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5 Most Common Objections Towards Implementing RFID
1. Implementing RFID Is Cost Prohibitive Comparing the cost of
an RFID tag with the cost of a barcode label highlights a
glaring cost difference. This type of cost comparison does not
tell the true tale of the cost of an RFID implementation. It is
important to consider the increased efficiencies gained by RFID
versus the deployment costs and all areas where RFID will and
can be applied to achieve the maximum payback.
Certainly, companies have to address the initial issue of
compliance - often accomplished through a "slap & ship" RFID
solution. This type of solution helps meet the mandates, but
leaving the RFID install in this phase simply applies additional
labor and packaging costs to the bottom line.
A phased implementation that addresses compliance needs and
forecasts potential ROI hotspots is an excellent way to approach
RFID to achieve the maximum benefit for the organization.
RFID provides the greatest payback when applied across the
entire supply chain rather than at one specific point where the
collected data is not used to improve overall efficiency.
2. RFID technology is Unproven and too "Cutting Edge" RFID is
actually not a new technology and has been around since the end
of World War II. RFID has been used for years in the military,
in the transportation industry, as a payment collection
technology and as a personnel access technology.
There are actually quite a number of applications where RFID is
currently in use. Those include Electronic Article Surveillance
(EAS), shipping container and railcar tracking, animal tracking,
vehicle access and control, production control, ski passes,
sports timing, document authentication, dairy tagging, petrol
and chemical dispensing, and environmental monitoring of
transport environment.
Where the technology is "new" is in terms of considering it as a
cost effective, enabling technology in manufacturing,
warehousing, and distribution.
In these arenas, RFID provides the promise to drastically reduce
costs and improve overall efficiency.
RFID also solves some problems barcode cannot. Radio waves
travel through most non-metallic materials, so tags can be
embedded in packaging or encased in hardened plastic for
durability in extremely harsh environments.
RFID tags also have the capability of storing a unique serial
number for every product manufactured around the world, enabling
better inventory control and product recalls.
3. Companies are Backing off from RFID Compliance - why should
we invest? There is no denying that RFID mandates are here and
currently in place. RFID Compliance is simply not going away.
Some major retailers may wait until others like Wal-Mart,
Target, Albertsons, Best Buy and the DoD have blazed the trail
for them - but those retailers lagging behind now still have
future plans for mandating the use of RFID technology throughout
their supply chains.
As vendors to these major companies invest in this technology
and discover its benefits, the competitive advantage will swing
to those already using RFID.
Deploying RFID now in stages offers companies the ability to
learn more with each new mini-implementation and apply those
lessons to reap the maximum benefits RFID has to offer.
Waiting to deploy allows other companies to gain a lead, and
requires those lagging to implement RFID systems at a
much
faster pace and on a larger scale - where mistakes will make a
much greater impact.
If companies are worried about changing standards and
requirements within the RFID technology itself, the best bet is
to invest in technology that can be upgraded to work with
emerging standards.
Find manufacturers and software vendors who understand the
evolving nature of standards and provide for easy upgrades
through firmware and version updates.
4) We Have a Barcode System In Place Barcode is a very efficient
technology for automatically collecting data - RFID offers
capabilities that allow a company to further optimize its
processes. RFID will not replace barcode but can enhance the
data collection system already in place.
By adding a layer of RFID technology, companies can reduce data
collection labor, collect information not obtainable via
barcode, or enhance the level of granularity of the collected
data.
Through the truly automatic nature of data collection RFID
offers, companies are able to track and identify product through
various stages within the supply chain. RFID Readers
automatically capture information for processes such as ASN
(Automatic Ship Notification) rather than waiting on the
employee to scan the barcode label and push the information to
the process.
Where can RFID improve on barcode's ability to collect data?
RFID offers the ability to scan and read from a variety of
angles and through materials - requiring no line of sight to be
read. RFID tags hold an incredible amount of data, allowing them
to push through more detail than barcodes. RFID also tracks
product as it moves rather than relying on labor to physically
scan labels.
In most cases, RFID systems can easily co-exist with existing
barcode systems and indeed share many major architectural
components of established barcode systems.
5) What About Privacy Issues? The issue of maintaining privacy
with RFID is an important issue for users and consumers to
understand.
The big concern is that RFID tags will be able to associate
individual serial numbers with the individual purchaser. Though
this may be technically possibly, the actual application of RFID
to this process is not. It would require item-level tagging,
which no company is ready to implement let alone increase prices
to cover the cost of such an extensive tagging effort.
It is important to understand that even though RFID uses radio
frequency, the relatively short read ranges make its use as a
surveillance application quite impractical. RFID does not
possess the same capabilities as Global Positioning Systems
(GPS).
Additionally, data that does travel via RFID through wired and
wireless connections uses encryption technology and requires
mutual authentication making it virtually impossible for someone
wearing an RFID tagged item to be tracked illegally or have
their identity stolen.
About the author:
Enterprise Information Systems (EIS) provides comprehensive
radio frequency identification (RFID) technology to
manufacturers who want to promote supply chain efficiency and
comply with the systems of major retailers and government
agencies alike. RFID, or smart labels are part of the new
generation of inventory management. Learn more about the value
of RFID tracking from our free RFID technology articles at:
http://www.eis-sys.com/blog/
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