Radio Frequency Identification is considered to be a type of wireless technology or communication that uses electromagnetic coupling in the RF region of the electromagnetic spectrum (Rajaraman, 2017). This technology can be utilized for identifying objects, animals or even persons.
This report discusses about the working mechanism of the technology along with the business and technical issues that are solved by it. It also describes the limitations of the technology. This report gives an overview of Wal-Mart’s implementation of RFID technology. It also assesses the prospects for RFID success in the marketplace.
The main components of RFID technology are the RFID tag and the reader. RFID tags are considered to be intelligent labels or barcodes that can be used for tracking products and objects (Hutter & Schmidt, 2013). The RFID tags consist of a receiver as well as a transmitter. An RFID tag has two parts: an antenna for receiving and transmitting signals and a microchip for storing and processing information. The information that is stored in the tags is mainly the unique identification number of the objects.
The RFID reader or interrogator is considered to be a radio transmitter-receiver that reads the encoded information by emitting a signal to the RFID tag by using an antenna. The RFID tag gives response by providing the information that is stored in its memory. The reader then transmits the read result to the RFID program.
There are two main types of RFID tags such as passive and active tags. Passive RFID tags utilize the radio energy of the reader for relaying the stored information to the reader or interrogator (EPC-RFID, 2018). These tags are dependent on the reader for power as they do not have internal power sources. Passive tags are the cheapest and smallest tags that are available in the market. It has a small reading range and unlimited lifespan. Semi-passive tags use their internal source of power for powering the microchips but they do not require antenna for power collection. Semi-passive tags have a greater reading range as compared to passive tags. Active tags, on the other hand, have an internal source of power. They utilize the power for powering microchips and generating signals on the antenna. Active tags have a greater reading range and a limited lifespan.
RFID technology has been able to solve various business as well as technical problems. The main application of RFID technology is the management of inventory. It has solved the issue that retail stores used to face while keeping track of the products and items. RFID tags have helped in the effective management of inventory by accurately tracking products from remote locations (Fan et al., 2014). The process of payments in the toll stations has also been enhanced by installing RFID tags in the vehicles and automating the system of payments (Kalantri et al., 2014). RFID tags have also solved the issue of animal tracking. It has helped in the effective monitoring of animal movements, food habits and health.
RFID tags have been able to automate and simplify the process of objects and assets tracking. Missing items can be located by using RFID technology. Businesses have been able to decrease their inventory costs and enhance the sales level by implementing RFID technology (Shin & Eksioglu, 2014). Implementation of RFID technology reduces the effort given by the employees and helps in improving their productivity (Ustundag, 2014). Organizational efficiency has been improved by using RFID technology.
|
BARCODE |
RFID |
|
The data set present in barcodes can be scanned and converted to numeric codes. Barcode makes use of line of sight. |
Radio waves are used by RFID tags for tracking of assets and products. |
|
Barcodes are less secured as it can be replicated and it does not work properly after getting damaged. |
It is more secure due to its complex design and high reliability. |
|
Human intervention is needed, and there are possibilities of human errors. |
Human intervention is not required, and there is high accuracy. It can automatically track objects. |
|
The barcodes can be scanned by using a scanner and at a close distance. |
It has a greater reading range. |
|
It cannot be programmed and updated. |
It can be programmed and updated. |
Table 1: Comparison of RFID and Barcode
(Source: Lotlikar et al., 2013, p. 821)
The high price of the RFID tags is the biggest limitation of this technology. It has a high cost as compared to barcodes. RFID reader faces difficulty when the tags are present in metal as well as liquid products because these surfaces reflect radio waves that make the RFID tags unreadable. More number of tags can lead to tag collision as the RFID reader is unable to distinguish between the various signals reflected by the different tags. The collision of the RFID readers can also take place that leads to signal interference. There is lack of the RFID standards that can lead to several problems in the future.
RFID technology stores information about the objects in a centralised database that can be hacked. This can lead to privacy issues (Xingmei, Jing & He, 2013). Unauthorized data modification can take place along with virus and side channel attacks. The tags can also get damaged by static discharge, water and magnetic surges. RFID technology has a complex design that causes a barrier in understanding the working mechanism of the technology along with its installation process. A proper understanding of this technology is required for implementing it in an organization. There are several drawbacks as discussed above that can be eliminated by research as well as development.
Walmart has enhanced its supply chain operations by implementing RFID technology and replacing the use of barcodes. Walmart had first implemented this technology in the year 2003. RFID was preferred over barcode due to several advantages such as security, durability, read and write capability, remote detection and powerful sensor. Walmart had deployed the RFID tags at the case as well as pallet level. It enabled the suppliers to get access to the point of sales. Initially, Walmart had made seventy teams for installing RFID scanners. RFID technology was implemented by Walmart for enhancing its supply chain transparency, minimizing inventory and labour cost (Shin & Eksioglu, 2015). There was a drastic reduction in the stock-out situations of Walmart after implementing RFID tags.
The merchandise thefts had decreased along with a reduction in the labour requirements. Walmart had deployed RFID technology for tracking the pattern of consumption, enhancing JIT inventory and increasing the total savings of the company. Walmart uses RFID readers at receiving docks. After the goods have been shipped to the retail stores, the RFID tags help in automating the process of recording the information of the products at the arrival. The tags are read at the sales floor followed by the final reading that takes place at the store shelves. Software helps in monitoring the products that are sold to the consumers and the goods that are present at the shelves. RFID technology has helped Walmart to grow big by replacing the traditional inventory system with the advanced system of information management.
Almost every sector is implementing RFID technology for enhancing its operational efficiency. Libraries can effectively track the books by using RFID tags (SINGH & Mahajan, 2017). Airline sector also use RFID tags for handling customer luggage. Supply chain management makes the most use of RFID technology (Pero & Rossi, 2014). Use of RFID in some of the sectors is discussed below.
RFID technology plays a significant role in the retail industry. Retailers can attach RFID tags to the goods and items for accurately keeping track of the stocks (Vlachos, 2014). RFID technology enhances the security of the store by preventing any kinds of thefts. Retail stores can improve their sales by effectively carrying out consumer research and tracking inventory.
Medical industry utilizes the features of RFID technology for enhancing its visibility and keeping track of its assets and drugs (Manzoor, 2016). RFID enables the hospitals to store patient information and preferences, and customize the setting of the hospital rooms for improving the experience of the patients.
RFID technology helps the financial institutions and banks to efficiently check the inventory and track their IT equipment such as servers by saving labour time (Hossain & Quaddus, 2015). Customer service of the banks has improved by implementing RFID as this technology is able to give an insight into the customer choices for customizing the services.
Conclusion
The above discussion shows that implementation of RFID technology in several industries helps to enhance the organizational efficiency as well as the security standards. This report compared barcode with RFID technology and showed the advantages of RFID over barcodes. It showed how RFID technology had benefitted Walmart. This report has also explained that RFID technology has certain limitations such as tag collision and high cost. It also showed the various problems that can be solved by using RFID technology.
EPC-RFID. (2018). What is RFID? – EPC-RFID. Retrieved 3 January 2018, from https://www.epc-rfid.info/rfid
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Ustundag, A. (2014). The value of RFID. Springer.
Vlachos, I. P. (2014). A hierarchical model of the impact of RFID practices on retail supply chain performance. Expert Systems with Applications, 41(1), 5-15.
Xingmei, X., Jing, Z., & He, W. (2013, October). Research on the basic characteristics, the key technologies, the network architecture and security problems of the internet of things. In Computer Science and Network Technology (ICCSNT), 2013 3rd International Conference on (pp. 825-828). IEEE. (EPC-RFID, 2018)
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