RFID and Material Management

Imagine in a supply chain and inventory management where manufacturers, warehouse managers, distributors and retailers can automatically locate any of the items that were shipped in a given case or pallet, Warehouse manager locating a misplaced item in a warehouse containing 150,000 varieties of items. Where receiving facilities know immediately whether a shipment’s contents match the advance shipping notice and the right personnel are immediately notified of any discrepancies. Where manufacturers and retailers automatically adjust forecasts and orders based on sales velocity during promotions. Where theft or tampering is immediately evident, without requiring product inspection. There is a very strong business case for being able to identify unique products using a technology that doesn’t require line of sight, no much manual work, a complete automation solution, near-perfect supply chain visibility and real time inventory tracking of every item in their supply chain or in warehouse at any moment of time.

What is RFID?

RFID refers to the set of technologies that use radio waves for identifying objects or people. A basic RFID system includes a radio frequency tag, a combination of a microchip and an antenna, which is also called a transponder, and a reader. The reader sends out electromagnetic waves, which are received by the tag’s antenna. The tag sends the data, which is usually a serial number stored on the tag, by transmitting radio waves back to the reader.

RFID systems have gained popularity, and notoriety, in recent years. A driving force behind the rapid development of RFID technology has been the rise of pervasive commerce, sometimes dubbed the quiet revolution. Pervasive commerce uses technologies such as tracking devices and smart labels embedded with transmitting sensors and intelligent readers to convey information about key areas where consumers live and work to data processing systems. To gather this data, retailers can choose from a range of options.

• EAS (Electronic Article Surveillance) systems: Generally used in retail stores to sense the presence or absence of an item. Products are tagged and large antenna readers are placed at each exit of the store to detect unauthorized removal of the item.
• Portable Data Capture systems: Characterized by the use of portable RFID readers, which enables this system to be used in variable settings.
• Networked systems: Characterized by fixed position readers, which are connected directly to a centralized information management system, while transponders are positioned on people or moveable items.
• Positioning systems: Used for automated location identification of tagged items or vehicles.
• Also combination all the above system.

Industry experts view RFID as a complement to bar code technology—in many cases, such as tracking pallets, cartons, and cases in a warehouse, online real time inventory tracking & stock checking both technologies are used. RFID technology, in fact, overcomes certain limitations found in some bar code applications. Because it is not an optical technology like bar coding, no inherent line of sight is required between the reader and the tagged RFID object. In addition, RFID transmits data wirelessly and is a “read-write” technology, so it can update or change the data encoded in the tag during the tracking cycle. RFID usage is steadily increasing. According to Allied Business Intelligence, annual shipment volume of RFID tags, or transponders, is expected to grow from 323 million in 2002 to several billion in 2007. The research suggests that despite this growth, RFID will not significantly displace bar codes but RFID will co-exist for some time and eventually will take over the bar code. In fact, most of the RFID growth will come from emerging “smart label” technology in supply chain logistics, which combines the cost benefits of bar coding with the functionality of RFID. New printers combine the ability to print bar codes, human-readable text, and graphics on the surface of a “smart label” while encoding information on an RFID chip embedded in the label, hence the now-common term “smart label.