Supply Chain Digest: Fingerprint Identification Moves Mainstream

SCDigest Editorial Staff

Through a special arrangement, what follows is an excerpt of a current article from Supply Chain Digest, presented here for discussion.

Long a staple of futuristic movies, Biometric identification of consumers has gone from Hollywood to mainstream in just a couple of years, as theme parks and grocery store payment systems sprout from California to Dayton, OH.

Biometrics are automated methods of recognizing a person based on a physiological or behavioral characteristic. Among the features measured are face, fingerprints, hand geometry, handwriting, iris, retinal, vein and voice.

In recent years, theme parks such as Disney World and Universal Studios in Orlando have rolled out fingerprint-based systems designed to eliminate the ability of visitors to sell or give away admission tickets to another consumer when their visit is over.

Guests have their fingerprint (generally, the right index finger) scanned when they first enter the park, and that image is tied to the serial number of the admission ticket. If fingerprints don’t match on subsequent admissions, admission is refused.

Meanwhile, a growing number of grocers, such as Jewel-Osco, Cub Foods, Piggly Wiggly and Harris Teeter, have rolled out pilot or production systems in at least some parts of their chains. Under a system from Pay by Touch, consumers pay for their groceries simply by having their fingerprint scanned at an in-store kiosk. No credit cards, check, cash or driver’s license are required.

Tom Jackson, president and chief executive officer of the Ohio Grocers Association, said the Pay by Touch or similar system is more secure than traditional payment methods.

“Our fingerprint, or our retina, it’s indigenous and unique to us, so therefore, that adds to the security that the person who’s supposed to be using this charge is in fact the person who should be,” he said.

Privacy concerns could throttle further development, but don’t appear to be a problem yet given the tens of thousands of attendees to Orlando theme parks providing fingerprints routinely, without any real knowledge of what is happening with that information.

With the growing use in consumer-oriented applications, is there any potential in the supply chain? There would actually seem to be endless possibilities. For example, fingerprints might someday be used to check in and off the job, eliminating “time clock fraud” that sometimes occurs when other workers punch in or out for an employee. Perhaps someday, a fingerprint scan will be part of the delivery process for a shipment to a home address, for example.

Discussion Questions: What is your take on the increased use of biometric identification in consumer markets? Do you expect any privacy backlash? What applications, if any, do you see in the supply chain as well as across retail?

• Automatic ID News: Biometrics Continue to Gain Steam, as Fingerprint Identification Moves Mainstream – Supply Chain Digest