January/February 2005

JAN/FEB 2005

Features

• BEST PRACTICES
• The End of Trial and Error
  The RFID Alliance Lab conducted more than 5,000 tests on the 10 commercially available UHF EPC tags. This article, adapted from the lab’s first report, will help companies make smart decisions about which tags are best for their products.
• VERTICAL FOCUS
• I Want You to Tag Your Shipments
  The U.S. Department of Defense wants to use RFID to transform its supply chain. But large and small suppliers alike are struggling to understand and meet tagging requirements.
• HOW-TO ARTICLES
• The Road to ROI: How to Build a Bottom-Up Business Case
  To achieve a return on investment in RFID, companies need to have different departments work together to solve the many minor, low-level problems that contribute to a big issue, such as excess inventory. Here’s how to build a bottom-up business case.
• CASE STUDY
• Purdue Pharma Gets Down to the Item
  The pharmaceutical company is the first in the world to integrate RFID tagging of individual bottles of pills into a packaging line. Learn how Purdue did it.

Departments

• Editor's Note
• The ROI Business
  If you want to know how to build a business case for RFID, take a lesson from former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani.
• Out in Front
• Tags on a Diet
  Researchers at Philips Semiconductors have developed the world's thinnest RFID tag.
• Out in Front
• Not Just for Business Anymore
  RFID is quickly gaining a foothold in the consumer world.
• Out in Front
• Sound and Light
  Two Scandinavian companies have switched off the radio and are using sound and light to locate and identify objects and vehicles.
• Perspective
• Predictions for 2005
  RFID Journal speculates on how the year will shape up for RFID vendors and adopters.
• Perspective
• Top Stories in 2004
  A look at the events that affected the RFID industry during the year.
• Perspective
• Economic Inefficiency
  CEOs will tell you their company is super-efficient, but macro-economic studies suggest otherwise.
• Perspective
• Answering the RFID Skills Question
  Will there be enough skilled technicians, RF engineers to deploy UHF RFID systems throughout the global supply chain?
• Perspective
• Another Tough Year Ahead
  Progress toward the adoption of RFID technology will continue, but early adopters will grapple with RFID data issues and more uncertainty.

Columns

• Ashton's View
• Never Take Physics for an Answer
  History shows that lots of things people say are impossible can be achieved.
• Stay Tuned
• EPC as an Anti-counterfeiting Tool
  Tags combined with an extended EPCglobal Network could eradicate a scourge.
• The Skeptic
• The Radio-Free EPC
  The widespread use of RFID for tagging individual items is a pipe dream, but a viable alternative exists.
• Insight
• Raising the Privacy Issue
  Given concerns about RFID, companies need a high-level privacy strategy.