RFID TECHNOLOGY AND SUPPLY CHAIN

RFID TECHNOLOGY AND SUPPLY CHAIN

Abstract

The paper intends to create awareness about one of the recently emerging identification technologies namely “Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)” and bring into light its various features, so that the potentiality of the technology can be properly understood, tapped and exploited. RFID provides correct information about a product as it moves from manufacturing to store and then on to post sales support while helping the manufacturers and retailers measure inventory in no time. Over last two decades, manufacturers have improved supply chain efficiency through a number of initiatives from Kanban and lean manufacturing, but with the advent of technologies like RFID the process has become more error free and more efficient. How the technology works in the supply chain line i.e. from manufacturer to retailer, is explained in detail in later part of the paper. Mainly RFID system consists of three components i.e. Tags, Antenna and Receiver Although RFID provides us advantages over other methods of data collection and data transfer, there are some disadvantages too, which are described in detail latter in the paper.

First part of the paper deals with, evolution of RFID, information about RFID technology in detail. Basically RFID is very simple system: Place a transponder- a microchip with an antenna- on an item and then use a reader- a device with one or more antennas- to read data off the microchip using radio waves. Reader passes this data to computer system so that this data can be used to create business values.

Further the paper describes various advantages which this technology provides over others. Few benefits of RFID system are, it reduces retail stock-outs, improves assets visibility, and enables to take decisions based on real time data available and many more. So it is clear that it enables the user to overcome the inefficiencies like stock-outs, over production etc. which are bound to happen with traditional methods.

Last part of the paper deals with the hurdles which we have to overcome for applying this technology on large scale. Although RFID system provides the above mentioned advantages and many more, there are some problems faced while applying this technology, few of them are, cost of RFID tags is the major cause of concern, tag readability is a problem, data management etc., but the cost of RF tags is the only reason which has held back the progressive use of this system. There are various researches going on to solve the cost problem and it has been concluded that if RF tags are used extensively, then cost of this tags will come down i.e. volume should be increased. So we can comment that, at present RFID is the system which can provide us better solutions.

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