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While RFID may not have had the magic wand effect as predicted in its earlier hype years, it does deliver value when the appropriate platforms, applications and metrics are devised.
RFID tags on sushi conveyor belts in Japanese restaurants. RFID tags on kids as part of anti-kidnapping surveillance measures in the Philippines. RFID tags on Alzheimer patients in US hospitals. And even RFID tags on cows in rural India.
The rapid growth of RFID worldwide has assumed proportions of not just industrial interest but also human and even animal interest. RFID has been successfully introduced into vertical industries such as automobile manufacturing, consumer goods supply chains, medicine and health services, pharmaceuticals and transportation.
Much of the RFID push is coming not just from industry players but governments also, especially in Asia, with officials apparently looking to make their region, nation or city an “RFID cluster”, via a combination of tax breaks and other incentives to encourage companies to open offices and factories.
Moves on the supplier front include NCR integrating its TransitionWorks platform for RFID and mobility solutions with the E-Business suite from Oracle. The solution lets TransitionWorks users now have the integrated capability of filling Oracle EBusiness Suite applications with RFID data captured from domains like the warehouse floor.
“EPC tags are recognized as ‘license plates’ on pallets and as they move to staging, the information is automatically passed to the E-Business Suite in real time,” according to Terry Massey, Director of Marketing for NCR.
Taking flight
Aircraft manufacturer Airbus has signed a multimillion dollar contract with IBM and OATSystems for the provision of an RFID system aimed at streamlining supply chain and manufacturing operations. The multi-year deal is reportedly the biggest deployment of RFID technology ever attempted by a manufacturing company.
Companies that provide parts and supplies for Airbus planes will attach RFID chips to the components. When these chips are within range of an RFID reader, they will broadcast identification data.
By posting RFID readers at various points in the supply chain, Airbus and its suppliers will be able to track the location of millions of airplane parts, allowing more efficient inventory control. “It lets you collect information without manual intervention,” says Carlo Nizam, head of Airbus’s RFID program.
At a time when US carriers like Southwest Airlines are under fire for neglecting aircraft maintenance, an RFID system could simplify upkeep. Tags attached to vital air frame, engine, or electronics components would make it easy to identify parts that are due for overhaul or replacement. Keeping track of parts is a massive challenge for Airbus, a consortium of European aerospace companies that makes its airplanes in 16 factories in four countries.
Until now, Airbus has applied RFID systems on a limited basis, in specific parts of its manufacturing process. The deal with IBM and OATSystems will result in a companywide network that will use RFID technology to track components throughout the lifecycle of an aircraft.
“This is going to save them hundreds of millions of dollars,” according to Paul Cataldo, OATSystems’ Vice President of Marketing. “They’re going from a manual supply chain to a digitally managed supply chain.”
Activities in Asia
RFID in the AFF sector (animals, food and farming) could become the largest RFID market in countries like Asia, since it covers everything from livestock disease control and merchandising prepared food.
Challenges arise in aligning electronic product codes (EPC) with universal product code (UPC) specifications in parts of Asia. The market could reach US$9.4 billion in size by 2017, according to a new IDTechEx report. Examples include error prevention in logistics of pistachio nuts in California, ostrich farming in South Africa, tagging of ham in retailers in Spain, and the tracing of food items in China.
China is very keen to grow an indigenous RFID industry, something already well progressed by orders placed by the Chinese government exclusively to Chinese suppliers. Thanks to the US$6 billion National Identification card scheme peaking in deliveries in 2007, China is now the world’s largest market for RFID by value. The forthcoming 2008 Olympics in Beijing has also given a major boost to the RFID industry in China.
Over in Taiwan, the government has announced that it is devoted to carrying out various research and development initiatives in RFID technology. The government will allocate at least NT$3.6 billion (US$118 million) within the next three years, with the goal of completing the construction of Taiwan’s RFID industrial value chain in 2009. And in October 2007, the first Taiwan International RFID Applications Show took place.
Singapore recently launched the National RFID Innovation Platform as a step towards positioning the country as an early adopter of RFID technologies. The platform encourages organisations in both the public and private sectors to conceptualise and pilot process innovation projects leading to greater cost efficiency, higher productivity and better service standards.
A sum of S$4.5 million (US$3.33 million) has been set aside over four years as part of this platform to co-fund 30 RFID pilot projects. Administration will be through the National RFID Centre (NRC). The platform is expected to expand the RFID industry by growing existing and new home-grown RFID companies, as well as attracting MNCs to be based in Singapore.
Said Boon Swan Foo, Chairman of Steering Committee of NRC and Executive Chairman of Exploit Technologies, “In recent years, RFID technology has taken on diverse applications in the retail, logistics, manufacturing and other sectors globally. In Singapore, we see a spectrum of RFID developments such as in hospitality and healthcare. For example, Tan Tock Seng Hospital has started tagging and tracking of patients for efficient bed management.
“It is crucial that we keep the pace running. The RFID Innovation Platform will spur organisations, ranging from the aviation and aerospace industry to the police force and military with highly promising RFID application areas and innovative uses.”
