The term Supply Chain is generally used to describe the all of the possible processes which are involved in the flow of goods starting with the raw material supplier, and ending with the customer. This includes the processes of manufacturing, distribution and transportation to the end user or consumer. Supply chain management not only involves all of the steps mentioned above, but also affects other company activities such as marketing decisions, fulfilling customer demand, and even general corporate strategy or goals. Managing a supply chain has typically been considered to be a complex and intensive process, and many methods have been developed over the years in an effort to deal with supply issues related to the logistics involved in the production and distribution of goods.
Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) has become widely accepted as an instrumental tool in supply chain management. In addition to being a replacement for barcoding technology, RFID provides real time information, making the supply chain considerably more precise and improving the overall efficiency and reliability of the entire chain, including administration and planning activities.
In addition to supply chain management, there are many areas where the implementation of RFID technology can provide significant benefits such as inventory control and tracking, access management, toll collection and payment systems and even the tracking of people or animals. Examples of the latter include RFID tags
RFID systems are currently being used in manufacturing plants to track parts, stay informed of work in progress, reduce product defects, increase throughput, and manage production of given products. Big name retailers such as Best Buy, Metro, Target, Albertson’s, Hewlett Packard, and Wal-Mart are leading the way in implementing RFID systems. These retailers recognize the need to improve inventory efficiency, ensure products are available to customers as needed, decrease theft, and cut down on costs associated with tracking and processing inventory.
However, it is important to mention about an active RFID technology in order to understand why it is not suitable for the case of the production in-house logistics. Active system provides constant visibility of inventory, they are placed in the zones wherever inventory needs to
The RFID is considered a significant improvement over the conventional barcode, which needs to be read by scanners in "line-of-sight" fashion and can be stripped away if the paper product labels get ripped or damaged. RFID can also facilitate inter-organizational E-commerce initiatives such as continuous replenishment or vendor-managed inventories (Smaros and Holmstrom, 2000).
RFID data is visible and trackable across the supply chain and reduces scanning error, stockouts and the labour required to move inventory (Shin & Eksioglu 2014, p. 633). Importantly, as Concept2creation (n.d.) shows picking and scanning cartons from the cages is labour intensive and requiring audits. Alternatively, RFID transmitters on pallets and cages, can automatically be scanned upon receipt. Cartons without RFID can be placed in totes to be tracked internally (Michel 2014,
Would RFID work to track Products? Well, Bar Codes require a line of sight, so a person(s) with a bar code reader has to get right up on the bar code and scan it. When you are thinking about a supply chain, somebody in the warehouse would have to look at every single case. With RFID, all of the cases on the pallet would be picked up by a single swipe of a reader, even the ones
Radio Frequency Identification RFID is an established data-carrying technology used throughout industry. Data relating to an item is stored on a tag, which is attached to the item. The tag is activated by radio waves emitted from a reader. Once activated, the tag sends data stored in its memory relating to the item back to the reader. This data can then be shared between organizations and trading partners via the EPCglobal Network in a secure manner.
The RFID market has continued to grow at a steady rate. According to a new RFID sector survey by IDTechEx Research, “The RFID market will reach $23.4 Billion in 2020. This includes tags, readers and software/services for RFID cards, labels, fobs and all other form factors - for both passive and active RFID.” (IDTechEx). RFID is a technology that will continue to play a critical role in a variety of industries as they both grow and develop.
INTRODUCTION: In June 2003 Wal-Mart first announced its plan to implement RFID technology in its supply chain by January 2005; this caught many of the suppliers unawares. Though the plans envisaged compliance from the top 100 suppliers, around 129 suppliers jumped into the fray, afraid of being left behind in the race. RFID technology was invented in 1969 and patented in 1973; after thirty long years WalMart has demanded its implementation. Expectations are high, unfortunately RFID technology is still in its infant stage.
RFID technology can offer many advantages to suppliers, retailers, and consumers including “improved accuracy in managing inventory, improved visibility of orders and inventory, reduced costs for logistical operations, improved customer service, improved security, and improved efficiency of business operations” (Park et al. 2010, p. 684). RFID technology provides real time inventory tracking
RFID has been used as an eventual successor to the barcode for tracking an individual unit of goods. RFID does not require direct line of sight to read a tag, and information on the tag is updatable. An RFID solution consists of four parts: the tag, reader, communication network and RFID software. The tag consists of a computer chip and an antenna for wireless communication with the handheld or fixed-position RFID reader, and the communication network connects the readers to transmit inventory information to the enterprise information system. The RFID software manages the collection, synchronization and communication of the data with warehouse management, ERP and supply-chain planning systems and
The purpose of this recommendation report is to determine what benefits radio frequency identification can add to our company. Many people think of RFID technology as a futuristic sci-fi way of tracking people and holding personal information. But RFID technology has become more common and has many applications this day in age. After researching the latest RFID technology, I have determined that it would help to cut costs in man hours and organizing products. We spend tons of money checking products and materials into inventory and tracking them through manual methods. Why do this when we can automate a system and cut that time to just a fraction of manual ways? My research has shown that many quality and efficiency leaders of the world have chosen to go to this system because of the benefits it provides. Right now we have ten technicians who receive completed outgoing products, count them, and input them into our inventory tracking spreadsheet. Now imagine one technician doing the same amount of work. They can walk up to a pallet of materials and can read what and how many products are on the pallet instantly. No counting, no sorting, and no manual adding of the materials would be required. In order to achieve this, we would need to do nothing more than buy RFID scanners, and add an RFID chip to the completed product.
An RFID system may consist of several components: tags, tag readers, tag programming stations, circulation readers, sorting equipment, and tag inventory wands. Security can be handled in two ways. Security gates can query the ILS to determine its security status or the tag may contain a security bit which would be turned on and off by circulation or self-check reader stations.
Introduction: In many industries time is money. When time is money, you have to make sure that you are spending that time in the most effective and efficient manner. With RFID technology you can hit both of these points, making it a “two birds with one stone” scenario. When the systems are implemented properly (and properly is the key point) RFID technology is faster and more accurate than traditional methods of scanning and tracking.
This report will discuss what technology and innovation is and how important it is for firms to manage their technology to expand their growth potential. In addition to this, I am the current technology analyst at the Hunzal Logistics and Supply chain Management Company. The current technology we use to handle our logistics and flow of goods in our supply chain is the traditional barcode reader technology. This technology has been used for over 15 years now in Hunzal. The current CEO of Hunzal has seen discussion in the logistics and supply chain industry of this new radical technology known as the Radio Frequency Identification Device (RFID) and how it has benefited companies in significant ways. The CEO of Hunzal has given me the task to update him on the RFID technology. This report will investigate and propose how RFID is more beneficial than the traditional barcode reader system.
• 1. Become familiar with RFID technology and its potential uses in Harley-Davidson’s supply chain using the information presented in this chapter and information you obtain through the Online Companion links, your favorite search engine, and your library. In about 400 words, evaluate the advantages and disadvantages for Harley-Davidson of replacing its bar codes and scanners technology with RFID.