment, RFID technology could act as a loss prevention mechanism, an enabler for locating misplaced stock, and make a significant contribution to the overall improvement of the delivery process.
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/kmichael/166/
This conference paper was originally published as Dane, H, Michael, K and Wamba, SF, RFID-enabled inventory control optimization : a proof of concept in a small-to-medium retailer, 43 Hawaii International Conferences on System Sciences (HICSS), Organizational Systems and Technology, Implementation and Usage of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), Koloa, Kauai, Hawaii, 5-10 January 2010.