Morrison Company Case

The Morrison Company founded by Jason Robbins in 2003. On the other hand, the pharmaceutical Product line has been started in 2004 and also the retailer product line has been started in 2007. Looking the company's side, Morrison Company developed and manufactured RFID tags known as smart labels for retail and pharmaceutical industries. The RFID technology used to track pallets and cases of goods after they left the shipping dock en route to downstream supply chain positions.

RFID

The RFID technology is the wireless non-contact use of radio-frequency electromagnetic fields to transfer data, for the purposes of automatically identifying and tracking tags attached to objects. Some tags require no battery and are powered and read at short ranges via magnetic fields (electromagnetic induction). Others use a local power source and emit radio waves (electromagnetic radiation at radio frequencies). The tag contains electronically stored information which may be read from up to several meters away. Unlike a bar code, the tag does not need to be within line of sight of the reader and may be embedded in the tracked object. RFID tags are used in many industries. An RFID tag attached to an automobile during production can be used to track its progress through the assembly line. Pharmaceuticals can be tracked through warehouses. Livestock and pets may have tags injected, allowing positive identification of the animal. RFID technology started to use in 2004 with smart tags at Morrison Company as a pilot firm.

Product Line

Original production line consisted of standard smart tags available in 2 sizes to meet rigorous standards by the DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency) and state regulations. In 2010, Morrison had acquired 30% share of the pharmaceutical smart tag market. Global sales of tags to pharma companies were projected to increase at a CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) of 34% till 2015. RFID popular among pharma sector because: operational efficiencies gained by greater inventory visibility, increase patient safety by fighting proliferation of counterfeit drugs, reducing the risk of tampering and tracking expiration dates. Drug companies valued smart tag performance and reliability over price. More than 85% of pharma product sales were of HF (High Frequency) chips, favored for their smaller size and better performance despite of double the cost of UHF (Ultra High-Frequency) chips. The average price per unit was $0.22. And also, in 2010, pharma sales were $36.2 million at two-thirds of Morrison annual revenue.

Retail Line

Greater competition as retail was a developing market for smart tags. Morrison initially offered only small range of standard tags. With acquisition of new technology in 2009, it began offering the option of personalization that consisted of custom printing, colors, sizes, and shapes on finished labels. The customization rate was 85% for the retails