RFID IN THE SUPPLY CHAIN: HOW TO OBTAIN A POSITIVE ROI - The Case of Gerry Weber

Although the use of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) in supply chains still lags behind expectations, its appeal to practitioners and researchers alike is unbowed. Apart from technical challenges such as low read rates and efficient backend integration, a major reason for its slow adoption is the high transponder price. We deliver a case study that investigates the financial, technical and organizational challenges faced by an apparel company that is currently introducing item-level RFID to monitor their supply chain. The company has developed an implementation strategy based on cross-company closed-loop multi-functional use of RFID transponders. This strategy leads to a positive ROI in their case and could serve as an example for other companies considering the introduction of item-level RFID.