RFID Is Here To Stay

Portions of the following article were reprinted with permission from the December report from Aberdeen Group, The RFID Benchmark Report-Finding the Technology's Tipping Point.

There is no doubt that just about every consumer product and food & beverage manufacture has heard something about RFID. Many have initiatives underway to meet their customer demands and become compliant. A few others have begun to look at more strategic ways to leverage the technology to improve business processes. And still others on the leading edge have begun to look at how to reengineer or develop new processes to take advantage of RFID.

Aberdeen Group surveyed 250 industry executives and managers on how their companies viewed RFID as an enabling technology, both in its ability to deliver value today and in the future.

RFID is her to stay. RFID is not merely a data collection technology, but can provide a multi-dimensional view of status, location, condition and state of people, process and product. However, until this can be fully exploited, adoption rates won't meet the expectations most market watchers set.

RFID Investment Plans for Next Three Years:

• "My company sees definite advantages and will increase investment in RFID" was rated number-one at 29 percent
• "Will do whatever is necessary to comply with customer and government mandates" was second at 24 percent
• "Will put pilots into production in the next 12 months" and "Minimal investment until technology matures" tied for third at 23 percent

Technology isn't the only issue blocking wider adoption of RFID. New business models and processes are being developed in parallel; however, the report also identified that many companies have implemented RFID to enhance current, well structured processes such as asset management followed by production, transportation and security.

Recommendations for Action:

• Reevaluate your position on RFID adoption-when a technology reaches its tipping point, moving from unique to ubiquitous, its adoption grows at a very rapid pace
• Identify who the real stakeholders are in RFID pilots-in the Wal-Mart RFID pilot, most of the predicted near-term value will accrue in sales and marketing within a supplier
• Link RFID with other strategic IT initiatives-RFID is part of a much larger wave of change affecting the enterprise technology with the adoption of SOA

QAD is committed to assisting our customers in finding the right solution for the right purpose. RFID is not a one-size-fits-all solution. The technology is still immature, but we believe it can redefine many processes and help our customers create a competitive advantage in the marketplace. We are currently working with customers to determine what solutions are most appropriate and how best to RFID-enable QAD MFG/PRO and Advanced Inventory Management, the QAD warehouse management solution. We welcome you to participate in these efforts. Please contact Greg Rodgers at ggr@qad.com.

The Aberdeen Group report can be found at www.aberdeen.com.