Business

Wal-Mart, the world’s biggest retailer, has unveiled plans to introduce RFID technology to 400 more stores this year.

Wal-Mart executive vice-president Rollin Ford, speaking at this week’s RFID Journal Live conference in Florida, said RFID technology would enable the group to save money.

Wal-Mart’s rollout of RFID, which started in 2004, has so far reduced out-of-stock products by 30% and cut excess inventory in its supply chain.

Ford added that it also offered environmental benefits.

“More than 24 million people shop in our stores every day,” he said. “If 100,000 extra trips are avoided by having items in stock, we will save customers £11.4m ($22.8m) a year in gas savings and reduce greenhouse gases by 80,209 metric tons.”

Also at RFID Journal Live, Motorola and Avery Dennison announced a strategic partnership on RFID.

Avery Dennison will supply Electronic Product Code second-generation RFID tags to Motorola so it can meet growing demand for RFID tags for use in asset tracking and airline baggage.

Meanwhile, Microsoft used the conference to show its latest RFID developments.

Its BizTalk Server 2006 R2 includes RFID-specific features such as plug-and-play for RFID devices.