As retailer smart cards demand for RFID rapidly increases, it’s gaining visibility in the marketplace: Target, Sam’s Club and many other retail giants are stipulating that manufacturers include RFID tags on their products, and manufacturers of all sizes are noticing.
As retailer demand for RFID rapidly increases, it's gaining visibility in the marketplace: Target, Sam's Club and many other retail giants are stipulating that manufacturers include RFID tags on their products, and manufacturers of all sizes are taking notice. The bar code is still in use at checkout, but RFID tags ride alongside or are combined with bar codes to deliver better inventory visibility and fewer stock-outs, as well as increased security and shrinkage reductions of up to 10%. For retailers, those are impressive gains…especially considering that all they need to do is make a small investment in RFID readers and put the squeeze on manufacturers.
But things have begun to change for manufacturers as well. Jorma Lalla, CEO of Salo, Finland-based RFID handset manufacturer Enjoyrfid ID, is finding that manufacturers are now beginning to employ RFID in their own processes to create internal efficiencies, notably with custom manufacturing. "One of the greatest gains with RFID in manufacturing comes with component tracking. Automated processes can apply an RFID tag to a component that informs a fixed RFID reader what combination of other components must be added to end up with a finished product. In this way, products can be custom-built with less error, and assembly can involve more automation, saving cost."contactless cards
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