Sam's Club has significantly changed its RFID tagging requirements for suppliers. Pallets shipped to the retailer still require an RFID tag, but case-level tagging has been made optional and the requirement for sellable-unit (item level) tagging has been postponed indefinitely. The new requirements and other updates about Sam's Club's RFID activity were communicated to suppliers in a letter dated January 15, 2009.

Sam's Club also slashed the service fee charged to suppliers who don't apply pallet labels from $3 to 12¢. The service fee reduction only applies to shipments to the DeSoto, Texas distribution center. It is unclear whether any fee will be assessed for non-tagged shipments to other DCs.

The new terms reduce the RFID tagging requirements that Sam's Club established last January. At the time, Sam's Club sent suppliers a letter that called for all pallets shipped to 22 distribution centers to be tagged by the end of January 2009, all cases to be tagged by November 2009, and for products to be tagged at the sellable-unit level by November 2010. Now, case tagging is "optional" and the sellable-unit tagging timetable is "under review," with new deadlines to be communicated to suppliers in the future, according to the letter.

The table below shows the current requirements and those communicated last year.