Data management is the biggest challenge in adopting radio
frequency identification technology, according to a survey of 100
UK businesses conducted by KRC Research for BEA
Systems.
RFID promises to change the way businesses look at the supply
chain. It can be used to pinpoint inefficiencies, identify losses
and provide an early warning of potential problems, such as when
stock levels are running low or a component is lost in transit.
David Smith, senior consultant at Capgemini, said, "RFID offers the
potential for accurate, reliable information flow that actually
gives you the visibility to see what is going on in your
business."
But to achieve this RFID needs to work in concert with business
processes. Andrew White, senior research fellow at Cranfield School
of Management, said, "You can use RFID to validate the time window
a product has to arrive and create events that the business can
respond to."
The challenge users face, according to Mark Pritchard, product
marketing director at BEA Systems, is one of IT integration,
turning an RFID event, when a tag is read, into a business event
that links to the back-end systems.
"We need to associate tracking information held in a business
system with information RFID can provide," he said.