Can You Please Provide a Cost Estimate for Tagging Items?

I seek an estimate for suppliers of goods to tag products with RFID tags—i.e., the cost just for handling and attaching the tags, not the tags themselves. The tags would be attached to retail goods, including garments, shoes, household items, tools and hardware. I am also looking for information regarding which RFID hardware setup would be required if a purchasing firm wanted a supplier to record which products were packed and delivered. Could you give me a rough estimation? I understand that this is a cost to negotiate, but I would appreciate some thoughts on this topic.

—Margareta

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Margareta,

It would not be possible to provide a cost estimate for tagging items without knowing how many items, the type of items, the number of stores, the read requirements and other factors. Generally speaking, retailers have worked with systems integrators to set up RFID systems in their store, choose the tags and have employees perform all the tagging. They ask suppliers to tag goods subsequently shipped to their stores. I would suggest you contact The Tagging Team, which may be able to provide the services you need or help you set up a system for tagging items.

As far as setting up a system at your suppliers' facilities, the cost for that would depend on how the system will be set up. For example, the supplier might want to set up a label printer and applicator to apply RFID labels to boxes coming off the production line. One label printer and applicator, fully set up and programmed, might cost $5,000 to $10,000. If the supplier has multiple lines, then the company would require multiple label applicators.

An alternative would be to manually print and apply labels in a warehouse. The cost would be the price of one or more label printers, the ongoing label purchase costs and the price of a reader portal to pass boxes through before shipping. A fully installed portal might cost $10,000, which would include the reader, several antennas, the physical structure on which to hang those antennas, the software and the labor. I wish I could be more specific, but costs can vary widely depending on how a system is set up and the needs of each company.

Mark Roberti
Founder and Editor
RFID Journal