RFID: Info Is Power

Too many businesses I talk to see RFID as a 'have to' proposition. In other words, many businesses are just implementing the technology to comply with Wal-Mart and Sam's Club supplier mandates and fail to realize the productivity, efficiency, and cost saving benefits RFID can provide. RFID is an enabling technology that allows businesses to keep better track of their assets, and streamline supply chain management — whether it's the use of passive RFID tags to track files, pharmaceuticals, and clothing or the use of active RFID systems to track large assets, vehicles, and reusable containers. While it's important to comply, it's the business benefits of RFID technology that Integrated Solutions has focused on for the last five years.

For example, in the March 2008 feature story titled "Sharpen Supply Chain Visibility With RFID," we examined how HP Brazil was able to reduce printer supply chain inventory 17% by implementing an item-level RFID tracking system. Similarly, in the September 2007 feature story titled "Be Proactive With RFID," we detailed how third party logistics provider Megatrux expects to realize more than $100,000 in operational savings through use of the passive RFID system it implemented.

WEB ICONS PROVIDE MORE OF THE RFID INFORMATION YOU NEED
While the previous two articles provide good examples of the business benefits of RFID, they are isolated examples. Integrated Solutions realizes that a single article is rarely enough to give you all the information you need — particularly if you're in the midst of an ongoing RFID project. The good news is Integrated Solutions covers RFID success stories just like these in every issue, and we have amassed a vast repository of these articles on our Web site (ISMInfo.com). To make these articles more accessible to our readers, we've created the 'more info' icons that begin appearing in this issue.

   To read the complete  RFID article on HP Brazil referenced on this page, click here.

These icons are designed to guide you to additional, complementary editorial resources on RFID as well as the other technologies we cover including wireless, mobility, and ECM (enterprise content management). For example, perhaps you're reading an article that mentions item-level RFID tagging, and you want more information on this topic. On the side margin of the article will be a 'more info' icon (like the one presented on this page) that will alert you to another article on item-level tagging that can serve as an additional resource.
In addition to helping you locate articles on complementary topics more easily, Integrated Solutions is also taking steps to increase reader awareness of new and exclusive content available on our Web site. This material will be highlighted each month in the ISMinfo.com box that appears at the bottom of the contents page (see page 5 of the printed issue for this month's entry). This new and exclusive Web content can also serve as an additional resource to provide you with actionable information on RFID technologies. When used together, this information can provide you with the knowledge and power to do more than just comply with RFID-related mandates. It can orchestrate an RFID solution that actually produces measurable business benefits.