Current questions about RFID
Some time ago I had a conversation with one business publication on the subject of radio frequency identification or RFID technologies. All my text in the article did not get, but now I decided to share excerpts.
I have long been engaged in systems of this type, but the development of this market is extremely slow. Almost nothing has changed in 5 years of my experience in this industry ...
1) Is there any market interest in RFID technology? Where, in what industries, above all, is it in demand today?
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Yes, there is undoubted interest. Basically, the interest is shown by companies that are engaged in logistics, retail, warehouse accounting; to a lesser extent - in the field of security, medicine. You need to clearly and clearly understand: RFID is technology. It addresses the issue of asset transparency in business processes. Any company that actively uses assets in its business processes that need to be monitored and controlled, where these business processes are key and prioritized, regularly reviews its attitude to RFID solutions. The main reason for this is the increasingly cheaper and increasingly accessible technology.
2) Using a barcode is cheaper than RFID - this, as I understand it, is the main reason why barcodes are used today. Will the situation change soon?
Here the cost of the solution plays a big role. The cost of the barcode is minimal - just accept the coding system, connect the printer, the label applicator - that's all. These components are standard and common, the time for implementation is minimal. With RFID, not everything is so simple - a tag consists of an antenna, a chip (an integrated circuit, where the logic and memory of the tag are embedded) and a base. The production of these components is divided - the chips are made by companies such as NXP, Alien; labels are made by companies such as UPM, Hitachi, IBM - they buy chips and integrate with the remaining components. This is clearly more expensive than typing a barcode. And the RFID readers themselves are much more expensive than barcode readers. However, if you purchase RFID tags in large volumes, in millions of units, the price will already be close to the barcode.
Do not forget that the RFID tag is an intelligent device that can provide a certain logic of business process behavior. Much more costly, and more important is the reengineering of business processes, which is mandatory in the implementation of technology. Technology for the sake of technology - no one’s waste of time and money. The main purpose of any RFID system is to achieve transparency of business processes and automation of process behavior by responding to the appearance of an RFID object in a particular area of ​​the business process. The main problem faced by those interested in the implementation of RFID is the fact that you need to really “change your mind” about the business process, get the most out of the benefits and benefits of technology - this is time and money, many are not ready for this.
More information about the comparison of technologies is given in Table 1:
Table 1. Comparison of the characteristics of RFID tags and barcode. According to Sandila Lahiri.
3) Is it possible today to replace bar codes with RFID in warehouse accounting, logistics, etc.? Not just a substitute - but with a profit for the business? And approximately, how long will it take for a return on investment?
Yes, it is very possible, there are a number of companies in Russia that have successfully mastered the introduction of so-called smart labels. The smart label is, in fact, an RFID tag on the outside of which has a bar code duplicating the information contained in the tag. This is a very good solution if the company plans to switch from a bar-coding system to an RFID system - a smooth, gradual and painless transition from one technology to another is achieved.
As for the return on investment, ROI, all cases are individual. It all depends on the industry of the technology, the scope of the project, the clarity and clarity of the client’s understanding of the quantity and quality of changes in business processes in the company.
On average, we can talk about the terms of 9 months or more. The "maturity" of the system comes, on average, by 2-3 years of operation - that's when the client can really feel all the benefits and advantages of the technology.
4) What are the main (besides the high cost of the tags themselves) the reasons for the lack of large-scale implementation of RFID in trade, logistics and warehousing? Are these problems solved in the near future?
The main reasons for the lack of large-scale implementation of the technology are the following factors:
a. The lack of a well-established market for RFID solution providers.
Since the technology is quite new, large risks and high cost of solutions, today, allow us to talk about completed individual projects. From this it follows that this market has not yet matured, it has not yet been formed.
b. Lack of ready-made solutions and successful cases
The reasons here are exactly the same. In the west there are a large number of successful implementations, but not in Russia. No one likes to risk.
c. Lack of experienced and qualified specialists
This is a natural reason, due to the lack of demand for technology, there are very few specialists in this field - both technical and project managers. Finding a good physics engineer who has experience with specific software for this area is a very difficult task. It is desirable that he was not alone. There are very few training programs in our country on this topic - rather, these are isolated events organized by vendors; they test the ground for market maturity and demand.
In the near future the situation will not change much, I believe that the market will become more or less stable and developed in the next five years. Over time, the implementation will still appear, it will be possible, to some extent, to offer basic solutions for various areas - it is just a matter of time, courage and determination of domestic companies - both customers and performers.
I have long been engaged in systems of this type, but the development of this market is extremely slow. Almost nothing has changed in 5 years of my experience in this industry ...
1) Is there any market interest in RFID technology? Where, in what industries, above all, is it in demand today?
')
Yes, there is undoubted interest. Basically, the interest is shown by companies that are engaged in logistics, retail, warehouse accounting; to a lesser extent - in the field of security, medicine. You need to clearly and clearly understand: RFID is technology. It addresses the issue of asset transparency in business processes. Any company that actively uses assets in its business processes that need to be monitored and controlled, where these business processes are key and prioritized, regularly reviews its attitude to RFID solutions. The main reason for this is the increasingly cheaper and increasingly accessible technology.
2) Using a barcode is cheaper than RFID - this, as I understand it, is the main reason why barcodes are used today. Will the situation change soon?
Here the cost of the solution plays a big role. The cost of the barcode is minimal - just accept the coding system, connect the printer, the label applicator - that's all. These components are standard and common, the time for implementation is minimal. With RFID, not everything is so simple - a tag consists of an antenna, a chip (an integrated circuit, where the logic and memory of the tag are embedded) and a base. The production of these components is divided - the chips are made by companies such as NXP, Alien; labels are made by companies such as UPM, Hitachi, IBM - they buy chips and integrate with the remaining components. This is clearly more expensive than typing a barcode. And the RFID readers themselves are much more expensive than barcode readers. However, if you purchase RFID tags in large volumes, in millions of units, the price will already be close to the barcode.
Do not forget that the RFID tag is an intelligent device that can provide a certain logic of business process behavior. Much more costly, and more important is the reengineering of business processes, which is mandatory in the implementation of technology. Technology for the sake of technology - no one’s waste of time and money. The main purpose of any RFID system is to achieve transparency of business processes and automation of process behavior by responding to the appearance of an RFID object in a particular area of ​​the business process. The main problem faced by those interested in the implementation of RFID is the fact that you need to really “change your mind” about the business process, get the most out of the benefits and benefits of technology - this is time and money, many are not ready for this.
More information about the comparison of technologies is given in Table 1:
Table 1. Comparison of the characteristics of RFID tags and barcode. According to Sandila Lahiri.
3) Is it possible today to replace bar codes with RFID in warehouse accounting, logistics, etc.? Not just a substitute - but with a profit for the business? And approximately, how long will it take for a return on investment?
Yes, it is very possible, there are a number of companies in Russia that have successfully mastered the introduction of so-called smart labels. The smart label is, in fact, an RFID tag on the outside of which has a bar code duplicating the information contained in the tag. This is a very good solution if the company plans to switch from a bar-coding system to an RFID system - a smooth, gradual and painless transition from one technology to another is achieved.
As for the return on investment, ROI, all cases are individual. It all depends on the industry of the technology, the scope of the project, the clarity and clarity of the client’s understanding of the quantity and quality of changes in business processes in the company.
On average, we can talk about the terms of 9 months or more. The "maturity" of the system comes, on average, by 2-3 years of operation - that's when the client can really feel all the benefits and advantages of the technology.
4) What are the main (besides the high cost of the tags themselves) the reasons for the lack of large-scale implementation of RFID in trade, logistics and warehousing? Are these problems solved in the near future?
The main reasons for the lack of large-scale implementation of the technology are the following factors:
a. The lack of a well-established market for RFID solution providers.
Since the technology is quite new, large risks and high cost of solutions, today, allow us to talk about completed individual projects. From this it follows that this market has not yet matured, it has not yet been formed.
b. Lack of ready-made solutions and successful cases
The reasons here are exactly the same. In the west there are a large number of successful implementations, but not in Russia. No one likes to risk.
c. Lack of experienced and qualified specialists
This is a natural reason, due to the lack of demand for technology, there are very few specialists in this field - both technical and project managers. Finding a good physics engineer who has experience with specific software for this area is a very difficult task. It is desirable that he was not alone. There are very few training programs in our country on this topic - rather, these are isolated events organized by vendors; they test the ground for market maturity and demand.
In the near future the situation will not change much, I believe that the market will become more or less stable and developed in the next five years. Over time, the implementation will still appear, it will be possible, to some extent, to offer basic solutions for various areas - it is just a matter of time, courage and determination of domestic companies - both customers and performers.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/149374/
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