Ubiquitous Is Here - Part IV
"16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and
bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: 17 And
that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of
the beast, or the number of his name. 18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath
understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a
man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six." Revelation
13:16-18
This post shows how RFID technology will be used to track every person,
animal and product on the earth to fulfil the prophecy in Revelation 13:17
which says "And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark,
or the name of the beast, or the number of his name." We will also share
information about some key supporters for this technology and how they are
bringing this technology to every product.
2. Key Supporters for RFID
The original Auto-ID Center had almost 100 global companies sponsors and
partners to finance and provide support to the development of RFID. We
will look at some key supporters for RFID to show how they are bringing
this technology to every product on the earth.
a) Wal-Mart
An article titled "Wal-Mart Used Microchip to Track Customers", subtitled
"High-Tech Devices Monitor Product From Manufacturer's Headquarters"(Note
6) says
"Wal-Mart customers who picked up lipstick off the shelf at a
Broken-Arrow, Okla., store were part of a little-mentioned experiment
earlier this year that tracked consumer habits using Radio Frequency
Identification technology, or RFID. Proctor & Gamble teamed with the
retail giant in the test over a four month period which allowed
researchers to view the Wal-Mart shelves from company headquarters
some 750 miles away in Cincinnati, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
Also, the Max Factor Lipfinity lipstick had RFID tags hidden inside
that allowed the inventory to be tracked leaving the shelves. The
Chicago paper said it was informed of the study by a disgruntled P&G
employee. Wal-Mart first denied the test, but then admitted it had
allowed customers to be watched......But the Times report said other
large retailers, such as Target and Home Depot, were testing the RFID
technology to monitor inventory in their storerooms and distribution
centers. Wal-Mart and the U.S. Department of Defense have been the
biggest boosters of the technology."
Wal-Mart is not only taking the lead in implementing the RFID technology
but is also causing its competitors to use the RFID technology.
b) Giant Eagle
The Giant Eagle supermarket chain has started using RFID in its warehouse.
An article titled "Giant Eagle to Trial RFID WMS", subtitled "One of the
Largest U.S. Grocery Chains Has Chosen New Supply Chain Software with an
Eye to Adopting RFID"(Note 7) says
"July 30, 2003 - Pittsburgh-based supermarket chain Giant Eagle is
preparing an RFID pilot as part of an overhaul of its warehouse
management system. The new system, which could include RFID if the
test goes well, will support the company's 214 stores across four
states. With estimated sales of more than $4 billion last year, Giant
Eagle is one the largest food retailers in the United States. It is
looking at RFID as a way to help streamline its distribution
processes, reduce inventory levels and gain real-time visibility
across its supply chain....Giant Eagle has five distribution centers
(DCs). The first site is scheduled to go live with Manhattan
Associates warehouse management application in the second quarter of
2004. These centers, which range in size from 75,000 sq. ft. to more
than one million sq. ft., serve as way stations for health, beauty and
cosmetics products, meat, frozen foods, and dry or perishable goods
(two facilities)....RFID promises to help Giant Eagle gain access to
real-time supply chain information that will help it to better manage
not just its DCs, but also its suppliers and the supply network as a
whole."
NOTES
Note 6: https://tinyurl.com/3nhrnmf2
Note 7: https://tinyurl.com/bp9uv28t
In future posts I will share more about this topic.
