Ready for the future?
June 1st 2005

READER OFFER – Free RFID bible

IF you think you should be examining how RFID can improve your business, Printronix can help. The company has agreed to give away copies of its handbook, RFID Labeling: Smart Labeling Concepts and Applications for the Consumer Packaged Goods Supply Chain – part of its effort to help companies to get started with the technology. While Printronix admits that it, nor any other company is an expert in all aspects of RFID, the book quickly and comprehensively covers the basics before illustrating how to stream RFID into your current bar code labelling system. The first 100 readers to respond will receive a copy.

Email: bcoyne@western-bp.co.uk with the subject line ‘Printronix book’ ...and RFID Paris conference Those interested in finding out more may wish to sign up for Reed’s RFID 2005 event, to be held in France at the Paris International Congress Centre in October.

To find out more see: www.rfid-show.com or email RFID University Conference Manager, Michel Rousseau: university@rfid-show.com

Ready for the future?

Although there’s still a way to go before widespread European adoption, it’s time to start thinking about how your business can benefit from RFID, according to Printronix Marketing Manager, Chris Hopper. Brendan Coyne reports

Opinion is divided as to exactly when RFID will become mainstream technology. At the opening of what is billed as ‘the world’s first logistics centre dedicated to improving business process through the use of RFID’ by Unipart Logistics in May, its project manager, Carl Powell claimed : “It is evident that widespread adoption is a matter of months away.” Others however, are more conservative.

Siemens says its projects “show within the coming years RFID technology will penetrate the entire retail market and become an indispensable logistics instrument”, while at the far end of the scale, one firm of analysts speculates that full RFID maturity may take up to 18 years.

Nevertheless, all are agreed that RFID will have a major impact on business processes.

In the logistics and handling sectors, the possibilities driving interest in the technology include automating in-house supply logistics in DCs, improving process flows and efficiencies throughout the supply chain. Error free picking is also often touted as a possibility, alongside better tracking capabilities for distribution companies and their customers.

But it doesn’t stop there. Rather, the applications are only just beginning to emerge – and according to Printronix’s marketing director, Chris Hopper (above right), businesses should be working out how to benefit from the technology now to reap the benefits when RFID does become common place. Currently, the barriers to adoption are the cost of tags and a lack of pan-European standardisation, says Hopper: “A lot of the big companies are reluctant to invest significant amounts in RFID projects until they’re certain the rules aren’t going to change.” However, although “patently behind schedule and subject to change” according to Hopper, standardisation issues will inevitably be ironed out, in tandem with volume production of tags removing their presently inhibitive cost. This is also why test zones like Unipart’s Oxford facility, dubbed the ‘Global Enterprise Model (GEM)’ (developed alongside Intermec and SAP over the last five years) are opening their doors: the large scale model replicates the supply chain – enabling business to simulate advanced processes in a real world but risk free environment. In other words, business can build an ROI case without having to make the investment.

“One school of thought is identify where you could use RFID, then look at all the parts of the business and work out how many projects can actually live off the back of that investment” Hopper believes this is the track to take: Learn about the technology before putting grand systems together that the technology may not necessarily support. “We advise companies to take it one step at a time – because its not an insignificant cost. So one school of thought is identify where you could use RFID, then look at all the parts of the business that can benefit from the data.

Literally brainstorm and work out how many projects can actually live off the back of that investment.” He says from that process, companies can work out which projects are worth implementing – and which are not. Following that, Hopper says companies will then know the level of investment needed, and the return of investment they can expect in terms of the value added to the business. “So investigate the projects but don’t actually turn them on until the cost of the tags, readers and consultancy comes down to a point where you break even on the return, and can gain competitive advantage afterwards.” Explaining the problem with the high cost of tags, Hopper said he recently spoke to a company that has worked out how they can benefit from RFID, but will need the price of tags to come down to around half a pence to make it viable. Currently tag prices are around 40 pence. “And they won’t be coming down to that [half pence] level for many, many years,” says Hopper.

“But if, for example, you are talking about adding 40 pence to a high value item such as a plasma television or computer – as opposed to, for example, pallets of cereal – it’s not an unreasonable cost if you know the benefits you will achieve. So it’s about working out where on that cost curve it becomes viable for your particular business – and being ready when it does.”

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