Scope of RFID in Next Generation Apparel Supply Chain: A Dyadic Perspective

TIMS International Conference on 'Research in Management: Lessons for India', September 2011

25 Pages Posted: 28 Mar 2012 Last revised: 26 Sep 2013

See all articles by Hitendra Lachhwani

Hitendra Lachhwani

St. Kabir Institute of Professional Studies

Sushil Chaurasia

SVKM's Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS)

Date Written: December 10, 2011

Abstract

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to assess the uses and benefits of item-level RFID across the apparel supply chain, to explore the buyer, supplier & dyadic perspective of benefits in terms of relationship within the channel members and to understand how RFID affects the buyer-seller relationships within the supply chain & to identify challenges in RFID deployment with special reference to India.

Design/methodology/approach – The research design relied on two exploratory research methods: carrying out a multiple case study while building on the grounded theory approach.

Findings – Item-level RFID technology has emerged as a key tool to help provide a superior level of intelligence for managing the flow of items throughout the supply chain. When used by each party within the supply chain, benefits of item-level tagging are magnified as the intelligence derived from every partner can be leveraged to improve processes, reduce costs, and increase profit margins. The interplay between RFID and buyer-seller relationships in a supply chain is an intricate phenomenon & it’s observed that RFID improves this intricate relation. Technology prices will continue to decline as the use of RFID expands (tags, readers, antennae), thus reducing the overall cost of implementation.

Originality/value – Owing to the fact that a better management of supply chain is related to the full understanding of the technologies implemented and the system under consideration, the paper provides some background to the RFID technology and its benefits for apparel industry.

Keywords: RFID, technology, apparel, supply chain, buyer supplier relationship

Suggested Citation

Lachhwani, Hitendra and Chaurasia, Sushil, Scope of RFID in Next Generation Apparel Supply Chain: A Dyadic Perspective (December 10, 2011). TIMS International Conference on 'Research in Management: Lessons for India', September 2011, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2030082

Hitendra Lachhwani

St. Kabir Institute of Professional Studies ( email )

Near SAL Hospital,
Off Drive-in Road
Ahmedabad, 380054
India

Sushil Chaurasia (Contact Author)

SVKM's Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS) ( email )

V. L. Mehta Road,
Vile Parle (W),
Mumbai, 400 056
India

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