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5.4. The scope of technological innovation in logistics
The development of new technologies has led to significant changes in business
practices, particularly those related to marketing, communication and distribution.
Based on the scope of logistic operations, innovations in logistic technologies
may be divided into four categories:
– data identification and acquisition technologies;
– information technologies;
– warehousing technologies;
– transport technologies 28 .
5.4.1. Innovations in data identification and acquisition technologies
Providers of logistic services deal with large amount of goods and related information
every day. Many technologies defined by a common term of automatic
identification system (Auto-ID), or more broadly Automatic Data Capture
(ADC), are used in supply chains. The automatic identification system is a set of
technical means and devices used for automatic collection, processing and transmission
of data. Owing to the system, data can automatically be captured and
entered into the database of an IT system without the use of a keyboard. The
quality of these activities is decisive for information management, security and
shipment control. The systems allocate a unique code to the product model or
type, which may be automatically read and used by information processing systems.
Auto-ID systems are marked by high precision, speed and automation of
certain operations. The precision in capturing data from shipments helps logistics
providers to supply goods to customers efficiently and accurately. Automatic
identification systems limit the need for the manual filling of documents and entering
of data into the system, which minimises the number of errors 29 .
The most frequently used automatic identification system is bar codes, however
the use of radio-frequency identification (RFID) systems is on the increase.
Other methods of automatic identification of goods include: Optical Character
Recognition (OCR), magnetic tracks, vision systems, smart card technologies
(memory and chip cards) and biometric technologies (voice identification and
fingerprint scanning) 30 .
The basis for exchange of information and applications of state-of-the-art
technologies is a unified and determinate identification system. It is also neces-
28 Chieh-Yu Lin, Factors affecting innovation..., op. cit.
29 K. Rutkowski, Technologia RFID w zarz¹dzaniu ³añcuchem dostaw. “Gospodarka Materia³owa i Logistyka”
2003 No. 11/12.
30 Automatic identification systems. http://www.portalrfid.pl/wprowadzenie.php?it=3 of 31.10.2008.
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