Look first to re-usable assets for supply chain RFID

For organisations hesitating between the potential benefits and challenges of RFID implementation, re-usable asset tracking is the logical application to start with, according to infrastructure systems firm BEA Systems, which last month acquired portals firm Plumtree. The company’s recently published White Paper suggests that since re-usable totes, shipping containers and the like are the means by which products are consolidated and transported through most supply chains, they are best able to improve performance with sensible economics. For most companies, it says, this will be the best route to a quick win. However, it also warns that “successfully implementing RFID in a closed-loop, re-usable asset supply chain requires organisations to define the breadth, improvement goals and attributes of the processes involved.” If they do that, it advises that RFID can transform the traditional cycle of losses and help organisations effectively to gain productivity and prove the worth of RFID technologies.