Modernizing supply chain solutions through the convergence of computing

Moore’s law is at the core of the new RFID phenomenon where two things are guaranteed: The RFID chips will get smaller and cheaper; and as the technology gets more reliable, standards will emerge and proliferate in ways that could only have been imagined 30 or so years ago when early RFID pioneers started to experiment with the technology. Dr. Moore’s observation of a generation ago makes it a certainty that it’s only a matter of time until the full promise of the technology is realized.The previous technologies all had one glaring limitation that RFID is intended to solve: accurate knowledge of the goods’ location, particularly as they near the point of manufacture/sale. The knowledge of where the goods are in the supply chain from manufacturer to distributor vary, and some have used bar codes and some fairly laborintensive business processes to develop reasonable accuracy here.RFID approaches offer the potential to save significant labor cost during the middle stages of the supply chain. The critical information gap occurs on either end between the times when the goods leave the distributor’s truck and when they are actually built or sold. This is often referred to, tongue in cheek,as the last 100 meters. This is where the hype is focused.Simply having the information is important; how it is shared and with whom will dictate the ultimate economic benefit.What You Should Do RFID is an exciting component of a larger industry trend toward the convergence of computing and communications and pervasive, or autonomic computing. Within this macro trend wireless communication is emerging as a critical communication model that is required to derive the ultimate value since it untethers the users and the systems. Any business with a supply chain should take the following steps:
• Get smart on the technology. It’s not rocket science, although it’s close,
and it’s important to understand what it is and isn’t all about;
• Benchmark your current supply chain and understand if/where having better
information about inventory levels, workflow, and forecasting could drive business
benefit;
• Determine if there is a process that would benefit from using RFID, do a rough ROI
analysis, and if the indicators look positive, then kick off a pilot; and
• Don’t wait, and don’t limit your thinking to mandates or simple
compliance.