June 14, 2005

Radio Tags Will Save You $ and Time

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is not "hot" quite yet, but it's getting their. For the many retailers, shippers and manufacturers that must keep track of goods, inventory and the overall location and sales of their hardware, RFID tags will help in a big way.

These tags can be embedded in almost any item you are selling and can help prevent loss, keep much better inventory of what is in stock and what is not and more.

IBM and others are laying the ground work for businesses to easily get up to speed on using RFID.

The NY Times writes RFID proponents say such tags will one day save businesses billions of dollars and make shopping more convenient for consumers by helping keep better track of products in supply chains, warehouses and stores. Radio tags store far more data about a product than bar codes and can be read more quickly, without human intervention.

So far, the rollout has been hampered by spotty hardware performance and the reluctance of manufacturers and retailers to invest heavily until worldwide standards have been established. Many early adopters are also struggling to match the RFID data to existing corporate data systems, a necessity if the data is to be used to adjust shipping schedules or other business practices to save money.

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