Are You Realizing the Full Benefits of RFID?

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is an Automatic Identification and Data Capture (AIDC) technology that was developed during World War II, refined in the 1970s, and has been widely used in mainstream applications in the past decade. The technology uses a reader to communicate with a tag or label containing an Integrated Circuit (IC) to obtain an identification or exchange data. There are many technologies used for RFID, including different frequencies, active and passive tags, different protocols, and more, that provide flexibility to address a wide range of application, but add complexity to the understanding of the capabilities of RFID and how it can be used.

An understanding of the technology itself has been accompanied by a tremendous shift in customer attitudes, with RFID now viewed by many enterprises as a strategic imperative rather than a technical curiosity. Backed by strong value propositions, business benefits, and proven ROI, organizations that have deployed RFID consider it to be a competitive differentiator. This is a significant change from the past, when RFID was viewed as a complex, challenging, and costly technology with uncertain benefits. This progression shows customers’ growing appreciation of the capabilities of RFID and provides context for the successful applications that are shaping the current market, including asset tracking, supply chain management, and item-level tagging. Put simply, enterprise end users are no longer asking whether the technology works or is cost effective.

Instead, they are thinking creatively about the many ways in which RFID can solve real-world business problems. Today, customers’ questions are about identifying and quantifying the business benefits and value propositions associated with RFID. Organizations want and need to know how RFID can enhance visibility, security, or condition monitoring for select business processes, especially those that cannot be addressed with alternative technologies such as barcode. This paper offers insight into the meaningful, positive impact RFID can have on operations, business processes, and the bottom line to assist those considering an RFID implementation.