By Mark Roberti

Oct. 1, 2004—
RFID is a labor-saving technology. It gives machines the ability to identify objects and interact with the world in a way never before feasible on a large scale. And while this capability allows companies to automate many processes and improve efficiencies, it could also herald massive disruption in the labor force. Contributing writer Samuel Greengard tackles this sensitive issue in “Man vs. Machine: The Next Battleground” (page 36), because rfid journal is committed to informing companies about all of the issues that could affect their business as they adopt RFID. No doubt, this will become a hot topic as adoption accelerates.

I’ve never been a big believer that the use of new technology leads to an increase in unemployment, but I recognize that RFID represents the possibility of a new and unprecedented level of automation. Beyond being used to enable robots to replace manufacturing workers, RFID could be combined with intelligent agent-based software to automate many routine decision-making tasks that have been handled by white-collar workers.

Early signs indicate that companies are not looking at RFID as a way to slash their workforce. Wal-Mart’s main objective is to reduce the number of sales lost because a product isn’t on the shelf when a customer wants to buy it. Other retailers have the same goal. On the manufacturing side, companies believe RFID will help reduce shrinkage and cut inventories.