Apparel EDITOR'S NOTE
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Learning to Do More With Less
RFID is about capturing data automatically. Employing people to manually capture bar-code information—or to locate parts, tools or the right container—is costly and inefficient. Having nurses spend 20 percent of their time searching for medical equipment means either providing poor patient care or hiring additional nurses.
RFID is also about automating processes. Some companies shipping tagged goods to retail partners automatically capture tag IDs and send them in advance shipping notices to confirm order accuracy, rather than having workers scan bar codes and count boxes by hand. Some companies have automated the process of receiving goods into inventory, capturing location information during put-away and directing forklifts to the proper locations to pick goods. This enables them to improve efficiencies and reduce the number of drivers required.
These are one-off applications that provide some benefits—the real benefits come when you take Airbus' approach and employ the same RFID readers and software infrastructure to automate more processes. Each additional RFID application costs little to deploy and helps companies continue to reduce costs. Over time, the effects can be transformational.
Unfortunately, not every company is as savvy as Airbus. Some businesspeople will simply take the short-term approach of reducing costs now to maintain their profit margins, or to remain profitable. I've spoken with some RFID technology providers who say they've had customers kill projects that had a clear ROI. Why? To get the capital expenditure off of their books. These firms are sacrificing the future for the present, however, especially if their competitors are investing in tomorrow.
I realize it's difficult to invest in new technology, particularly when profits are under pressure and credit is tight. But now is clearly the time when companies need to seize every opportunity and explore ways to do more with less.
Mark Roberti is the founder and editor of RFID Journal. If you would like to comment on this article, click on the link below. To read more of Mark's opinions, visit the RFID Journal Blog or click here.
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RFID is also about automating processes. Some companies shipping tagged goods to retail partners automatically capture tag IDs and send them in advance shipping notices to confirm order accuracy, rather than having workers scan bar codes and count boxes by hand. Some companies have automated the process of receiving goods into inventory, capturing location information during put-away and directing forklifts to the proper locations to pick goods. This enables them to improve efficiencies and reduce the number of drivers required.
These are one-off applications that provide some benefits—the real benefits come when you take Airbus' approach and employ the same RFID readers and software infrastructure to automate more processes. Each additional RFID application costs little to deploy and helps companies continue to reduce costs. Over time, the effects can be transformational.
I realize it's difficult to invest in new technology, particularly when profits are under pressure and credit is tight. But now is clearly the time when companies need to seize every opportunity and explore ways to do more with less.
Mark Roberti is the founder and editor of RFID Journal. If you would like to comment on this article, click on the link below. To read more of Mark's opinions, visit the RFID Journal Blog or click here.
