RFID: Technology and Application Update

RFID: Technology and Application Update, originally uploaded by tgray04.

Dwight Klappich, Research VP, Gartner



RFID is not going to be used to replace bar coding, but not in many instances. However, RFID can be more applicable where bar coding cannot be effective.



Sensory Network: real-time visibility of events that facilitate the management of, and ongoing analysis across, the extended supply chain.



Example: car manufacturers for trading vehicles during manufacture. Or warehouses wanting to track specific items.



What to track

- larger items to smaller assets until the business case reaches the point of diminishing returns.

- expensive high-valued items (cost of tagging should be less than 5% of the cost of items)



Building a business case

- small to mid-scale: $0.5 million to $1 million

- large scale: $1 million to $5 million+



Payback: expect ROI of one to three years



Implementation: pilot six to 12 months, full deployment one to two years



Myth of the 5 cent No current leaders in the magic quadrant.



Useful for companies that are concerned about loosing assets within company facilities. It cannot tell you an asset is currently located at this residence or in this country.



Evolved down to case level, not item level (referencing retail usage).



People or Asset Tracking - fixed readers in the floor, ceiling or at every door, but then we can find people or assets.



What roll can a wireless provider play in RFID tracking? Unknown.