IT managers must have an effective application stack for
their radio frequency identification (RFID) implementations to be
successful, according to research from Butler Group.
Many organisations have run trials using a "slap-and-shift"
tagging method, but this is only suitable for small-scale
implementations, said Alan Lawson, research analyst at Butler
Group.
Slap-and-shift is the nickname for a straightforward and
commonly-used initial RFID approach. It is a tracking method in
which cases and pallets of goods that are ready to be shipped to a
trading partner or customer have an RFID tag attached prior to
being dispatched.
This method offers good control and tracking options in low
volumes, and at the scale of many of the trial projects it proved
effective to implement and track. As a result, a good return
becomes relatively easy to display, according to Lawson.
However, despite small-scale slap-and-shift trials producing
good results, there were several issues involved in the successful
adoption of RFID, and not all of these were likely to be fully
apparent due to the controlled nature of the test projects, he
said.
"The points that will need to be addressed include factors that
are capable of entirely derailing the project, such as the sheer
volume of data that can be generated, complexity of device
management, lack of standards, limited solutions to interpret the
data and costly integration with existing applications."
For larger RFID projects to work satisfactorily, IT managers
will need to ensure that an adequate application stack underpins
the RFID system, Lawson said.
This stack is comprised of four levels. The first is the
services layer, which includes business process management
software, analytics and content management software to deal with
the large volume of data that is generated.
Second is the event management layer to handle the messages
produced by tags. This comprises event management software, as well
as an application that sets and manages messages and rules.
Next, the IT system will have a data collection and management
layer, based on data collection and management software and
interfaces to the RFID devices.
Fourth is the physical devices layer, with the hardware readers,
scanners, pocket PCs and terminals.
Suppliers including Sybase, Microsoft, IBM and Oracle have
strategies to provide infrastructure software to support RFID
systems. Microsoft recently announced its RFID infrastructure,
which is built on top of the .net Framework and can be embedded in
third-party applications, or used on its own to capture and
interpret data from sensors and manage events.
Sybase has released an end-to-end system, RFID Enterprise, which
enables companies to integrate data from RFID devices seamlessly
with enterprise data management environments.
Key to the success of RFID is for companies to see that although
the supply chain stands to benefit the most, RFID will also assist
in compliance, automation and business process transformation.
Lawson said, "Business transformation opportunities should be
the aim of the project, rather than simply identifying low-hanging
fruit, such as stock handling in a warehouse or store. Identifying
the real value of RFID for the organisation, and targeting the
optimum means of achieving this, should be done from the
outset."
Gartner research director Michael Mahler said that for RFID to
be effective, organisations need software systems that communicate
well.
He cited an RFID project at Kimberly-Clark that was developed by
SAP. The Electronic Proof of Delivery project aims to solve the
problem of discrepancies occurring in invoices as goods are shipped
between consumer goods companies and retailers. The initiative is
expected to go live in early 2006.
Mahler said, "SAP and Kimberly-Clark are using RFID as the
motive to enable collaborative, event-driven business processes and
real-time information sharing, to provide the fuel for improved
analytics and insight with retail partners.
"What is critical for long-term competitive advantage is having
the functionality to react, analyse, collaborate and execute
quickly."
A co-ordinated approach is important. Christine Spivey Overby,
principal analyst at Forrester Research, said "fail-proof" RFID
implementations rely on co-ordinating a company's hardware, IT
architecture and applications.
Spivey Overby warned that hardware reliability should not be
taken for granted. The hardware must work before firms derive
business value. Fail-proof RFID deployments - still an elusive
thing - require skills for diagnosing the RF environment of a site,
installing readers and testing tag performance, she said.
Along with hardware, users also need to consider RFID
middleware. "Even quick-hit implementations, limited in both scope
and complexity, require management capabilities for basic data
collection, smoothing and filtering," she said.
Today, these implementation services are tightly coupled with
RFID middleware from companies such as Oracle, Acsis and
OATSystems.
Spivey Overby said that as RFID expands data categories to
include the identity and status of individual items, cases or other
assets, users will need applications that support cross-functional,
or cross-enterprise, bus- iness processes. "RFID data also enables
higher-quality analytics embedded in enterprise applications," she
added.
RFID versus barcodes
Many comparisons are being drawn between RFID and barcodes,
which was another revolutionary supply chain technology in its
time.
Butler Group research analyst Alan Lawson said, "In illustrating
how improvements can be made, this comparison is useful, but it
needs to be kept in context - RFID has the potential to go far
beyond what barcoding was intended to achieve, and the distinction
needs to be made."
Barcodes rely on a scanner passing over a flat black and white
print to register a code unique to that product.
Conversely, RFID uses radio frequency signals. An RFID system
consists of an antenna and a transceiver. The transceiver reads the
radio frequency and transfers the information to a processing
device and a transponder or tag. The transponder is an integrated
circuit containing the RF circuitry and information to be
transmitted.
Lawson said RFID can be far more than just an improvement on
barcodes, and any strategic view should account for the potentially
high volumes of business data the implementation of an RFID system
will capture.
"Although it is necessary to account for this additional volume
of data, it is shortsighted to simply consider it as a data storage
issue. It is far more appropriate to highlight this aspect as a
business opportunity to enhance or improve processes, and to
clearly state this as part of the business case for RFID
implementation," said Lawson.
RFID resources
Supply chain standards group EPC Global
www.epcglobalinc.org
Association for Automatic Identification and Mobility Global
www.aimglobal.org/technologies/rfid
RFID Technology Centre
www.rfidc.com
National RFID Centre
www.rfiduk.org