Mike
Well-known member
Processing Technology
RFID: Tips for collecting—and maintaining— accurate data
By Pete Hisey on 3/1/2006
In this article:
Avoid "last year's" technology
Start small, then build
Be proactive in managing data
Ensure that your data is secure and retrievable
From gate to plate, customer demand and accountability are moooving RFID adoption.
Radio frequency identification has been slow to reach the meat industry. But make no mistake--it is coming, in part because the government, retailers and restaurant chains are demanding it, and because the technology is becoming friendlier to processing environments.
A third reason is that retail suppliers, processors included, have not only begun to think of enhanced inventory tracking technology as a service to their customers, but a powerful business management tool. The data help your customers, sure, but it might be even more useful to you.
Here are some tips for maximizing your RFID investment and making it work for your business.
Avoid "last year's" technology
Although passive ultra high-frequency RFID chips – devices that can be read but that can't transmit data – are in use in major trials at Wal-Mart, Target, Publix and Tesco, they can be capricious. The technology is fine for pallets or even box quantities—if, that is, you're in the consumer packaged goods business. For meat and other food items, the chips are highly erratic because of the water and metal generally present in food plants. The failure rate in the food industry is very high, although it is starting to improve, and new passive chips are under development that will be able to record temperature data at very little increased cost. The passive chip's advantage is that it is already inexpensive, and will only get less expensive as demand grows.
High-frequency systems, which will allow reading of passive chips from as far as 10 yards, are being developed and have fewer problems with water and metal. Until lately, these could not be password-protected, as UHF chips can be, but that barrier has been overcome, so they soon will be as secure, if not as affordable, as UHF chips, which cost only pennies each in large quantities.
Capable of transmitting data, the battery-operated active RFID chip also has its drawbacks. It's expensive, its battery has limited life, and it's bulky. The active chip is far better than passive chips for readability, but it will probably never be suitable for individual packages, which is what the industry eventually will need.
Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW) chips are already widespread in the cellular and consumer electronics industries, and have several advantages over competing technologies, including readability comparable to active chips and the ability to sense temperature without additional sensors, a major advantage to members of the cold chain. SAW chips are extremely tough and are not affected by the presence of water or metal. SAW RFID is still in its infancy, but giants such as Samsung are investing in the technology, which also shows great promise in reading full pallets with a single scan.
The lesson here is to invest in technology that can be upgraded easily and inexpensively as more useful chips and readers enter the marketplace.
Start small, then build
Steve Dean, director of business development for data management software supplier Franwell, which is participating in a food industry RFID pilot with grocer Publix, advises picking a single product and perhaps a single customer, then tracking the product through the supply chain. The single-customer, single-product approach will provide a learning experience at a low cost, Dean says. "Following your product will illuminate problems upstream you may never have been aware of, and that alone can pay for RFID implementation," he continues. "It's a good idea to get your hands dirty right away, if only at the pallet level."
Be proactive in managing data
Even early on, remember that this is your data. Software programs on the market can quickly sort and analyze that raw data, producing reports that can give businesses near-instant views of all their activities, from inventory on hand, through the production process and on to shipping and distribution at retail. Processors can quickly pull back scanner data from retail customers to get real-time information on sell-through and quickly identify problems at retail. Since major retailers are looking for a day when their inventory is managed by its vendors, it is best to start learning the ins and outs of the process sooner rather than later.
Because of their unique position in the food chain, processors will probably be forced to adopt the fastest and most sophisticated tools; producers and fabricators, for instance, may only need a simple web portal that communicates a step forward – or back -- in the supply chain. In terms of both traceability and retail tracking data, processors will have to be able to incorporate data from all links in the chain. That means being the repository for data from all of your suppliers in the event of traceback of product at the retail level, and also data supplied by retailers to keep historic and detailed records of your products' performance on your customers' shelves.
Ensure that your data is secure and retrievable
Processors need to store and exercise control over all kinds of disparate data – and in a secure environment. It is important to find technology partners that can offer stable, secure environments for the transmission and storage of your data, and others that can provide software tools that allow you to extract, sort, analyze, and share your data.
RFID data is somewhat obscure. Software is necessary to interpret and classify the data to make the information useful. Many leading technology firms specialize in supplying software to collect, filter, order and interpret raw RFID data.
The data can be very powerful for a retail supplier, providing a real-time view of the entire supply chain, while allowing processors to track shipments and inventory, keep on top of retail customer inventory, track retail promotions, identify bottlenecks and missed opportunities in the distribution system, and provide targeted sales-floor service to customers. For instance, processors could track a specific promotion and quickly identify stores that are not meeting targets, then investigate those stores rather than waiting for the post-mortem at the end of the promotion or making changes that are unnecessary for the majority of your customers' stores.
Combined with secure retail scanner data, supply chain data harvested from RFID chips can significantly improve your planning, sourcing, shipping, packaging and other business activities.
RFID: Tips for collecting—and maintaining— accurate data
By Pete Hisey on 3/1/2006
In this article:
Avoid "last year's" technology
Start small, then build
Be proactive in managing data
Ensure that your data is secure and retrievable
From gate to plate, customer demand and accountability are moooving RFID adoption.
Radio frequency identification has been slow to reach the meat industry. But make no mistake--it is coming, in part because the government, retailers and restaurant chains are demanding it, and because the technology is becoming friendlier to processing environments.
A third reason is that retail suppliers, processors included, have not only begun to think of enhanced inventory tracking technology as a service to their customers, but a powerful business management tool. The data help your customers, sure, but it might be even more useful to you.
Here are some tips for maximizing your RFID investment and making it work for your business.
Avoid "last year's" technology
Although passive ultra high-frequency RFID chips – devices that can be read but that can't transmit data – are in use in major trials at Wal-Mart, Target, Publix and Tesco, they can be capricious. The technology is fine for pallets or even box quantities—if, that is, you're in the consumer packaged goods business. For meat and other food items, the chips are highly erratic because of the water and metal generally present in food plants. The failure rate in the food industry is very high, although it is starting to improve, and new passive chips are under development that will be able to record temperature data at very little increased cost. The passive chip's advantage is that it is already inexpensive, and will only get less expensive as demand grows.
High-frequency systems, which will allow reading of passive chips from as far as 10 yards, are being developed and have fewer problems with water and metal. Until lately, these could not be password-protected, as UHF chips can be, but that barrier has been overcome, so they soon will be as secure, if not as affordable, as UHF chips, which cost only pennies each in large quantities.
Capable of transmitting data, the battery-operated active RFID chip also has its drawbacks. It's expensive, its battery has limited life, and it's bulky. The active chip is far better than passive chips for readability, but it will probably never be suitable for individual packages, which is what the industry eventually will need.
Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW) chips are already widespread in the cellular and consumer electronics industries, and have several advantages over competing technologies, including readability comparable to active chips and the ability to sense temperature without additional sensors, a major advantage to members of the cold chain. SAW chips are extremely tough and are not affected by the presence of water or metal. SAW RFID is still in its infancy, but giants such as Samsung are investing in the technology, which also shows great promise in reading full pallets with a single scan.
The lesson here is to invest in technology that can be upgraded easily and inexpensively as more useful chips and readers enter the marketplace.
Start small, then build
Steve Dean, director of business development for data management software supplier Franwell, which is participating in a food industry RFID pilot with grocer Publix, advises picking a single product and perhaps a single customer, then tracking the product through the supply chain. The single-customer, single-product approach will provide a learning experience at a low cost, Dean says. "Following your product will illuminate problems upstream you may never have been aware of, and that alone can pay for RFID implementation," he continues. "It's a good idea to get your hands dirty right away, if only at the pallet level."
Be proactive in managing data
Even early on, remember that this is your data. Software programs on the market can quickly sort and analyze that raw data, producing reports that can give businesses near-instant views of all their activities, from inventory on hand, through the production process and on to shipping and distribution at retail. Processors can quickly pull back scanner data from retail customers to get real-time information on sell-through and quickly identify problems at retail. Since major retailers are looking for a day when their inventory is managed by its vendors, it is best to start learning the ins and outs of the process sooner rather than later.
Because of their unique position in the food chain, processors will probably be forced to adopt the fastest and most sophisticated tools; producers and fabricators, for instance, may only need a simple web portal that communicates a step forward – or back -- in the supply chain. In terms of both traceability and retail tracking data, processors will have to be able to incorporate data from all links in the chain. That means being the repository for data from all of your suppliers in the event of traceback of product at the retail level, and also data supplied by retailers to keep historic and detailed records of your products' performance on your customers' shelves.
Ensure that your data is secure and retrievable
Processors need to store and exercise control over all kinds of disparate data – and in a secure environment. It is important to find technology partners that can offer stable, secure environments for the transmission and storage of your data, and others that can provide software tools that allow you to extract, sort, analyze, and share your data.
RFID data is somewhat obscure. Software is necessary to interpret and classify the data to make the information useful. Many leading technology firms specialize in supplying software to collect, filter, order and interpret raw RFID data.
The data can be very powerful for a retail supplier, providing a real-time view of the entire supply chain, while allowing processors to track shipments and inventory, keep on top of retail customer inventory, track retail promotions, identify bottlenecks and missed opportunities in the distribution system, and provide targeted sales-floor service to customers. For instance, processors could track a specific promotion and quickly identify stores that are not meeting targets, then investigate those stores rather than waiting for the post-mortem at the end of the promotion or making changes that are unnecessary for the majority of your customers' stores.
Combined with secure retail scanner data, supply chain data harvested from RFID chips can significantly improve your planning, sourcing, shipping, packaging and other business activities.
