Link issue12 Final One - SCLG

Information Technology 49
be improved; the logistics and
transportation industry will have
better management of truck yards,
container yards, shipping yards and
cross-docking activity; consumer
packaged goods will have easier
receiving reconciliation, better lot
tracking, faster and less expensive
product recall and all the benefits
associated with improved visibility
throughout the supply chain.
RFID is best viewed as part of a
broader spectrum of sensor-based
technologies. This includes the nowfamiliar
technologies of barcode and
magnetic stripe, as well as integration
with equipment such as scales and
dimensioning devices and sensors for
such things as temperature, position
and moisture. Hybrid sensors that
combine RFID tags with temperature
sensors, all embedded in a barcode
label, are already available.
Multiple point solutions aimed at
each sensor-based niche simply will
not scale and will not provide the best
return on investment. As a result, any
RFID capability must be part of a
comprehensive technology and
applications infrastructure that can
collect events from these disparate
sources, combine the data into
composite transactions and then
automatically trigger the appropriate
business process.
There is no doubt that RFID and
other sensor-based technologies
present massive potential for creating
competitive advantage. Companies in
these and other industries will find
that incorporating these technologies
into their information infrastructure
and integrating them into their
business processes will provide
substantial business benefit. But, to
realise maximum return on
investment, they need to leverage
their information architecture
strategically.
If RFID is to create value for
business, first it will create data -
masses of data. Users will need to
ensure they have an IT architecture
that can appropriately manage,
analyse and respond to this new
wealth of data being captured to truly
gain visibility into their supply chain.
But visibility without the action
does not create value. Translating
visibility to action requires tight
integration between transaction,
execution, planning and event
management - with the ability to
identify actionable events quickly and
to translate these into adjustments to
the operational plan. Weekly planning
runs must be replaced by net-change
iterative planning, Data Warehousebased
reporting replaced by real-time
operational analytics and exception
event management, and fixed
business processes by adaptive
business flows.
Two things are crystal clear: RFID is
here to stay, and enterprises can
The path to RFID
nirvana is not without its
obstacles: tag costs are
still high; readers can't
always read all the cases
on a pallet; one
frequency and one tag
design does not fit all;
standards are in a state
of flux and end-users
lack real RFID
knowledge.
achieve significant business value
from embracing it. Due to the high
cost of investing in RFID, each
company needs to evaluate its own
business processes to determine
where and if RFID can be applied to
improve operational and process
efficiencies to positively affect the
bottom line.
If that evaluation suggests that the
technology can benefit the business,
the next step is to develop a roadmap
for RFID implementation. For
suppliers that need to meet
customer-mandated deadlines, a good
place to start is EPC Compliance
Enabler. This is easy to install quickly,
will work with your legacy system,
print RFID labels and verify outbound
shipments.
The next stage would be to move to
an RFID Pilot Kit, which allows you to
capture and analyse data out of the
box, test new devices and filters and
perform custom, advanced data
analysis. It will also leave you ready
for integration with existing
enterprise systems and deployment.
From there you can move to
developing RFID-enabled applications
and integrating RFID data into
existing applications.
The early adopters are already well
down the road towards RFID. At the
very least, now is a great time for all
businesses to start developing their
own RFID strategy.
Supply Chain & Logistics Group | www.sclgme.org