Just when we thought we could call the Green Bay Packers playoff chances dead and anoint the Vikings as the class of the NFC….things change.
With Wal-Mart’s quiet back peddling on their initially aggressive RFID initiative or attempted Tiger Woods-esque call for privacy on the potential benefits from their investment, RFID has gradually slid into the trough of despair. Many technologies become over-hyped as service providers and consultants proclaim they can solve virtually any problem with the latest and greatest technology. Within the supply chain world no technology capability has been more hyped in the last ten years than RFID. But as is the case with many technologies that do not live up to the hype, companies start to shun them and become instantly dismissive of the potential benefits the technology could provide. Should companies put a stake in RFID? Is it dead?
I would argue that RFID will come out of the trough of despair and provide real/tangible value to companies….if they deploy it correctly. In the past companies have done one-off/point solution projects that provided little or no benefit, other than fulfilling a compliance requirement. A recent study by four university professors entitled “Empirical Evidence of RFID Impacts of Supply Chain Performance” offers hope to RFID enthusiasts. One of the study’s key findings was that for an organization to realize significant value from RFID required that the technology be deployed across the entire business operations or supply chain. A key point this study highlights is even deploying RFID throughout your company is unlikely to deliver significant value unless you are working closely with your extended supply chain (suppliers, manufacturers, logistics service providers, etc.). In order to remain competitive companies will be required to collaborate and work more closely with their supply chain partners. This will be a pre-requisite for companies looking to really leverage the value of RFID (in a non-closed loop scenario).
I recognize that I just advocated for deploying RFID throughout your entire extended supply chain but a key caveat: don’t apply it blindly. It is important that you consider the complete spectrum of data capture and communication options. There are several different technologies that can be used for data capture. Starting at the most simplistic pen and paper have been used prior to the adoption of barcodes. In most cases, companies have advanced beyond that to use one-dimensional barcodes, two-dimensional barcodes, multi-part barcodes, voice technology, etc. You need to evaluate if RFID (passive or active) is the right data capture and communication solution for the use case(s) you are considering. If you determine RFID is the right technology for the use case, per my earlier point above, make sure you examine the touch points of the process throughout your extended supply chain.
One last note that supports RFID’s return from the dead is the fact that the cost of the technology is becoming cheaper. As more RFID tags are produced, manufacturers gain additional economies of scale and can pass along those savings to buyers. In addition there have been several advancements in reading the RFID tags which in some cases have dramatically lowered the hardware costs. While this trend still needs to advance significantly to open up more potential use cases, it is trending the right way for greater adoption of RFID.
All in all, RFID has hit a sizable bump in the road like the Vikings did last week, but I don’t expect it to derail its long term prospects (or playoff chances).
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