How did Charles Walton’s passive tag invention enable widespread supply chain use?

It dramatically reduced size, complexity, and unit cost by eliminating the need for batteries.

Walton's invention of the passive RFID tag was crucial for supply chain integration because it addressed the economic limitations imposed by Cardullo's active system. By removing the necessity for an internal battery, the tag became significantly smaller, less complex to manufacture, and far cheaper to produce on a mass scale. The text highlights a comparison showing that while a high-value active tag might cost several dollars annually due to replacement cycles, a passive tag could cost mere cents and represent a sunk cost upon application. This immense reduction in cost per unit was the specific factor that transitioned RFID from being a niche tracking tool for expensive assets to an economically viable method for tagging millions of shipping containers, pallets, and individual retail items.