Auburn University

For Target Corp., it’s all about the community when opening a new store.

Chipotle Mexican Grill is testing RFID technology to enhance its traceability and inventory systems in a specific geographic region.

Walmart is enlisting the Auburn University RFID Lab in its inventory control efforts.

An annual report provides an in-depth analysis of the front-burner issues facing America’s retail supply chains, and highlights tools and leading practices to compete in an evolving marketplace.  

Taking a lesson from B.F. Skinner, Office Depot is taking steps to reward college students for refraining from using their phones at the most critical time of the day — during class.   College students are so obsessed, and thus distracted, by their phones that 33% said they checked their device a minimum of 10 times a day, according to a study conducted by the College of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln  

The October deadline for retailers to accept EMV (Europay, Mastercard, Visa)-compliant, chip-based payment cards or face increased fraud liability has placed payment card security in the industry headlines. While important, securing card-based payments at the store is one small facet of the huge undertaking retailers face in protecting their entire network.

Later this year, Target will begin rolling out a key program that will enhance inventory visibility and accuracy in a way that the chain store giant hopes will “work its magic in the background to provide people with a seamless, stress-free shopping experience,” as the announcement from its corporate blog stated back in May.

Rite Aid has named a 30-year company veteran to the newly created post of group VP of risk and controls.

Seattle - Auburn University's new RFID Lab held its grand opening May 21, during which Amazon.com announced a joint project with the university to explore the business case for the implementation of RFID within the Amazon supply chain. Amazon has utilized RFID technology in its fulfillment centers, where customer orders are picked from shelves, moved on conveyers and loaded onto trucks for rapid shipping and delivery.

Minneapolis – Target Corp. plans to roll out RFID-enabled “smart labels” later this year to aid inventory accuracy and improve in-store stock levels. In a corporate blog post, Keri Jones, executive VP, global supply chain and operations of Target, said the retailer is working with “key vendors” on a “fast paced timeline” to deploy RFID.