Companies Adopting RFID Despite Challenges

Many companies across a variety of industries are either deploying radio frequency identification systems or plan to adopt the product-tracking technology.Concerns over the high cost and lack of good integration tools and standards remain a key concern. A lot of companies are working in deadline mode. Their chief concern is to comply with the mandates and to remain eligible as a supplier to these big outfits. Many companies have adopted a "slap-and-ship" approach to RFID, in order to meet the mandates at minimal cost.The term applies to companies that stick an RFID electronic tag on a case or pallet before shipping it to the retailer, but do not use the technology themselves to track goods.Companies across industries are expected to gradually adopt RFID as the technology matures, because of its ability to cut costs through more efficient handling of shipments and inventory. There's widespread belief that as the technology takes hold and tracks goods from manufacturers to consumers, there will be major benefits through efficiency. Nevertheless, enterprises should wait to reap the cost-cutting benefits of small projects, before expanding them into more warehouses and other facilities within a supply chain.