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Retail EDITOR'S NOTE
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Saluting the RFID Pioneers in the DOD
There are now many passive RFID projects being carried out across the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army, U.S. Navy and U.S. Marines—and I admire the leaders in each of these branches who have embraced change, such as Robert Bacon, director of the Navy's Automatic Identification Technology (AIT) program office, and Colonel Patrick Burden, the Army's product manager for Joint-Automatic Identification Technology (PM J-AIT).
In our cover story in the latest issue of our print magazine, we detail some of the more high-profile projects being conducted (see Targeted Attack). The armed services are achieving savings in labor and inventory by tracking parts for use in the maintenance and repair of nuclear submarines, helicopters and fighter jets. Parts tracking is also reducing the turnaround time at repair centers, ensuring ships and aircraft get back out in the field on schedule. Many of these successful projects will be highlighted by DOD speakers at RFID Journal LIVE! 2009, being held in two weeks.
Transformation doesn't occur overnight, particularly when it comes to transforming the world's most complex supply chain. The DOD has budgeted approximately $877.6 million for automatic identification technologies from fiscal years 2010 to 2015, and continues to expand its use of active tags. And Estevez will be the first to tell you that the passive RFID program is still in its infancy.
But the Department of Defense, frankly, puts many companies to shame when it comes to embracing RFID's potential to deliver cost-savings, process improvement and greater efficiencies. The department is making sure troops around the world have the supplies they require, rooting out waste, improving services and bolstering security. I salute the Defense Department, and I encourage CEOs who have not yet focused on RFID to examine what the pioneers at the DOD are doing. If they can transform the world's largest, complex—and, yes, bureaucratic—supply chains, think about what you could accomplish at your company.
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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In our cover story in the latest issue of our print magazine, we detail some of the more high-profile projects being conducted (see Targeted Attack). The armed services are achieving savings in labor and inventory by tracking parts for use in the maintenance and repair of nuclear submarines, helicopters and fighter jets. Parts tracking is also reducing the turnaround time at repair centers, ensuring ships and aircraft get back out in the field on schedule. Many of these successful projects will be highlighted by DOD speakers at RFID Journal LIVE! 2009, being held in two weeks.
Transformation doesn't occur overnight, particularly when it comes to transforming the world's most complex supply chain. The DOD has budgeted approximately $877.6 million for automatic identification technologies from fiscal years 2010 to 2015, and continues to expand its use of active tags. And Estevez will be the first to tell you that the passive RFID program is still in its infancy.
But the Department of Defense, frankly, puts many companies to shame when it comes to embracing RFID's potential to deliver cost-savings, process improvement and greater efficiencies. The department is making sure troops around the world have the supplies they require, rooting out waste, improving services and bolstering security. I salute the Defense Department, and I encourage CEOs who have not yet focused on RFID to examine what the pioneers at the DOD are doing. If they can transform the world's largest, complex—and, yes, bureaucratic—supply chains, think about what you could accomplish at your company.
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.
