More IT companies adopting RFID
Lured by greater familiarity and affordability, more companies are using the technology for asset tracking, identification and supply chain issues
Allison Manning -- Logistics Management, 8/12/2008
More information technology companies are jumping on the RFID bandwagon, lured by a greater familiarity and affordability, according to a survey by the Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA).
Of the 155 companies that responded, 46% said their customers have implemented one or more radio frequency identification (RFID) solutions, either as pilot projects or production deployments. Only 34% claimed to have done so in 2007, 30 % in 2006 and 26 % in 2005, the first year they conducted the survey.
Steven Ostrowski, director of corporate communications at CompTIA, said as with any new technology, the longer RFID is around, the more familiar and comfortable companies are with using it.
“Things stabilized with some of the standards that have been put in place,” Ostrowski said. “The products mix and match better than they had a few years ago.”
One respondent to the survey said “lots of people like the idea [of RFID], but few know what to do with it.”
Most customers are using RFID for asset tracking (32%). Other uses include personal identification (28%), supply chain (25%), retail marketing (15%) and closed-loop manufacturing (9%). Respondents were not asked to quantify how many projects they are using RFID for, just whether or not they were using it.
A respondent said they have been using RFID for a military contractor who was purchasing preprinted labels. The Department of Defense mandates use of RFID in their labels.
Customers are seeing a return on their investment as well, Ostrowski said, providing “real logistics benefits, such as keeping track of stock and improving the process of getting products to the market.
“As the cost diminishes, the use will increase,” another respondent wrote. “There are many applications that are waiting for a more cost effective way of solving problems.”
CompTIA, which has about 20,000 members worldwide, offers a vendor-neutral certification in RFID foundation-level skills, such as installation processes and ongoing management and maintenance. Since it began in March 2006, about a thousand people have achieved the certification, called CompTIA RFID+, Ostrowski said.
Allison Manning is Associate Editor for Modern Materials Handling, LM’s sister publication
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