Integrating RFID technology and EPC network into a B2B retail supply chain: a step toward intelligent business processes

This article introduces RFID technology and the EPC Network and investigates their potential for B-to-B eCommerce supply chain management. Based on empirical data gathered from four tightly interrelated firms from three layers of a supply chain, several scenarios integrating RFID and the EPC Network have been tested and evaluated. In the context of warehousing activities in one specific retail supply chain, the results indicate that i) the business process approach seems quite appropriate to capture the real potential of RFID and the EPC Network; ii) RFID technology and the EPC Network can improve the “shipping” and the “receiving” processes; iii) they can automatically trigger some business processes; iv) they foster a higher level of information sharing between supply chain members; and v) they promote the emergence of new business processes such as “process-to-process,” “process-to-machine,” and “machine-to-machine.” The paper helps to improve our understanding of the real potential of RFID and the EPC Network for business processes.