What is the Right RFID for Your Process

摘要

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) has several applications in both military and civilian organizations. Numerous configurations are possible, and multiple new applications are envisioned in the near future. Currently, RFID technology is evolving at a very fast pace, leaving room for speculation regarding the benefits that RFID investments may or may not provide. Meanwhile, managers continue to struggle with the decision to adopt this technology, trying to select the configuration that is most appropriate for their operational needs and that enhances their organization's operational performance. In planning for the introduction of RFID, a manager must deal with four major technology management issues: selection, justification, implementation and coordination. In this paper, we primarily deal with the first two issues in technology management -- selection and justification -- that are critical for managers to understand when contemplating an investment in RFID technology. To better understand the RFID configurations that have been used in practice in a wide range of situations, we discuss and analyze several current applications of RFID technology. Most of these applications have been studied using primary sources of information such as personal interviews with buyers and suppliers of RFID systems. In these case studies, we focus on the operational needs satisfied by RFID technology and on the benefits realized in terms of four major process capabilities of an operation: quality, speed, flexibility, and cost. Finally, we build on the analysis of RFID applications and propose conceptual frameworks that managers can use to select the right configuration for their RFID systems.