A balanced scorecard for item-level RFID in the retail sector: a Delphi study

Item-level Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) adoption is on the agenda for many retailers. However, before adopting this technology, managers need to be able to identify its direct and indirect benefits. These benefits are expected to be significant and have begun to be studied empirically and analytically in narrow, isolated segments (e.g., supply chain management). In this paper, we focus on applications of RFID in the retail sector, specifically in store operations. We have adapted the balanced scorecard (BSC) model as a decision-making framework to build a holistic model of RFID-enabled changes throughout retail store operations including marketing, merchandising, and supply chain management. After reviewing the existing literature, we conducted a Delphi study in which 10 consultants and senior managers from leading U.S. retailers were interviewed. The results indicate that benefits in the areas of merchandising and marketing may not be realized as directly as those in the supply chain, but their effects should not be underestimated. The proposed BSC model can also indicate potential opportunities for item-level RFID use in retailing and serve as a guideline for further studies. European Journal of Information Systems (2012) 21, 255-267. doi:10.1057/ejis.2011.33; published online 30 August 2011