RFID projects back on the business agenda as prices fall?

RFID tracking pilot projects that had been deemed impractical are now back on the agenda, following falling costs and a change to licensing laws surrounding UHF tags. High profile pilots that have now restarted include Manchester Airport, which is using RFID to track passengers and bags, and Marks and Spencer and Tesco for various product ranges. Otto Kilb, strategic business development manager at label printing specialist Printronix, says: “With the licensing changes it has become easier to use UHF chips, which cost less, are more reliable and work over a wider range.” Bulk prices for UHF tags have in fact dropped from 53p to 5p in the last few years, but others in the RFID industry still expect take-up to be slow – not least as many firms focus back on barcode systems. Nevertheless, Kilb urges potential users to “start taking advantage of RFID and recognise that implementing the technology does not need to be a headache.” He makes the point that encoded smart labels allow every element along a supply chain – from the manufacturing floor to warehouses to store shelves – to track what the product is, when it was made and where it is going. “This is not necessarily an alternative to barcoding, but a complement,” he says. “Too many companies believe that it’s either one or the other without realising you can now have the benefits of RFID as well as the benefits of barcoding as well.” Printronix suggests that planning for RFID success should involve a phased approach, starting by choosing technology- and solutions-based suppliers able to help with the migration process – and then still setting up a development environment for small-scale, controlled testing. “Start making smart labels as early as possible,” urges Kilb. Since labels carry the passwords, they are the logical starting point for a pilot programme. Make sure you get a smart label printer with the correct applications, such as converting standard UPC and Global Trade Item Number data from barcode print data, and allowing you to simultaneously print and encode them into the RFID tag.”