Interesting! Thank you. Surprising to me to see RFID tags mentioned in the context of a system-wide transition -- I'll have to look into whether that was successfully completed.
It wasn't.[1] 2003 was too early for this. Their RFID usage continues to increase, though.
Latest WalMart edict: clear bar codes must appear on all four vertical faces of each carton.[2] They're tired of having to rotate a box to find out what's inside.
"People think we got big by putting big stores in small towns. Really, we got big by replacing inventory with information." - Sam Walton
Wal-Mart has achieved a level of control over suppliers that Gosplan could only dream about. They're going for even more control.[2]
[1] http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/walmart/secret... [2] http://www.supermarketnews.com/walmart/vendors-skeptical-wal...