RFID solutions enable bulk, contactless tracking of inventory and assets, helping organisations improve stock accuracy, accelerate supply chain logistics and reduce manual labour.
Jeanne du Plessis, Solutions Manager at Osiris Technical Systems, points out that there is a growing demand for RFID across industries, as businesses increasingly recognise the business value. However, she cautions, there are also a number of common mistakes that people new to the technology make when implementing RFID projects.
RFID is more than readers and tags
"Every RFID deployment rests on three foundations: the RFID tags, the hardware – readers and antennas – and the software platform that transforms tag reads into meaningful business information," explains Du Plessis. “Making the right decisions for each of these areas is crucial: there is no universal RFID tag or reader that works best in every situation.”
She explains that the choice of tags and hardware depends on the items you want to track, your operational environment and the business processes you are trying to improve, and that seemingly minor technical decisions can have a significant impact.
“For example, there are two UHF RFID frequency bands used in South Africa. If tags are incompatible with the reader, the solution won’t function as intended.
“People are also often unaware that certain substances can interfere with RFID signals. Metal, and in some cases liquids, can create interference, necessitating changes to your tag choice or reader set-up.
“Another challenge is that of ‘stray reads’ – when the reader’s range enables it to accidentally read tags outside its chosen area of operation. In a retail setting, for example, you may wish to read tags in your stock room, but accidentally be reading tags that are on the shop floor,” she adds.
Because of this, Du Plessis says every deployment should begin with a proper site survey.
"Reader placement, antenna positioning, read zones and environmental conditions all influence performance. Small design decisions made during the planning and testing phase can dramatically improve read accuracy and reduce implementation challenges later."
RFID doesn’t create good processes – it enhances them
“Many customers want to install an RFID solution to help them improve and streamline their business, but they don’t seem to realise that – while the technology can automate and streamline your processes – it cannot create these processes. In other words, they need to have existing processes and systems that the technology can enhance,” she explains.
“Without having existing and reliable processes in place – even if those are paper based – whatever you automate with RFID will likely just create more problems, which will probably be more difficult to identify and fix. The issue is an assumption that RFID is essentially ‘plug and play.’ It is actually a technology that requires both careful planning and implementation if it is to succeed.
“The software foundation is critical, as it turns the raw RFID data into actionable information, and can connect the RFID solution to the company’s other key platforms, like point-of-sale, customer relationship management (CRM) and enterprise resource planning (ERP).”
Design for today’s problem and tomorrow’s opportunities
Nonetheless, the benefits of getting it right are enormous, according to Du Plessis, who indicates that a properly implemented RFID solution, aligned with the correct software foundation, can perform in minutes what would take days of manual human effort – and with far fewer errors.
“My advice to anyone wanting to implement RFID is to clearly understand what the problem is that you want to solve with such an implementation. Once you know what you want to achieve, begin with the biggest pain point, but design the solution for expansion. RFID technology is a bit like Lego – you can add to it, enhance it and do more things with it, provided your foundation, notably the software it runs on, is solid.”
For example, a healthcare organisation may initially deploy RFID to track high-value medical equipment, but later extend the same platform to monitor beds, wheelchairs, consumables and other mobile assets. A retailer might begin with stock counting before expanding into automated receiving, loss prevention and omnichannel fulfilment.
“Because you are giving an identity to a physical object via an RFID tag, you can ultimately build intelligence around this to help you understand your assets, inventory, processes or customers more deeply,” she adds.
Experience matters
She suggests that RFID is an incredibly helpful technology, but it requires deliberate design and implementation, and it is imperative for organisations to understand its limitations.
"Successful RFID projects require more than selecting the right hardware. They require expertise in tag selection, reader configuration, software integration, business process design and implementation. For example, the issue of stray reads can be addressed through antenna placement, reader configuration or software filtering, rather than simple hardware changes.
“Bearing in mind the challenges already outlined, I feel it is crucial that any business seeking to implement RFID partners with an entity that understands what is required from end to end. An experienced implementation partner will not only help you understand the limitations of the technology, and where things can easily go wrong, but also help you to set up a platform for improved operational visibility, decision-making and future growth,” concludes Du Plessis.
Share
