Walmart Home Furnishings Supplier Easily Meets RFID Requirements

Walmart has a long experience in the use of RFID technology. As early as the mid-2000s, Walmart required all logistics units to use RFID tags. However, due to technical limitations at the time, the initial efforts failed to achieve the desired results. After a brief hiatus, Walmart focused on RFID for single item labeling of apparel items, which was revived after the patent expired, although it was interrupted due to a patent dispute. The results of this attempt were significant

Walmart has a long experience in the use of RFID technology. As early as the mid-2000s, Walmart required all logistics units to use RFID tags. However, due to technical limitations at the time, the initial efforts failed to achieve the desired results. After a brief hiatus, Walmart focused on RFID for single item labeling of apparel items, and although it was interrupted by a patent dispute, it was reactivated after the patent expired. The results of this attempt were remarkable:

Accuracy of available inventory levels increased from 60% to over 90%.
Customer satisfaction increased significantly.
Based on this success, Walmart has expanded the use of RFID tags to other product categories, including housewares, toys, electronics, sporting goods, and some automotive parts. This strategy involves not only supplier cooperation, but also educational training and testing support through a partnership with Auburn University to ensure that suppliers successfully complete the tag usage requirements by the August 17, 2022 deadline.

The Challenge
A U.S.-based supplier of home décor products was faced with a new requirement from Walmart to tag multiple categories with RFID tags. The supplier's products are made from a variety of materials, including fabrics, plastics, glass, and metal, and require different inlays and tag structures for different materials and shapes. In addition, to reduce costs and risk of delays, the supplier wanted to print, encode and manage product serial numbers within its three manufacturing sites.
Challenges included:

Material diversity: different materials require proprietary labeling structures.

Label complexity: Avoiding the need to purchase multiple printers for each label structure.

High capacity requirements: Printing thousands of labels per day.

The Solution
To address these challenges, the supplier utilized TSC Auto ID's solution. Specific measures included:

Flexible printing and coding:

Use of three different inlays and five different label configurations.

Printing and encoding with the T6000e enterprise RFID printer, reducing the number of devices required.

Efficient configuration management:

The printer stores settings as “configurations” after only one calibration per label type.

Support for up to eight different label configurations allows for quick switching and reduces the risk of confusion.

High print throughput:

The T6000e can print up to 10,000 labels per day, meeting the high throughput needs of suppliers.

Label Design and Management:

Design and manage label templates in conjunction with BarTender® labeling software by setting up a library of serial number templates through a partner.

Why TSC Auto ID
This supplier chose the TSC Auto ID T6000e RFID printer for several reasons:

High flexibility:

Easily responds to different types of label printing needs, allowing users to quickly switch between different configurations.

Durability:

Rugged metal construction for harsh manufacturing environments ensures long-term reliability.

Superior performance:

Award-winning printers are intuitive, fast and support high workloads.