Developments in Industrial IoT & RFID Technology

Developments in IoT and RFID technology (that is, radio frequency identification technology) have revolutionized how businesses are able to track, identify and distribute assets.

If you’re involved at any level of the supply chain, chances are that devices that rely on the internet of things (IoT) factor heavily into your day-to-day operations. Businesses across many industries, from manufacturing and distribution to retail and healthcare, have relied on RFID tags to manage and track inventory for years.

Researchers expect the number of IoT devices to accelerate at a compounding annual growth rate of 25.4% through 2028. As this technology develops, however, its applications continue to evolve and grow.

In this post, we’ll discuss recent RFID and IoT developments, and we’ll explore how business leaders are using IoT and RFID reader technology to transform the global supply chain.

How are RFID and IoT Technology Related?

Simply put, the internet of things (IoT) refers to physical devices that exchange data with other systems and devices over the Internet, through the use of sensors, software, etc. A growing field of technology, IoT makes it easier than ever to access, share and interpret data.

IoT devices can take many forms; think smart devices and appliances, autonomous equipment, biometric passports, etc. As part of Industry 4.0, industrial IoT utilizes this technology for industrial purposes, thus improving efficiency and productivity within the companies that use it.

RFID technology and IoT are inextricably linked. In short, RFID technology is an enabler of IoT, in that it makes it easy to turn any item into one of the “things” that make up the Internet of Things.

An RFID system is basically an asset management system. Any RFID system will include both tags or labels and an RFID reader, which captures, through electromagnetic fields, the information contained within the tags. Unlike barcodes, which readers must scan directly, RFID tag data can be read without a direct line-of-sight to the RFID tag and multiple tags at a time.. It’s possible to equip each RFID tag with its own unique identifying number, which makes it even easier to manage and distinguish between items.

It’s possible to mark assets with either a passive RFID tag, which lacks its own internal power source, or an active RFID tag, which does have an internal power source and therefore enables real-time tracking. In other words, an active RFID tag can transmit up-to-the-minute information about items—information that one can rewrite or update as necessary, making it highly valuable when integrated with mobile device management solutions for enhanced asset monitoring and control.

By tagging items with an RFID label, those items gain intelligence, and thus become part of IoT infrastructure. Businesses use RFID tags for everything from simply tracking the location of assets and preventing inventory loss to maintaining up-to-date information about the temperature, weight, color, etc. of items.

Developments in Industrial IoT & RFID Technology

With RFID and IoT technology getting better by the day, some experts estimate that the global industrial IoT market will reach $344.7 billion by 2026.

The possible uses of the integration of IoT and RFID reader technology are virtually endless; businesses can connect literally any device to the IoT with an RFID tag, which means that organizations could create an IoT out of all of their physical assets.

The possibilities of IoT and RFID don’t stop with objects; it’s even possible to connect humans and animals to the Internet, applications that countless hospitals and farms, for example, have already utilized to save lives and prevent loss.

How Businesses Are Using RFID and Industrial IoT Today

As industrial IoT and RFID technologies keep evolving, businesses are using connected systems for way more than basic inventory tracking. Organizations across manufacturing, warehousing, logistics, healthcare, and retail are leveraging RFID and IoT to boost visibility, automate workflows, and push operational efficiency forward.

Manufacturing Operations and Production Visibility

Manufacturers are using RFID and IoT solutions to get better production tracking, keep an eye on equipment, and make workflow automation happen across the shop floor.

RFID tags on parts, tools, containers, and equipment let teams automatically follow movement through production facilities without depending on manual scanning or the classic paper-based systems. That helps traceability a lot, while also trimming delays caused by misplaced materials or when data collection comes out incomplete.

Manufacturing sites are also rolling out IoT-enabled sensors to watch equipment conditions in real time. These sensors let organizations catch maintenance issues before they turn into costly downtime, so the response time gets better, and the impact stays smaller.

Common manufacturing applications include:

• Work-in-progress (WIP) tracking
• Tool and equipment management
• Automated production tracking
• Predictive maintenance monitoring
• Real-time equipment visibility
• Quality control and traceability

By combining RFID and IoT technologies, manufacturers can improve operational accuracy, reduce manual processes, and maintain better visibility across production environments.

Warehouse and Distribution Automation

Warehousing and distribution centers are still moving toward RFID and industrial IoT to get better inventory accuracy and keep fulfillment smoother. With RFID, you can actually capture several tagged items at once without needing line of sight, like with traditional barcode systems that basically depend on direct scanning. That means receiving feels faster, picking gets more efficient, cycle counting is less tedious, and shipping also runs more cleanly.  

Real-time inventory visibility helps organizations keep steadier stock levels across many warehouse locations, which is a practical advantage over time.

Businesses are using RFID and IoT technologies to support:

• Automated inventory tracking
• Real-time stock visibility
• Multi-location inventory management
• Faster receiving and shipping processes
• Automated replenishment alerts
• Reduced stockouts and overstocking
• Improved order accuracy

These capabilities help warehouses reduce manual labor, improve fulfillment speed, and optimize supply chain performance.

Transportation and Logistics Tracking

Transportation and logistics providers are merging RFID with GPS and also IoT tech to get better shipment visibility and keep tabs on assets through the whole supply chain.

GPS-enabled tracking gives a sort of real-time insight into where assets are and what is happening to shipments while they’re moving. Meanwhile, RFID systems assist with confirming loading, unloading, and proof of delivery steps. So, with these systems together, organizations can respond faster to operational disruptions and keep a tighter handle on day to day supply chain operations.

Key logistics applications include:

• Real-time shipment monitoring
• Fleet and trailer tracking
• Route optimization
• Proof-of-delivery verification
• Asset utilization monitoring
• Supply chain visibility
• Loss prevention and security tracking

By improving access to real-time data, transportation companies can make faster operational decisions and improve customer communication regarding shipment status.

Healthcare Asset and Inventory Management

Healthcare organizations are also rolling out RFID and industrial IoT sorts of solutions to help with asset visibility, compliance, and patient care workflows.  

In hospitals and medical facilities, they often wrestle with tons of movable assets like infusion pumps, wheelchairs, diagnostic devices, and lab equipment. With RFID-enabled tracking, the staff can find equipment much faster, so fewer minutes get wasted on searching, and overall operations feel more fluid.  

There are IoT-enabled sensors that help healthcare providers keep tabs on surrounding conditions, like temperature stability, for heat-sensitive pharmaceuticals, medical supplies, and laboratory samples.

Healthcare organizations commonly use RFID and IoT technologies for:

• Medical equipment tracking
• Patient and staff tracking
• Pharmacy and laboratory inventory management
• Temperature and environmental monitoring
• Compliance reporting
• Maintenance scheduling
• Asset utilization tracking

These systems help healthcare providers improve operational reliability while supporting patient safety and regulatory compliance.

Retail Inventory Visibility and Loss Prevention

Retail businesses continue expanding their use of RFID technology to improve inventory accuracy and enhance customer experiences.

RFID-enabled inventory systems help retailers maintain better visibility into product availability while streamlining replenishment and cycle counting processes. Automated tracking also helps reduce inventory discrepancies and improve overall store operations.

Retail applications often include:

• RFID inventory tracking
• Shelf and price labeling
• Automated stock replenishment
• Loss prevention monitoring
• Multi-location inventory visibility
• Faster inventory audits
• Improved inventory accuracy

As retail supply chains become more complex, RFID and IoT technologies help businesses maintain greater operational control and responsiveness.

Credit: geralt

At Lowry Solutions, our own state-of-the-art software, Sonaria, has helped our clients take advantage of all that the Internet of Things has to offer. A hybrid cloud-based and on-prem IoT platform, Sonaria is capable of accepting input from almost any source in real time, and can automatically automate, error proof and optimize operations.

Sonaria also collects analytics that help businesses glean important insights and make appropriate changes.

To further discuss the benefits of RFID and IoT projects and explore how Sonaria, Lowry Solutions’ cutting edge IoT and RFID software-as-a-service can bring your company into the future, contact us today for a free consultation.

Also Read: RFID Technology Different Types