WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.840 BILL: We have a very exciting group of people 00:00:03.840 --> 00:00:05.220 to talk to you this morning. 00:00:05.220 --> 00:00:08.730 And the way we structured this, as Steve said, is I'm 00:00:08.730 --> 00:00:11.910 going to give each person about 15 or 20 minutes 00:00:11.910 --> 00:00:13.050 to make their presentation. 00:00:13.050 --> 00:00:15.480 And we're going to reserve about 20 minutes 00:00:15.480 --> 00:00:16.890 at the end for questions, so I'll 00:00:16.890 --> 00:00:19.060 ask that you hold your questions until we finish. 00:00:19.060 --> 00:00:22.710 But we will then be up here as a panel to answer the questions. 00:00:22.710 --> 00:00:25.110 And the way we've got it structured is that-- 00:00:25.110 --> 00:00:26.610 I'm going to start off and I'm going 00:00:26.610 --> 00:00:28.260 to talk about a few things that we're 00:00:28.260 --> 00:00:32.009 doing at the University of Arkansas, and some of the holes 00:00:32.009 --> 00:00:34.740 that we see that are out there that need to be filled. 00:00:34.740 --> 00:00:40.020 And then we have Simon Langford from Walmart, 00:00:40.020 --> 00:00:41.910 we have Terri Crawford from Publix, 00:00:41.910 --> 00:00:44.860 and that's the retailer side of things. 00:00:44.860 --> 00:00:47.520 Then we have Dick Cantwell from P&G, Gillette, 00:00:47.520 --> 00:00:49.050 from the supplier perspective. 00:00:49.050 --> 00:00:53.020 And we have [INAUDIBLE] from DHL from the logistics side. 00:00:53.020 --> 00:00:57.060 So we've tried to cover the supply chain with as much 00:00:57.060 --> 00:00:59.140 as possible with our panelists here. 00:00:59.140 --> 00:01:05.010 And then we'll wrap up then with Brian Ceberano from MIT. 00:01:05.010 --> 00:01:06.480 Again, we'll start with academic, 00:01:06.480 --> 00:01:09.270 we'll end it with academic, and industry in between. 00:01:09.270 --> 00:01:12.000 So let's go ahead and get started. 00:01:12.000 --> 00:01:14.010 Again, welcome to our panelists. 00:01:14.010 --> 00:01:15.815 And I'll keep myself-- 00:01:15.815 --> 00:01:17.190 my job is going to be timekeeper, 00:01:17.190 --> 00:01:19.450 so I'll keep myself on time here. 00:01:19.450 --> 00:01:21.468 I want to talk about what we're doing again 00:01:21.468 --> 00:01:23.760 at the University of Arkansas, and then talk about some 00:01:23.760 --> 00:01:26.400 of the research areas. 00:01:26.400 --> 00:01:28.410 We have research in several areas. 00:01:28.410 --> 00:01:30.210 I'm restricted because of our topic here 00:01:30.210 --> 00:01:33.460 being a supply chain to those specific topics, 00:01:33.460 --> 00:01:37.830 but we're heavily involved in, at this point, technology 00:01:37.830 --> 00:01:38.857 deployment. 00:01:38.857 --> 00:01:40.440 We've got some groups that are looking 00:01:40.440 --> 00:01:44.310 at developing some technology, but for the most part, 00:01:44.310 --> 00:01:47.010 we're very heavy in deploying that technology-- 00:01:47.010 --> 00:01:51.960 static versus mobile readers, Gen 2, those type of things. 00:01:51.960 --> 00:01:54.090 We just-- our lab was just converted over. 00:01:54.090 --> 00:01:58.050 And I was just telling Simon, we're now totally Gen 2. 00:01:58.050 --> 00:02:00.670 No more Gen 1 testing for us at this point. 00:02:00.670 --> 00:02:02.130 And that's really from the demands 00:02:02.130 --> 00:02:03.930 that we're seeing from industry. 00:02:03.930 --> 00:02:07.200 Data analytics, I'll talk more about that in-depth. 00:02:07.200 --> 00:02:09.660 Making the business case, I'll talk more about that. 00:02:09.660 --> 00:02:13.560 But we're doing projects in middleware, open source 00:02:13.560 --> 00:02:14.700 development. 00:02:14.700 --> 00:02:18.420 Lots of work around public policy, consumer reaction type 00:02:18.420 --> 00:02:20.640 issues, animal ID. 00:02:20.640 --> 00:02:24.150 We've got a group in our ag department, 00:02:24.150 --> 00:02:26.550 and also with our close affiliation with our friends 00:02:26.550 --> 00:02:30.270 at Tyson down the street doing a lot in animal ID, trailer 00:02:30.270 --> 00:02:33.540 tracking, load status, trying to move more into the logistics 00:02:33.540 --> 00:02:34.330 area there. 00:02:34.330 --> 00:02:36.480 And then also as we move up the supply chain 00:02:36.480 --> 00:02:38.970 into manufacturing as well. 00:02:38.970 --> 00:02:40.680 Let me drill down into a couple of areas 00:02:40.680 --> 00:02:43.050 here and start off with data analytics. 00:02:43.050 --> 00:02:46.230 And that's one area that we've spent a great deal of time 00:02:46.230 --> 00:02:49.710 in trying to look at what the data is really 00:02:49.710 --> 00:02:51.000 trying to tell us. 00:02:51.000 --> 00:02:55.800 And I was having a conversation with Giselle this morning 00:02:55.800 --> 00:02:58.200 and a couple of conversations last night, 00:02:58.200 --> 00:03:02.400 and that's an area that really needs a lot of work. 00:03:02.400 --> 00:03:04.320 We're getting the technology in place. 00:03:04.320 --> 00:03:05.820 The technology will come along. 00:03:05.820 --> 00:03:08.380 We've got it we've got a lot of things we can do there, 00:03:08.380 --> 00:03:09.982 but it's about creating that data, 00:03:09.982 --> 00:03:11.940 and then turning that data into business value. 00:03:11.940 --> 00:03:15.630 And so that data is a very, very, very important piece. 00:03:15.630 --> 00:03:20.022 And we first look at this idea of the 100% read rates. 00:03:20.022 --> 00:03:21.480 And we've heard all kinds of things 00:03:21.480 --> 00:03:24.510 about we've got to see 100% of those read rates 00:03:24.510 --> 00:03:25.390 for it to make sense. 00:03:25.390 --> 00:03:27.360 And it really doesn't. 00:03:27.360 --> 00:03:29.790 There's implicit read versus an explicit read. 00:03:29.790 --> 00:03:31.800 Yeah, did you see it, or can you imply 00:03:31.800 --> 00:03:33.510 that if it went from point A to point C 00:03:33.510 --> 00:03:35.160 that it went past point B? 00:03:35.160 --> 00:03:37.950 And Sanjay talked about yesterday 00:03:37.950 --> 00:03:40.260 the idea of this phantom inventory. 00:03:40.260 --> 00:03:43.080 If you were to miss it, that's extremely important obviously. 00:03:43.080 --> 00:03:45.480 If you're not going to get 100% reads, 00:03:45.480 --> 00:03:48.330 can you infer those 100% reads, or how can you get that? 00:03:48.330 --> 00:03:51.150 And I think that's going to be very important as we go on. 00:03:51.150 --> 00:03:53.980 That when we reach this 100% read-- again, 00:03:53.980 --> 00:03:55.530 whether it's implicit or explicit-- 00:03:55.530 --> 00:03:57.863 you've got to be able to draw some inferences from where 00:03:57.863 --> 00:03:58.860 you saw that. 00:03:58.860 --> 00:04:02.550 The data at this point is very noisy. 00:04:02.550 --> 00:04:06.360 And those of you in the room have seen the data, 00:04:06.360 --> 00:04:08.010 there's a lot of noise in that data. 00:04:08.010 --> 00:04:11.260 You may have hundreds of reads at a particular reader 00:04:11.260 --> 00:04:12.720 [INAUDIBLE] sitting near the reader 00:04:12.720 --> 00:04:14.490 and moving in and out of the field, 00:04:14.490 --> 00:04:16.260 or maybe it passed back and forth. 00:04:16.260 --> 00:04:18.899 Or as a forklift was pulling it down through by the dock doors, 00:04:18.899 --> 00:04:20.399 it was reading at every dock door. 00:04:20.399 --> 00:04:21.959 It's a lot of noise there. 00:04:21.959 --> 00:04:25.560 And we've did early on quite a bit of work 00:04:25.560 --> 00:04:28.920 in using such things as neural networks 00:04:28.920 --> 00:04:31.470 to try to predict when something might be late, 00:04:31.470 --> 00:04:34.890 or when it's outside of its normal schedule, 00:04:34.890 --> 00:04:37.050 or using such things as genetic algorithms 00:04:37.050 --> 00:04:39.390 to try to pull out those patterns in the data. 00:04:39.390 --> 00:04:41.490 And the data is just very noisy. 00:04:41.490 --> 00:04:43.320 And we can artificially take that data 00:04:43.320 --> 00:04:45.400 and create some good models, but at this point, 00:04:45.400 --> 00:04:47.310 we haven't been that successful in creating good models 00:04:47.310 --> 00:04:48.270 with the data as it is. 00:04:48.270 --> 00:04:49.770 The data has got to get cleaner. 00:04:49.770 --> 00:04:52.500 We've got to find a way to clean that data up. 00:04:52.500 --> 00:04:54.300 And one of those starts with business rules 00:04:54.300 --> 00:04:56.010 for interpretation. 00:04:56.010 --> 00:04:57.880 I really feel that we've got to have-- 00:04:57.880 --> 00:04:59.963 and there's going to be multiple levels of these-- 00:04:59.963 --> 00:05:02.300 there's going to be business rules that help us decipher 00:05:02.300 --> 00:05:05.930 what was a good read, what was a bad read, how do we 00:05:05.930 --> 00:05:08.570 make that implicit read then if it's not there? 00:05:08.570 --> 00:05:10.310 And unfortunately, these business rules, 00:05:10.310 --> 00:05:12.320 I think there's going to be some that are global in nature, 00:05:12.320 --> 00:05:14.580 but then there's going to be some that vary by industry. 00:05:14.580 --> 00:05:15.710 There's going to be some that are going 00:05:15.710 --> 00:05:17.293 to be specific to companies, and we've 00:05:17.293 --> 00:05:20.000 got to have some type of data architecture 00:05:20.000 --> 00:05:23.090 that allows us to specify those business 00:05:23.090 --> 00:05:26.735 rules all the way down, maybe even to a product level. 00:05:26.735 --> 00:05:28.860 I'm not sure what that architecture looks like yet. 00:05:28.860 --> 00:05:29.840 We're still trying to conceptualize 00:05:29.840 --> 00:05:30.980 what that thing is. 00:05:30.980 --> 00:05:33.500 But we've got to be able to do a better 00:05:33.500 --> 00:05:37.340 job of interpreting that data. 00:05:37.340 --> 00:05:39.688 Sanjay mentioned yesterday the idea of control charts, 00:05:39.688 --> 00:05:42.230 and I think that's going to be important is once we can start 00:05:42.230 --> 00:05:44.660 establishing these patterns, and establishing what 00:05:44.660 --> 00:05:47.150 these products should be doing, then 00:05:47.150 --> 00:05:50.060 we can use this to help us determine when things 00:05:50.060 --> 00:05:52.760 aren't operating properly. 00:05:52.760 --> 00:05:56.000 The idea of how much data will RFID generate, 00:05:56.000 --> 00:05:58.520 there's been a lot of speculation about the terabytes 00:05:58.520 --> 00:06:00.630 of data that will be generated. 00:06:00.630 --> 00:06:02.930 And again, that goes back to once we 00:06:02.930 --> 00:06:05.570 can get this data filtered, and cleansed, and worked on, 00:06:05.570 --> 00:06:07.340 I don't think it's going to be that much. 00:06:07.340 --> 00:06:08.990 And it's not the quantity so much 00:06:08.990 --> 00:06:11.490 as it is the quality of the data that's going to matter. 00:06:11.490 --> 00:06:16.970 Storage is cheap, but it's really extracting that quality. 00:06:16.970 --> 00:06:19.550 And a couple of issues that were mentioned yesterday-- it's 00:06:19.550 --> 00:06:23.640 going to be extremely important-- data consistency. 00:06:23.640 --> 00:06:27.320 Walmart provides data via their retail link system. 00:06:27.320 --> 00:06:31.490 And Target has their own system, and Kmart has their own system. 00:06:31.490 --> 00:06:32.510 I know that-- 00:06:32.510 --> 00:06:34.700 I haven't talked to Simon yet, but I 00:06:34.700 --> 00:06:37.940 know that I saw something in the news about Target and Walmart 00:06:37.940 --> 00:06:41.630 working on a program where there might be some efforts to make 00:06:41.630 --> 00:06:42.770 this data more consistent. 00:06:42.770 --> 00:06:44.460 It has to be that way. 00:06:44.460 --> 00:06:46.820 I mean, we can't have every retailer with their own data 00:06:46.820 --> 00:06:48.747 format for this thing to work. 00:06:48.747 --> 00:06:50.330 And the same thing goes for suppliers. 00:06:50.330 --> 00:06:51.860 And then of course, data integration 00:06:51.860 --> 00:06:55.100 into one's own organization, I think we've got a lot of work 00:06:55.100 --> 00:06:57.950 there into pulling those into the enterprise systems 00:06:57.950 --> 00:06:59.180 that we have in place. 00:06:59.180 --> 00:07:01.400 And again, with those things, if you 00:07:01.400 --> 00:07:05.390 pull in noisy or dirty data, it's very bad. 00:07:05.390 --> 00:07:08.180 So along the bottom, you see there the idea of filtering, 00:07:08.180 --> 00:07:10.310 cleanse, integrate, interpret, and understand. 00:07:10.310 --> 00:07:12.110 We've got to move toward that model-- 00:07:12.110 --> 00:07:14.310 of filtering that data, cleansing that data, 00:07:14.310 --> 00:07:17.120 integrating with what we have, interpreting what it means, 00:07:17.120 --> 00:07:18.350 and understanding. 00:07:18.350 --> 00:07:22.310 And that then will lead to action based upon that data. 00:07:22.310 --> 00:07:25.345 Now making the business case, we could 00:07:25.345 --> 00:07:26.720 spend the rest of the day talking 00:07:26.720 --> 00:07:30.590 about this area and the opportunities that lay within. 00:07:30.590 --> 00:07:32.540 We had some questions yesterday. 00:07:32.540 --> 00:07:34.820 So in the interest of just keeping it brief, 00:07:34.820 --> 00:07:37.160 what I've done is I want to throw out a couple of things 00:07:37.160 --> 00:07:38.870 just for you to think about. 00:07:38.870 --> 00:07:42.570 And again, this is necessarily very narrow 00:07:42.570 --> 00:07:44.840 so that you can understand the scope at which we 00:07:44.840 --> 00:07:46.790 could look at this. 00:07:46.790 --> 00:07:49.760 When we look at RFID, we can view this 00:07:49.760 --> 00:07:51.800 as an incremental technology. 00:07:51.800 --> 00:07:55.970 We can go in, and we can tweak what's already there. 00:07:55.970 --> 00:07:58.820 And I'm going to kind of look at primarily the store 00:07:58.820 --> 00:08:01.020 level, maybe a little bit at the DC level. 00:08:01.020 --> 00:08:04.310 But one thing we could do is say, we'll take RFID, 00:08:04.310 --> 00:08:05.690 and it will just-- 00:08:05.690 --> 00:08:10.130 we'll just use it to make our process a little faster, 00:08:10.130 --> 00:08:11.750 a little more efficient, or we'll 00:08:11.750 --> 00:08:14.690 use it to make our process a little better. 00:08:14.690 --> 00:08:17.660 Maybe our process isn't broke-- it's just bent a little bit, 00:08:17.660 --> 00:08:20.180 and we'll use it to just tweak it. 00:08:20.180 --> 00:08:21.210 Very incremental. 00:08:21.210 --> 00:08:23.250 We're not we're not radically changing anything. 00:08:23.250 --> 00:08:25.580 So I just gave some examples there 00:08:25.580 --> 00:08:28.160 under the heading of process efficiencies, for example. 00:08:28.160 --> 00:08:32.210 Promotions-- we may be good at promotions, 00:08:32.210 --> 00:08:35.914 but if we don't get it out to the shelf in a timely manner, 00:08:35.914 --> 00:08:37.169 it doesn't matter. 00:08:37.169 --> 00:08:39.183 So we can use RFID there. 00:08:39.183 --> 00:08:41.600 And I think there's been some-- you probably have all seen 00:08:41.600 --> 00:08:42.683 this-- the early studies-- 00:08:42.683 --> 00:08:44.540 I know Gillette released some data 00:08:44.540 --> 00:08:48.110 from a study they did work with MIT 00:08:48.110 --> 00:08:52.760 on some opportunities for improvements just based 00:08:52.760 --> 00:08:55.040 upon promotions. 00:08:55.040 --> 00:08:56.690 Out of stocks is another one of those. 00:08:56.690 --> 00:08:59.810 Again, getting it to the shelf when the customer wants it 00:08:59.810 --> 00:09:00.830 in a timely manner. 00:09:00.830 --> 00:09:04.420 So just speeding up that process that's already in place. 00:09:04.420 --> 00:09:08.210 We can also use it incrementally to fix a process, 00:09:08.210 --> 00:09:10.220 or make that process a little better. 00:09:10.220 --> 00:09:12.605 Product rotation-- again, we know 00:09:12.605 --> 00:09:13.730 how to do product rotation. 00:09:13.730 --> 00:09:15.272 It's not a matter of timeliness, it's 00:09:15.272 --> 00:09:17.060 a matter of are we doing it correctly. 00:09:17.060 --> 00:09:20.240 Well, with RFID, we know what's coming in, what's going out. 00:09:20.240 --> 00:09:22.850 We can maybe fix some of those problems. 00:09:22.850 --> 00:09:24.290 Better use of merchandisers. 00:09:24.290 --> 00:09:28.070 Instead of sending merchandisers to various stores 00:09:28.070 --> 00:09:30.650 just at random, or better-- 00:09:30.650 --> 00:09:32.630 or worse yet just on a set schedule, 00:09:32.630 --> 00:09:34.670 maybe target those merchandisers to where 00:09:34.670 --> 00:09:36.470 we see product in the back room, or when 00:09:36.470 --> 00:09:40.400 we see an out-of-stock event based upon the RFID data. 00:09:40.400 --> 00:09:41.840 Target those merchandisers. 00:09:41.840 --> 00:09:44.270 Again, improving that process. 00:09:44.270 --> 00:09:48.230 The manual orders that, for example, that Walmart 00:09:48.230 --> 00:09:51.050 is doing with RFID. 00:09:51.050 --> 00:09:53.083 Trying to restrict those overrides 00:09:53.083 --> 00:09:55.250 or those manual orders when we know that something's 00:09:55.250 --> 00:09:57.110 in the back room. 00:09:57.110 --> 00:10:01.230 Electronic proof of delivery at the DC, for example. 00:10:01.230 --> 00:10:03.050 Trying to fix that process where we really 00:10:03.050 --> 00:10:04.820 see what's coming into the DC. 00:10:04.820 --> 00:10:06.590 And then also I'll put out-of-stocks 00:10:06.590 --> 00:10:10.670 under the idea of effectiveness of not only getting out 00:10:10.670 --> 00:10:13.850 there as an efficiency-- getting out there in a timely manner-- 00:10:13.850 --> 00:10:17.770 but also improving that process. 00:10:17.770 --> 00:10:22.025 There was some data released earlier in 2005 from Walmart 00:10:22.025 --> 00:10:24.740 that suggested that 1 out of 12 products 00:10:24.740 --> 00:10:29.810 was actually making it from the pick list to the shelf. 00:10:29.810 --> 00:10:31.850 And somebody might have to correct that stat 00:10:31.850 --> 00:10:33.110 if it's not entirely correct. 00:10:33.110 --> 00:10:35.500 But something on a busy Saturday, 00:10:35.500 --> 00:10:38.000 by the time it got on the pick list and then got to a shelf, 00:10:38.000 --> 00:10:38.730 1 out of 12. 00:10:38.730 --> 00:10:43.580 Well, that that process can be helped with RFID. 00:10:43.580 --> 00:10:47.383 Now again-- so if you view it as an incremental technology-- 00:10:47.383 --> 00:10:48.800 and some companies are doing that. 00:10:48.800 --> 00:10:51.260 They look at it and they say, OK, RFID 00:10:51.260 --> 00:10:54.800 is just going to help us improve the speed of our process, 00:10:54.800 --> 00:10:57.050 or help us tweak or process a little bit. 00:10:57.050 --> 00:10:59.720 Others are viewing it more as a radical or disruptive 00:10:59.720 --> 00:11:00.800 technology. 00:11:00.800 --> 00:11:03.020 And that is giving us an opportunity 00:11:03.020 --> 00:11:05.720 to use RFID as a process enabler. 00:11:05.720 --> 00:11:08.930 Let's go in and create new ways of doing business 00:11:08.930 --> 00:11:11.240 that were never before possible using 00:11:11.240 --> 00:11:13.790 RFID as that technology that drives that. 00:11:13.790 --> 00:11:16.310 And just give you some examples there. 00:11:16.310 --> 00:11:20.900 It may be that we could use RFID to radically change 00:11:20.900 --> 00:11:24.792 the way that retail stores stock their sales. 00:11:24.792 --> 00:11:26.750 I don't know what that process might look like, 00:11:26.750 --> 00:11:28.910 but that might be a possibility. 00:11:28.910 --> 00:11:30.620 Obviously, as we move on down the line, 00:11:30.620 --> 00:11:33.530 the idea of the contactless checkout. 00:11:33.530 --> 00:11:36.800 That would radically change that process 00:11:36.800 --> 00:11:38.810 of going up and handing your stuff off 00:11:38.810 --> 00:11:40.962 to a cashier that swipes your items 00:11:40.962 --> 00:11:42.170 and puts it back in the cart. 00:11:42.170 --> 00:11:44.510 It radically changes that. 00:11:44.510 --> 00:11:46.220 Sanjay mentioned yesterday the idea 00:11:46.220 --> 00:11:49.250 that paper scanners radically changing 00:11:49.250 --> 00:11:51.800 that relationship between suppliers and retailers, 00:11:51.800 --> 00:11:56.300 changing that supply chain, where we get direct store 00:11:56.300 --> 00:11:59.240 deliveries, and the retailer simply 00:11:59.240 --> 00:12:02.240 acts as a facilitator or a broker of those goods 00:12:02.240 --> 00:12:03.410 until they're sold. 00:12:03.410 --> 00:12:05.740 That's a radical change. 00:12:05.740 --> 00:12:07.910 But what I think that we're seeing-- 00:12:07.910 --> 00:12:10.010 and if you start looking at the case studies 00:12:10.010 --> 00:12:14.060 closely, what you'll find is that some companies 00:12:14.060 --> 00:12:15.980 are treating it as an incremental, 00:12:15.980 --> 00:12:18.512 and necessarily so. 00:12:18.512 --> 00:12:19.970 There are many companies-- and I've 00:12:19.970 --> 00:12:21.553 worked with several the suppliers that 00:12:21.553 --> 00:12:24.980 are very, very, very good at what they do. 00:12:24.980 --> 00:12:27.770 All the low hanging fruit has already been picked. 00:12:27.770 --> 00:12:31.120 So you have to look hard to find that incremental value. 00:12:31.120 --> 00:12:34.050 Now that doesn't mean they can't use it as a radical technology, 00:12:34.050 --> 00:12:36.710 but they first look for that incremental change. 00:12:36.710 --> 00:12:38.780 Other companies, however, have actually 00:12:38.780 --> 00:12:43.730 purposely used RFID as a way to radically change 00:12:43.730 --> 00:12:44.412 their business. 00:12:44.412 --> 00:12:46.370 They weren't very good at what they were doing, 00:12:46.370 --> 00:12:50.720 and RFID then actually becomes an excuse to really change 00:12:50.720 --> 00:12:52.370 what they're doing. 00:12:52.370 --> 00:12:55.400 And as with most things, the higher 00:12:55.400 --> 00:12:57.560 the risk, the higher the return. 00:12:57.560 --> 00:13:03.590 So with those following that radical or disruptive path, 00:13:03.590 --> 00:13:05.930 the opportunity for return is greater, 00:13:05.930 --> 00:13:09.290 but the risk is higher that it won't work. 00:13:09.290 --> 00:13:11.930 Now the third element that we have to keep in mind 00:13:11.930 --> 00:13:17.365 here is who are the beneficiaries of these changes? 00:13:17.365 --> 00:13:19.490 It could be the retailer, it could be the supplier, 00:13:19.490 --> 00:13:21.230 it could be the logistics provider, 00:13:21.230 --> 00:13:23.570 it could be the consumer. 00:13:23.570 --> 00:13:29.210 Now we did an out-of-stock study working with Walmart, 00:13:29.210 --> 00:13:36.290 and we necessarily looked at one particular area that would 00:13:36.290 --> 00:13:39.200 provide benefit to several beneficiaries-- 00:13:39.200 --> 00:13:43.890 look at a fairly constrained or fairly narrow area-- 00:13:43.890 --> 00:13:48.350 and that was how we kind of tweak 00:13:48.350 --> 00:13:51.620 that out-of-stock process to make it just 00:13:51.620 --> 00:13:54.560 a little bit better using RFID. 00:13:54.560 --> 00:13:57.670 And in this case, creating those automatic pick 00:13:57.670 --> 00:14:00.830 lists for them to go to the back room and find that product, 00:14:00.830 --> 00:14:02.080 and take it to the shelf. 00:14:02.080 --> 00:14:04.040 So we tweaked it just a little bit. 00:14:04.040 --> 00:14:08.480 And so I wanted to put it in context of what we studied. 00:14:08.480 --> 00:14:11.510 And many of you I know have seen the white paper 00:14:11.510 --> 00:14:12.680 that was released. 00:14:12.680 --> 00:14:16.410 Because it's important that you put this thing in perspective. 00:14:16.410 --> 00:14:17.870 Keep in mind that what we looked at 00:14:17.870 --> 00:14:20.300 was an incremental use of the technology 00:14:20.300 --> 00:14:23.240 in a very narrow domain. 00:14:23.240 --> 00:14:24.930 It did help. 00:14:24.930 --> 00:14:27.410 I mean, out-of-stocks can help the supplier, 00:14:27.410 --> 00:14:30.180 it can help the retailer, it can help the consumer. 00:14:30.180 --> 00:14:32.950 So the beneficiary side was great, 00:14:32.950 --> 00:14:37.650 but the fact that we found changes 00:14:37.650 --> 00:14:42.210 that we could attribute to RFID tells us 00:14:42.210 --> 00:14:45.480 a lot, because we were looking at a very narrow thing. 00:14:45.480 --> 00:14:47.910 Now to me, that's extremely encouraging because if you've 00:14:47.910 --> 00:14:50.490 narrowed it down to this much, and you still 00:14:50.490 --> 00:14:55.140 found a fairly big difference, then what 00:14:55.140 --> 00:14:56.370 if we expand it on out? 00:14:58.990 --> 00:15:00.450 I think the possibilities-- 00:15:00.450 --> 00:15:06.720 I think we've only set a very, very small bar to clear, 00:15:06.720 --> 00:15:10.530 and we cleared it easily, but there's a lot more 00:15:10.530 --> 00:15:12.240 there that we can get at. 00:15:12.240 --> 00:15:15.120 And also keep in mind that this idea of incremental 00:15:15.120 --> 00:15:17.730 versus radical, it's going to vary by the company. 00:15:17.730 --> 00:15:19.800 We're looking at a very abbreviated supply 00:15:19.800 --> 00:15:21.870 chain at this point. 00:15:21.870 --> 00:15:24.960 This is from the DC basically to the back room of the store. 00:15:24.960 --> 00:15:28.080 And so far, the logistics segment 00:15:28.080 --> 00:15:30.850 has been largely overlooked. 00:15:30.850 --> 00:15:32.620 And you notice that they're listed there, 00:15:32.620 --> 00:15:34.397 but there's not a lot going on when 00:15:34.397 --> 00:15:35.980 we talk about the supply chain and how 00:15:35.980 --> 00:15:37.330 it's involving logistics arm. 00:15:40.370 --> 00:15:44.960 And just very quickly on the out-of-stocks, 00:15:44.960 --> 00:15:48.470 keeping in perspective of where that was on that chart-- 00:15:48.470 --> 00:15:52.130 the fact that we were able to find improvements between pre 00:15:52.130 --> 00:15:55.940 and post RFID, and then and in between the pilot and control 00:15:55.940 --> 00:15:58.490 stores, we found those differences 00:15:58.490 --> 00:16:00.560 even though we were constraining ourselves 00:16:00.560 --> 00:16:03.770 to an incremental change in a very small area. 00:16:06.790 --> 00:16:09.550 That just gives you some things to think about there. 00:16:09.550 --> 00:16:11.260 I want to very quickly run through-- 00:16:11.260 --> 00:16:14.890 also it's important we're doing the research, 00:16:14.890 --> 00:16:19.660 but we're also teaching students and others about RFID. 00:16:19.660 --> 00:16:21.460 We're trying to turn out people. 00:16:21.460 --> 00:16:24.190 [INAUDIBLE] said last year-- 00:16:24.190 --> 00:16:27.370 the CIO of Kimberly Clark said that there's 00:16:27.370 --> 00:16:29.320 such a dearth of experience out there 00:16:29.320 --> 00:16:31.000 that if somebody walks by a reader 00:16:31.000 --> 00:16:36.070 and says RFID and not RI-FID, that makes them an RFID expert. 00:16:36.070 --> 00:16:39.400 Well, we're trying to stamp out some of that ignorance 00:16:39.400 --> 00:16:40.820 by training people. 00:16:40.820 --> 00:16:44.110 And so we've got dedicated courses in the business 00:16:44.110 --> 00:16:46.480 school, which I personally teach, 00:16:46.480 --> 00:16:49.115 where we have students from across the college 00:16:49.115 --> 00:16:50.740 and graduate students as well-- so it's 00:16:50.740 --> 00:16:52.870 undergraduate and graduate. 00:16:52.870 --> 00:16:55.050 They're doing live projects for companies. 00:16:55.050 --> 00:16:57.550 We've got dedicated courses in computer science and computer 00:16:57.550 --> 00:16:59.230 engineering, and then interwoven into a lot 00:16:59.230 --> 00:17:00.105 of different courses. 00:17:00.105 --> 00:17:02.440 So we've got about, this semester-- 00:17:02.440 --> 00:17:05.200 our last semester, we had about 80 students 00:17:05.200 --> 00:17:08.710 involved in RFID in some form or fashion. 00:17:08.710 --> 00:17:11.800 It's over 100 this semester. 00:17:11.800 --> 00:17:14.770 We also provide testing and training services 00:17:14.770 --> 00:17:16.339 to the industry. 00:17:16.339 --> 00:17:19.540 One of the things that we do is we help companies 00:17:19.540 --> 00:17:22.060 determine tag and tag placement on their products 00:17:22.060 --> 00:17:26.440 so that it's ready to go through an RFID enabled supply chain. 00:17:26.440 --> 00:17:28.700 And we started coupling our testing with training. 00:17:28.700 --> 00:17:31.090 One of the things we found out was that people would just 00:17:31.090 --> 00:17:33.730 send us a box of their product or a pallet of their product, 00:17:33.730 --> 00:17:35.500 and say here, help me figure this out, 00:17:35.500 --> 00:17:36.880 but they didn't understand RFID. 00:17:36.880 --> 00:17:42.850 And our most successful projects were when they actually came 00:17:42.850 --> 00:17:45.310 in and spent time with us going through the testing 00:17:45.310 --> 00:17:46.570 and understanding RFID. 00:17:46.570 --> 00:17:49.457 So we've actually started coupling that now formally 00:17:49.457 --> 00:17:51.040 where we bring the companies in-- they 00:17:51.040 --> 00:17:54.670 spend a couple of days with us learning about RFID as we 00:17:54.670 --> 00:17:57.052 test their products. 00:17:57.052 --> 00:17:59.260 Our lab facility there at the University of Arkansas, 00:17:59.260 --> 00:18:03.340 we're actually off campus a few miles in a working warehouse 00:18:03.340 --> 00:18:04.600 and manufacturing environment. 00:18:04.600 --> 00:18:08.090 We have about 8,000 square feet in Hanna's Candle company, 00:18:08.090 --> 00:18:10.840 which they manufacture, and then their distribution center 00:18:10.840 --> 00:18:12.720 is there as well. 00:18:12.720 --> 00:18:15.850 And that's-- unfortunately, it is in the distribution center 00:18:15.850 --> 00:18:18.350 part, so there is no control over the temperature, 00:18:18.350 --> 00:18:20.800 so the temperature inside is plus or minus 10 degrees what 00:18:20.800 --> 00:18:22.300 it is outside. 00:18:22.300 --> 00:18:24.190 So we also have-- 00:18:24.190 --> 00:18:26.230 when we have to test stuff in the cold chain, 00:18:26.230 --> 00:18:29.350 we've got about a 4,500 square foot facility 00:18:29.350 --> 00:18:32.710 in Zero Mountain, which is a cold storage facility. 00:18:32.710 --> 00:18:34.360 And we've got two labs there-- one 00:18:34.360 --> 00:18:38.440 at 36 degrees, and one at minus 10 so we can test stuff there. 00:18:38.440 --> 00:18:40.630 Our lab is set up to replicate really everything 00:18:40.630 --> 00:18:43.180 that a box sees at this point through the previous supply 00:18:43.180 --> 00:18:44.380 chain. 00:18:44.380 --> 00:18:47.500 And we are one of only four labs at this point 00:18:47.500 --> 00:18:51.130 that's accredited by EPCglobal as a testing facility, 00:18:51.130 --> 00:18:53.720 and the only academic lab in the world. 00:18:53.720 --> 00:18:56.140 And just to give you some quick pictures here of our lab-- 00:18:56.140 --> 00:18:58.450 and I've got 2 minutes to wrap up-- 00:18:58.450 --> 00:19:02.140 that's the outside of our lab-- a truck backed up to our dock. 00:19:02.140 --> 00:19:04.900 That's the inside of the lab looking out that that same dock 00:19:04.900 --> 00:19:08.290 door view from our lab the conveyor 00:19:08.290 --> 00:19:10.960 system that we have in there. 00:19:10.960 --> 00:19:13.540 We actually are fortunate to have a conveyor system that 00:19:13.540 --> 00:19:19.000 was custom designed and built for our lab that replicates 00:19:19.000 --> 00:19:22.180 sorting, and merging, and up to 700 feet per minute, 00:19:22.180 --> 00:19:24.070 the whole works. 00:19:24.070 --> 00:19:28.900 And then pallet rack and back room storage facilities, 00:19:28.900 --> 00:19:32.740 forklifts, et cetera. 00:19:32.740 --> 00:19:35.800 At this point, I believe the next on the agenda 00:19:35.800 --> 00:19:39.640 is Simon, so I'll turn it over to you Simon. 00:19:39.640 --> 00:19:40.390 And let me-- 00:20:02.180 --> 00:20:04.950 SIMON LANGFORD: Thanks, Bill, and good morning, everybody. 00:20:04.950 --> 00:20:07.100 I want to touch on the opportunities and issues 00:20:07.100 --> 00:20:10.460 that we see in the retail supply chain. 00:20:10.460 --> 00:20:14.690 Before I do that, just to step back a little bit and see what 00:20:14.690 --> 00:20:17.820 we've all accomplished in the last few years. 00:20:17.820 --> 00:20:24.200 So in 2001, 2002, we had the auto-ID center field trials, 00:20:24.200 --> 00:20:28.130 and installation points around the dock door, for instance, 00:20:28.130 --> 00:20:29.840 took hours to install, and probably 00:20:29.840 --> 00:20:34.190 minutes to destroy, or simply to go move those things. 00:20:34.190 --> 00:20:36.020 So it wasn't scalable, wasn't deployable, 00:20:36.020 --> 00:20:38.420 and certainly wasn't supportable. 00:20:38.420 --> 00:20:41.150 But a lot of learning came out of that for us 00:20:41.150 --> 00:20:43.010 all then to focus on what we needed 00:20:43.010 --> 00:20:45.130 for deployable solutions. 00:20:45.130 --> 00:20:47.630 And the one key message that we were putting out at the time 00:20:47.630 --> 00:20:50.820 is that they should be future proofed as far as possible, 00:20:50.820 --> 00:20:53.750 knowing that Gen 2 was on the horizon-- 00:20:53.750 --> 00:20:58.460 that we wanted to deploy things that were software upgradeable. 00:20:58.460 --> 00:21:01.730 And in 2004, then we really stepped up a notch 00:21:01.730 --> 00:21:04.400 to drive for mobile solutions, whether that be 00:21:04.400 --> 00:21:06.900 handheld solutions, and particularly 00:21:06.900 --> 00:21:10.610 solutions, which is important both to the retailer and a lot 00:21:10.610 --> 00:21:12.170 of suppliers. 00:21:12.170 --> 00:21:14.430 A lot of those things are still in the early stages, 00:21:14.430 --> 00:21:18.600 especially around mobile solutions. 00:21:18.600 --> 00:21:21.860 So our current situation is we have robust fixed reader 00:21:21.860 --> 00:21:24.560 solutions allowing us to deploy up 00:21:24.560 --> 00:21:28.160 to 20 read points in a store in a matter of hours-- 00:21:28.160 --> 00:21:29.880 in a couple of hours. 00:21:29.880 --> 00:21:33.500 So taking that time down from days to hours, 00:21:33.500 --> 00:21:36.590 that reduces the cost of deployment. 00:21:36.590 --> 00:21:38.150 So the cost of deployment isn't just 00:21:38.150 --> 00:21:40.490 around readers and antenna. 00:21:40.490 --> 00:21:44.270 A lot of the cost is in cabling and actual installation 00:21:44.270 --> 00:21:46.328 of the equipment. 00:21:46.328 --> 00:21:47.620 So it's a little bit like tags. 00:21:47.620 --> 00:21:50.860 It's not just the IC chip that we can take cost out of, 00:21:50.860 --> 00:21:53.550 it's the whole process. 00:21:53.550 --> 00:21:56.610 Driving for common operating systems 00:21:56.610 --> 00:21:58.860 so that we can support it centrally-- 00:21:58.860 --> 00:22:04.133 maintain the robustness of that system. 00:22:04.133 --> 00:22:05.550 We're starting to deploy handhelds 00:22:05.550 --> 00:22:07.620 in the next few months. 00:22:07.620 --> 00:22:10.130 So getting the first mobile devices out there. 00:22:10.130 --> 00:22:12.680 And I think that's when our store associates will start 00:22:12.680 --> 00:22:15.500 to see some of those transformational changes 00:22:15.500 --> 00:22:17.600 rather than just the iterative process changes 00:22:17.600 --> 00:22:20.960 that we've had out there in the store so far. 00:22:20.960 --> 00:22:23.150 Things that they can actually touch and feel and see 00:22:23.150 --> 00:22:24.830 the difference with RFID. 00:22:24.830 --> 00:22:26.540 So our fixed rate points are collecting 00:22:26.540 --> 00:22:30.650 data in the background, and suggesting items to pick. 00:22:30.650 --> 00:22:34.070 But really, to a store associate today, what is RFID doing? 00:22:34.070 --> 00:22:34.760 They don't know. 00:22:34.760 --> 00:22:36.950 They don't see that as visible. 00:22:36.950 --> 00:22:39.470 Sure, they're picking more product 00:22:39.470 --> 00:22:42.170 and moving it out to the floor quicker, 00:22:42.170 --> 00:22:45.470 but once we get these mobile devices in their hands, 00:22:45.470 --> 00:22:47.540 then that will help them home in on where 00:22:47.540 --> 00:22:49.340 that product is, and really start 00:22:49.340 --> 00:22:52.300 to streamline their process. 00:22:52.300 --> 00:22:55.990 We're very close to deploying the first forklift solution 00:22:55.990 --> 00:22:59.680 in our enterprise to read pallet tags and location tags, 00:22:59.680 --> 00:23:03.190 so we can have a pallet locating system in our Sam's Club 00:23:03.190 --> 00:23:05.300 operation, for example. 00:23:05.300 --> 00:23:08.200 Taking that learning then, we can then 00:23:08.200 --> 00:23:11.090 take that to our distribution centers 00:23:11.090 --> 00:23:15.260 to see how we can use location tracking, and putting pallets 00:23:15.260 --> 00:23:18.710 away and dropping them down, and start to streamline processes 00:23:18.710 --> 00:23:20.800 there as we move forward in the future. 00:23:24.380 --> 00:23:26.720 But even those forklift solutions 00:23:26.720 --> 00:23:28.740 are still at the early stages. 00:23:28.740 --> 00:23:31.500 So we can read a pallet today. 00:23:31.500 --> 00:23:34.890 In the future, we need to be able to read cases-- 00:23:34.890 --> 00:23:37.860 or the same amount of cases we do today 00:23:37.860 --> 00:23:42.660 on a dock door from that pallet read on the forklift. 00:23:42.660 --> 00:23:46.140 That way, we can start to eliminate deploying readers 00:23:46.140 --> 00:23:50.280 around dock doors, and reduce our overall costs, 00:23:50.280 --> 00:23:54.050 and just have those readers on forklifts. 00:23:54.050 --> 00:23:55.490 But at the very early stages-- 00:23:55.490 --> 00:23:59.710 the infant stages of wearable solutions. 00:23:59.710 --> 00:24:02.830 So whether that be something that an associate would wear 00:24:02.830 --> 00:24:06.880 on the belt or within a vest, and the system is 00:24:06.880 --> 00:24:10.970 reading in the background, and talking back to them, 00:24:10.970 --> 00:24:13.870 and giving them work to do. 00:24:13.870 --> 00:24:18.360 And as Bill mentioned, Gen 2 is starting to roll out. 00:24:18.360 --> 00:24:20.310 We're enabled in our supply chain 00:24:20.310 --> 00:24:25.320 and starting to receive product on Gen 2 tags. 00:24:25.320 --> 00:24:26.880 And prices are falling. 00:24:26.880 --> 00:24:31.310 Tag prices are falling through the floor. 00:24:31.310 --> 00:24:33.890 So what does all that technology deliver so far? 00:24:33.890 --> 00:24:35.960 What are the benefits of that? 00:24:35.960 --> 00:24:37.870 So it's allowed the first sort of automation 00:24:37.870 --> 00:24:41.770 of tasks around picklists and manual order controls, 00:24:41.770 --> 00:24:45.080 and associates to work more efficiently. 00:24:45.080 --> 00:24:46.810 That's improved our customer service 00:24:46.810 --> 00:24:51.060 and our offering of product on the shelf at the right time. 00:24:51.060 --> 00:24:54.250 It's really taken the theory out of the lab environment 00:24:54.250 --> 00:24:56.000 into the real world. 00:24:56.000 --> 00:24:57.910 And I think once you take that step, that's 00:24:57.910 --> 00:25:02.070 when a lot of the real learning comes about. 00:25:02.070 --> 00:25:04.680 And Bill mentioned the study that they performed 00:25:04.680 --> 00:25:07.350 on our first changes, where out-of-stocks 00:25:07.350 --> 00:25:09.520 were reduced by 16%. 00:25:09.520 --> 00:25:12.840 So you can see from a non-RFID environment 00:25:12.840 --> 00:25:15.000 and the different store formats here. 00:25:15.000 --> 00:25:18.010 To a partial implementation that we did, 00:25:18.010 --> 00:25:20.890 we had some caps on the number of auto-picks 00:25:20.890 --> 00:25:23.590 that we've actually suggested to our associates. 00:25:23.590 --> 00:25:26.600 And then to a full-blown RFID solution on those products 00:25:26.600 --> 00:25:27.850 that were enabled at the time. 00:25:31.170 --> 00:25:36.790 Measuring the out-of-stocks in the control stores versus-- 00:25:36.790 --> 00:25:40.440 the pallet stores versus control stores, those RFID stocks 00:25:40.440 --> 00:25:44.520 performed 63% better in stocking the shelves than the control 00:25:44.520 --> 00:25:47.030 stores did. 00:25:47.030 --> 00:25:49.730 And within the same store, within the pilot store, 00:25:49.730 --> 00:25:53.060 looking at tagged product versus non-tagged product, 00:25:53.060 --> 00:25:56.970 we saw those replaced three times faster-- 00:25:56.970 --> 00:25:59.750 those products with RFID tags. 00:25:59.750 --> 00:26:04.400 So as Bill said, those first iterative process changes 00:26:04.400 --> 00:26:07.818 were starting to deliver dramatic results on the tag 00:26:07.818 --> 00:26:09.110 product we had in those stores. 00:26:12.090 --> 00:26:14.330 So what about the issues and opportunities? 00:26:14.330 --> 00:26:19.120 Well, the issues remain the same as they did four years ago, 00:26:19.120 --> 00:26:20.440 10 years ago. 00:26:20.440 --> 00:26:24.470 It's all about data accuracy and real time data. 00:26:24.470 --> 00:26:28.940 Data accuracy drives both availability of product 00:26:28.940 --> 00:26:32.020 in the whole supply chain. 00:26:32.020 --> 00:26:35.350 The speed of that merchandise flowing through the supply 00:26:35.350 --> 00:26:39.240 chain, and the amount of inventory we have to hold, 00:26:39.240 --> 00:26:41.495 it has a direct relation to cost. 00:26:44.050 --> 00:26:48.280 And as Bill said, it's important to see how we use that data. 00:26:48.280 --> 00:26:50.720 That we don't get swamped with data. 00:26:50.720 --> 00:26:55.810 We're using it-- it's actionable for store associates, 00:26:55.810 --> 00:27:00.370 for replenishment associates, and for our suppliers. 00:27:00.370 --> 00:27:04.740 But it opens up a new world of granularity, new windows 00:27:04.740 --> 00:27:06.840 that we can see into the supply chain 00:27:06.840 --> 00:27:10.690 that we just didn't realize before. 00:27:10.690 --> 00:27:13.300 We're starting to drive efficiencies 00:27:13.300 --> 00:27:16.360 around manual processes, but lots of inefficiencies 00:27:16.360 --> 00:27:18.436 still exist today. 00:27:18.436 --> 00:27:22.020 And a lot of changes will only occur [INAUDIBLE] 00:27:22.020 --> 00:27:23.760 distribution center once we start 00:27:23.760 --> 00:27:25.770 to get a critical mass of product flowing 00:27:25.770 --> 00:27:29.280 through those facilities. 00:27:29.280 --> 00:27:31.950 We've got a big opportunity to reduce lead times 00:27:31.950 --> 00:27:33.090 in the whole supply chain. 00:27:36.610 --> 00:27:38.920 So in the short-term, as I've mentioned, 00:27:38.920 --> 00:27:40.860 we're rolling out handhelds. 00:27:40.860 --> 00:27:44.040 But the choice of handhelds today is limited. 00:27:44.040 --> 00:27:48.440 The functionality of those handhelds is limited. 00:27:48.440 --> 00:27:55.260 We need to move to wearable mobile devices, systems 00:27:55.260 --> 00:27:58.470 that help us fast track product to the sales floor. 00:27:58.470 --> 00:28:02.190 It's always that least 50 yards in the store 00:28:02.190 --> 00:28:04.720 where we're most inefficient. 00:28:04.720 --> 00:28:08.220 So how do we get [INAUDIBLE] one-way stock? 00:28:08.220 --> 00:28:11.520 It comes in, goes straight to the sales floor to the shelf, 00:28:11.520 --> 00:28:14.740 it's put on the shelf, and the box is thrown away. 00:28:14.740 --> 00:28:17.670 We don't get this double, triple, quadruple handling 00:28:17.670 --> 00:28:22.270 back and forth from the back room to the sales floor. 00:28:22.270 --> 00:28:23.890 Bill mentioned about execution tools 00:28:23.890 --> 00:28:27.730 for promotions, new item launches. 00:28:27.730 --> 00:28:31.600 So how can we work more efficiently in that respect? 00:28:31.600 --> 00:28:34.990 And that's not just a supplier's responsibility 00:28:34.990 --> 00:28:36.970 or a retailer's responsibility. 00:28:36.970 --> 00:28:42.360 It's how do we collaborate together and make that work? 00:28:42.360 --> 00:28:44.510 So driving execution. 00:28:44.510 --> 00:28:47.570 As I mentioned, the new windows and the new data 00:28:47.570 --> 00:28:51.000 streams that RFID gives us. 00:28:51.000 --> 00:28:55.490 How do we use that to drive that execution? 00:28:55.490 --> 00:28:57.490 So in the real world today, people 00:28:57.490 --> 00:28:59.857 tick boxes and make reports look pretty, 00:28:59.857 --> 00:29:01.690 and say they've done tasks when they may not 00:29:01.690 --> 00:29:03.010 have done that task. 00:29:03.010 --> 00:29:06.790 RFID gives us that ability to see whether that task has 00:29:06.790 --> 00:29:07.960 been done. 00:29:07.960 --> 00:29:10.660 Whether that new modular has been laid out 00:29:10.660 --> 00:29:12.520 on the shelf, whether those new items 00:29:12.520 --> 00:29:15.250 have made it out to the shelf without anybody 00:29:15.250 --> 00:29:17.620 having to go in and take a check sheet. 00:29:21.060 --> 00:29:24.320 Bill mentioned electronic proof of delivery. 00:29:24.320 --> 00:29:28.150 Big efficiency gain for both the supplier and retailer. 00:29:28.150 --> 00:29:32.510 So how do we make that happen across all retailers, 00:29:32.510 --> 00:29:37.850 all suppliers, with a common understanding? 00:29:37.850 --> 00:29:40.355 I mentioned about a pilot locator system for Sam's. 00:29:42.890 --> 00:29:48.000 The benefits we're starting to see today, as Bill mentioned, 00:29:48.000 --> 00:29:51.620 it's a very small sort of subset of products and area 00:29:51.620 --> 00:29:53.700 that we've started to change. 00:29:53.700 --> 00:29:56.670 So that is truly the tip of the iceberg. 00:29:56.670 --> 00:30:00.240 But many benefits are reliant on the technology continuing 00:30:00.240 --> 00:30:04.190 to develop and mature, and reducing the cost of deployment 00:30:04.190 --> 00:30:06.690 so we start to get that critical mass of product 00:30:06.690 --> 00:30:08.990 flowing through. 00:30:08.990 --> 00:30:13.130 Gen 2 is showing step change in performance. 00:30:13.130 --> 00:30:15.230 A real step change. 00:30:15.230 --> 00:30:17.950 And all us end users, when we came together, 00:30:17.950 --> 00:30:21.520 we all said, well, we need a global tag. 00:30:21.520 --> 00:30:24.880 But there's no point in developing this tag if it's 00:30:24.880 --> 00:30:26.660 just an iterative process. 00:30:26.660 --> 00:30:28.240 We need a real step change. 00:30:28.240 --> 00:30:31.810 I'm pleased to say Gen 2 is delivering that today. 00:30:31.810 --> 00:30:34.888 But we still need to drive for cheaper, faster, better, 00:30:34.888 --> 00:30:35.680 and added features. 00:30:38.890 --> 00:30:42.690 So what are some of the barriers to continued adoption 00:30:42.690 --> 00:30:45.270 and accelerating adoption? 00:30:45.270 --> 00:30:46.890 I think if you ask most suppliers, 00:30:46.890 --> 00:30:52.520 tag cost is the primary barrier. 00:30:52.520 --> 00:30:56.150 Many process efficiencies require that critical mass 00:30:56.150 --> 00:30:58.270 I've spoken about. 00:30:58.270 --> 00:31:03.280 And we need to be smart of how we introduce RFID into areas 00:31:03.280 --> 00:31:06.240 so we're not running dual processes, 00:31:06.240 --> 00:31:09.490 and turning people's worlds upside down. 00:31:09.490 --> 00:31:14.690 That's what we started to do with our picking list. 00:31:14.690 --> 00:31:17.450 So it's behind the scenes, and it's just dovetailing 00:31:17.450 --> 00:31:19.890 with the current process. 00:31:19.890 --> 00:31:23.720 And as we move forward, we need to minimize impact 00:31:23.720 --> 00:31:27.140 on associates throughout the supply chain 00:31:27.140 --> 00:31:29.300 to enable us to execute and to get buy-in. 00:31:32.040 --> 00:31:34.430 So what are the kind of things that we're looking-- 00:31:34.430 --> 00:31:37.650 that we need to work on and we need to collaborate on? 00:31:37.650 --> 00:31:42.500 And it's those transformational changes that Bill spoke about. 00:31:42.500 --> 00:31:44.430 So sensor tags. 00:31:44.430 --> 00:31:47.300 Seems like we've been talking about culture and compliance, 00:31:47.300 --> 00:31:52.316 and sensor tags since the year dot. 00:31:52.316 --> 00:31:56.060 And it's not really becoming a reality yet. 00:31:56.060 --> 00:31:58.585 So you look at semi-passive tags, 00:31:58.585 --> 00:32:01.570 and they're far too expensive currently 00:32:01.570 --> 00:32:06.310 to put into a deployable solution. 00:32:06.310 --> 00:32:08.800 So we need to move that up a notch. 00:32:08.800 --> 00:32:11.020 We'll start piloting some proof of concepts 00:32:11.020 --> 00:32:13.930 this year, again, just to show everybody 00:32:13.930 --> 00:32:16.330 what the benefit would be. 00:32:16.330 --> 00:32:19.600 But looking at passive temperature sensing. 00:32:19.600 --> 00:32:22.382 So what is a true real business case? 00:32:22.382 --> 00:32:26.520 Is that we want to, with a passive sensor tag, 00:32:26.520 --> 00:32:29.520 read that temperature as it passes certain read points? 00:32:29.520 --> 00:32:33.860 Or in a trailer that may have RF equipment 00:32:33.860 --> 00:32:37.040 on board already for things like GPS that we can tie into. 00:32:39.710 --> 00:32:42.150 Theft prevention systems. 00:32:42.150 --> 00:32:46.020 A lot of work was done on this through the [INAUDIBLE] center 00:32:46.020 --> 00:32:50.155 in the labs probably four or five years ago. 00:32:50.155 --> 00:32:56.480 But how do we really replace AIS systems, 00:32:56.480 --> 00:33:01.440 because that will start to reduce costs in that aspect. 00:33:01.440 --> 00:33:07.710 We can't have AIS and RFID tags on the same product, 00:33:07.710 --> 00:33:10.050 because that's just increasing costs. 00:33:10.050 --> 00:33:12.760 So how do we get down to 1 solution 00:33:12.760 --> 00:33:15.660 that will achieve both? 00:33:15.660 --> 00:33:19.230 True sortation at high speeds. 00:33:19.230 --> 00:33:21.450 So we're close to 600 feet a minute 00:33:21.450 --> 00:33:23.190 on our sortation systems. 00:33:23.190 --> 00:33:27.810 How do we singulate tag reads to know it's that case that 00:33:27.810 --> 00:33:29.340 needs to go to store 50? 00:33:32.040 --> 00:33:34.800 I spoke quite a bit about mobile devices-- 00:33:34.800 --> 00:33:36.840 about robust, deployable mobile devices. 00:33:40.180 --> 00:33:45.220 And international-- we need true global tags. 00:33:45.220 --> 00:33:50.160 I mentioned about Gen 2 being a global solution. 00:33:50.160 --> 00:33:52.910 But I think what you'll see out there today with Gen 2 00:33:52.910 --> 00:33:57.420 is those tags attuned to each geographic area. 00:33:57.420 --> 00:33:59.890 So the tags that we're testing here 00:33:59.890 --> 00:34:03.590 are sure attuned to the US. 00:34:03.590 --> 00:34:08.510 The tags that we're testing in Europe are attuned to Europe. 00:34:08.510 --> 00:34:10.179 That's not going to work. 00:34:10.179 --> 00:34:14.130 That wasn't the idea of Gen 2. 00:34:14.130 --> 00:34:21.170 So we need to tune the tags to one sort of format that 00:34:21.170 --> 00:34:24.190 will work around the world. 00:34:24.190 --> 00:34:28.170 And we need to move the EPC network from theory 00:34:28.170 --> 00:34:29.759 and PowerPoints into reality. 00:34:33.402 --> 00:34:34.860 I'll just about pharma, and I think 00:34:34.860 --> 00:34:36.719 there was a separate session yesterday 00:34:36.719 --> 00:34:40.310 on pharma which I wasn't able to make. 00:34:40.310 --> 00:34:43.030 But in the UHS space, there's been 00:34:43.030 --> 00:34:44.949 a lot of focus on case and pallet, 00:34:44.949 --> 00:34:47.679 and large form factors of tags. 00:34:47.679 --> 00:34:50.719 Little emphasis on the small form factors. 00:34:50.719 --> 00:34:53.909 But we need to work on that. 00:34:53.909 --> 00:34:57.450 There's initiatives happening right now showing 00:34:57.450 --> 00:34:59.070 some good results in labs. 00:34:59.070 --> 00:35:02.040 But again, we need to move this out to the field 00:35:02.040 --> 00:35:04.610 to get real world learning. 00:35:04.610 --> 00:35:08.180 And then have a proper debate whether HF or UHF 00:35:08.180 --> 00:35:11.960 is a correct method to move forward with. 00:35:11.960 --> 00:35:15.080 And a big need not just for pharma, but other areas 00:35:15.080 --> 00:35:18.590 as well for security. 00:35:18.590 --> 00:35:20.240 So what are the security measures 00:35:20.240 --> 00:35:23.000 that we would want and need on such products? 00:35:25.850 --> 00:35:30.828 Mentioned about international on the EPC network. 00:35:30.828 --> 00:35:32.780 And direction. 00:35:32.780 --> 00:35:38.230 This is probably my number one objective for this year 00:35:38.230 --> 00:35:41.480 is through RFID to sense direction. 00:35:41.480 --> 00:35:44.860 So Bill mentioned about read rates not 100%, 00:35:44.860 --> 00:35:48.020 and we don't need them to be 100% today. 00:35:48.020 --> 00:35:50.960 But having direction-- knowing that something is either 00:35:50.960 --> 00:35:55.430 leaving this room or coming into this room then 00:35:55.430 --> 00:35:57.470 actually gives us a much more accurate data 00:35:57.470 --> 00:36:00.730 than we have today. 00:36:00.730 --> 00:36:03.610 The last thing I want to do is tell an associate 00:36:03.610 --> 00:36:08.400 to go and pick a case that's sat in the background of a store, 00:36:08.400 --> 00:36:12.110 and then go there, and it's not there-- can't be found. 00:36:12.110 --> 00:36:14.440 That discredits the whole system. 00:36:14.440 --> 00:36:17.930 So the cleaner data we can get, then the better position 00:36:17.930 --> 00:36:20.110 we are, the better execution we'll get. 00:36:20.110 --> 00:36:22.600 And direction will give us that. 00:36:22.600 --> 00:36:27.850 And there's various theories and solutions thrown out there 00:36:27.850 --> 00:36:30.280 from using RFID and complimentary 00:36:30.280 --> 00:36:33.370 technologies such as sensors that we could use, 00:36:33.370 --> 00:36:35.440 or things like the Doppler effect 00:36:35.440 --> 00:36:37.570 that we could use through readers. 00:36:37.570 --> 00:36:40.960 But we really need to get out there and try for a four 00:36:40.960 --> 00:36:42.670 or five of these different methods 00:36:42.670 --> 00:36:47.750 to see which is most appropriate and cost effective. 00:36:47.750 --> 00:36:50.190 And then some of the Holy Grails. 00:36:50.190 --> 00:36:52.730 Reading all cases on a pallet-- 00:36:52.730 --> 00:36:55.960 not possible today. 00:36:55.960 --> 00:36:59.720 But how can we achieve that in the future? 00:36:59.720 --> 00:37:03.270 And how do we get to the sub $0.05 tag 00:37:03.270 --> 00:37:06.240 so that the automated checkout becomes 00:37:06.240 --> 00:37:07.970 a reality in the future? 00:37:11.270 --> 00:37:13.390 What do we need to keep doing? 00:37:13.390 --> 00:37:17.000 We need to keep educating. 00:37:17.000 --> 00:37:18.750 We need to keep educating governing bodies 00:37:18.750 --> 00:37:24.790 around the world so that Gen 2 is endorsed 00:37:24.790 --> 00:37:31.970 in every region, every country so that global tag can be used. 00:37:31.970 --> 00:37:34.090 We need to educate end users. 00:37:34.090 --> 00:37:36.280 What are the benefits of RFID? 00:37:36.280 --> 00:37:39.020 How best to deploy it, where to start? 00:37:39.020 --> 00:37:42.220 There's some great work being done in this area already. 00:37:42.220 --> 00:37:46.290 And as Bill mentioned, developing and nurturing people 00:37:46.290 --> 00:37:52.960 today to help in the future build these systems 00:37:52.960 --> 00:37:55.060 and manage these systems. 00:37:55.060 --> 00:37:57.340 And quality improvements. 00:37:57.340 --> 00:38:03.910 The cost isn't just about this tags costed me $0.12. 00:38:03.910 --> 00:38:07.810 Yield rates are important too because that cost gets passed 00:38:07.810 --> 00:38:10.870 on somewhere down the line. 00:38:10.870 --> 00:38:14.870 And testing for true interoperability. 00:38:14.870 --> 00:38:18.470 Testing for what is the best tag or the intended 00:38:18.470 --> 00:38:22.115 design for that product that you're shipping? 00:38:22.115 --> 00:38:26.210 And Bill shared with me a while ago an interesting story 00:38:26.210 --> 00:38:30.020 from a supplier where it was two cases of a product-- 00:38:30.020 --> 00:38:32.840 one of our suppliers, and it was the same product, 00:38:32.840 --> 00:38:34.810 except a different flavor. 00:38:34.810 --> 00:38:36.850 And they were getting good read rates on one 00:38:36.850 --> 00:38:38.900 and poor read rates on the other, 00:38:38.900 --> 00:38:41.550 and couldn't understand why that was. 00:38:41.550 --> 00:38:45.640 And went along to Bill and said, can you help us with this? 00:38:45.640 --> 00:38:49.150 And after some trial and error, and swapping 00:38:49.150 --> 00:38:51.610 the product between the two boxes, 00:38:51.610 --> 00:38:53.770 found out that one of the flavors 00:38:53.770 --> 00:38:57.670 had some metallic paint within the packaging. 00:38:57.670 --> 00:39:01.810 It was that that was causing the poor read 00:39:01.810 --> 00:39:04.090 rate on that second product. 00:39:04.090 --> 00:39:07.810 So to a supplier, it was the same product, same packaging 00:39:07.810 --> 00:39:11.380 as they thought, same density of product inside, 00:39:11.380 --> 00:39:14.360 but two different results. 00:39:14.360 --> 00:39:19.043 So how can we test and get best practice out there 00:39:19.043 --> 00:39:21.460 so every supplier doesn't have to go through that learning 00:39:21.460 --> 00:39:22.780 process? 00:39:22.780 --> 00:39:24.850 Because that reduces costs overall. 00:39:28.320 --> 00:39:33.450 And we should all be mindful that as we move forward 00:39:33.450 --> 00:39:37.320 to the sales floor, to items, to theft prevention, 00:39:37.320 --> 00:39:40.170 that we need to ensure that privacy concerns are taken 00:39:40.170 --> 00:39:43.920 into account and addressed. 00:39:43.920 --> 00:39:49.640 This should only equal lowering the cost of implementation. 00:39:49.640 --> 00:39:55.340 So just to wrap up, we're just scratching the surface today. 00:39:55.340 --> 00:39:56.900 We need to get mobile devices out 00:39:56.900 --> 00:40:01.230 there so that people can go about their everyday job, 00:40:01.230 --> 00:40:03.390 and the system is just talking to them, 00:40:03.390 --> 00:40:06.930 and giving them work to do in a prioritized way. 00:40:06.930 --> 00:40:09.685 We need to lower the cost of deployment. 00:40:09.685 --> 00:40:11.060 And then finally, we should never 00:40:11.060 --> 00:40:14.630 lose sight of why we're using this technology, why 00:40:14.630 --> 00:40:17.150 we're pushing this technology and driving forward. 00:40:17.150 --> 00:40:19.950 It's all about the customer at the end of the day. 00:40:19.950 --> 00:40:22.190 So whether you're a supplier or a retailer, 00:40:22.190 --> 00:40:25.010 at the end of the day, we need to service our customers 00:40:25.010 --> 00:40:25.875 better. 00:40:25.875 --> 00:40:27.770 And whether that's working more efficiently 00:40:27.770 --> 00:40:29.720 and taking cost out of the supply chain 00:40:29.720 --> 00:40:32.140 that then can be passed on to the customer, 00:40:32.140 --> 00:40:33.480 that's our end goal. 00:40:33.480 --> 00:40:35.490 Thank you.