Manufacturers advised to go for RFID

The manufacturing industry has been advised not to wait for a mandate before researching how RFID technology can improve operations.

Rohit Nagarajan, Oracle`s Singapore-based business development manager for the Asia Pacific region has told manufacturers in Australia that with RFID it would be beneficial to stay ahead of the curve.

Ferret.com quotes Nagarajan as saying RFID can have a long lasting positive impact on a business, with the real time response enabled by RFID sensors already beginning to deliver a wide range of benefits to business.

The US Senate has recommended the use of RFID technology for the planned national animal identification programme for cattle, which is due for completion by 2009.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) initiated the programme when the first case of mad cow disease was reported in the state of Washington in 2003.

According to a Wisconsin AG Connection report, the Senate has recommended the USDA use the same RFID technology for tracking cattle as the Department of Energy is using for it salmon tracking project.

Wal-Mart says although it cannot guarantee that all of its shelves will be fully stocked at all times, stock shortages are about to become far less common now that it is using RFID technology for inventory tracking at more than 500 stores.

DC Velocity reports that Wal-Mart has seen a 16% reduction in out-of-stocks at stores that use RFID only 10 months after it began receiving RFID-tagged cases and pallets from its top 100 suppliers.

In a study released in October, Wal-Mart also noted that replenishment rates were three times higher at the RFID-equipped stores than at other stores.