Impact of RFID-Point of Sale Data Sharing: An Experimental Study

We examine the impact of RFID-point of sale data sharing on ordering decisions in a two-echelon supply chain. Theoretical studies have shown that accessibility to point of sale data can impact supply chain dynamics. We study this phenomenon from a behavior examination in the content of a simple, serial supply chain that is subject to stochastic demand and information time-lags using a controlled simulation experiment. Of obvious practical importance; RFID has been the subject of intense discussion and research since the Wal-Mart and U.S. Department of Defense mandates. Within the retail supply chains, there are great expectations for RFID-capturing and real-time demand information sharing, key for improving supply chain performance. One belief, in particular, is that sometime in the near future, retail customers can move their basket of goods into a designated read-zone where all of the items will be read and automatically charged to their credit card before leaving the store, while all inventory records among all supply chain partners are updated. The purpose of this research is to test this belief. We discuss the implications of our work and identify future research needs.