RFID/Wireless: Race to Utopia

It’s no secret that mobile and wireless devices are handling more and more data and communications for businesses across all sectors. 

Within the supply chain, everything from smart phones, to voice-enabled devices, to RFID is changing the way logistics and transportation operations are being managed.

Over the next few pages we’ll look at how far RFID and wireless communications have come in the supply chain, where these technologies currently stand as logistics enablers, and then examine what barriers to adoption still remain. We’ll also attempt to show shippers just how close we are to achieving real-time supply chain management and logistics visibility— and just how far we need to go to realize that utopian vision.

RFID: Spending to increase dramatically

Radio-frequency identification (RFID) stands as one of the original technologies designed around supply chain processes. Rewind back about eight years, says Simon Ellis, practice director for supply chain strategies at IDC Manufacturing Insights, and RFID was one of the most hyped technologies in logistics and supply chain management.