Beyond the Supply Chain
RFID is enabling a new generation of innovative business and consumer applications.
By Mark Roberti
Dec. 1, 2010— Radio frequency identification was originally seen by many as a better, faster and more reliable way for companies to track pallets and cases as they moved through the global supply chain. Today, the technology is beginning to deliver on that mission, and at the same time, moving well beyond the applications its early promoters envisioned.
It's important to remember that RFID, like the Internet, is an enabling technology. And just as the Internet went beyond e-mail and static Web sites to deliver a new generation of applications, such as Facebook and YouTube, RFID is enabling a new generation of innovative business and consumer applications.
Contributing writer John Edwards reveals in this issue's cover story that the hot new RFID applications involve smart phones, social networking, robotics, machine-to-machine (M2M) communication and self-service retail (see RFID: The Next Stage). Custom Cupboards, for instance, a cabinetmaker in Wichita, Kans., is using a pair of RFID-driven robots to build custom cabinet face frames. And the Southeast Alabama Medical Center, in Dothan, Ala., relies on RFID M2M to continuously monitor the condition of temperature-sensitive pharmaceuticals.
Dec. 1, 2010— Radio frequency identification was originally seen by many as a better, faster and more reliable way for companies to track pallets and cases as they moved through the global supply chain. Today, the technology is beginning to deliver on that mission, and at the same time, moving well beyond the applications its early promoters envisioned.
It's important to remember that RFID, like the Internet, is an enabling technology. And just as the Internet went beyond e-mail and static Web sites to deliver a new generation of applications, such as Facebook and YouTube, RFID is enabling a new generation of innovative business and consumer applications.
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