RFID Solutions - An introduction to RFID

Overview of TrailerTrailers RFID solutions

RFID benefits are numerous and have been well proven over and over again, although implementing a RDID system is by no means a guarantee of generating savings for your company.

RFID asset management is now a mature technology and has been adopted and indeed mandated as compulsory requirement for organisations such as the US Department of Defence,(DOD) and Wal-Mart, 2 of the worlds largest logistics operators.

There has never been a better time to implement a RFID solution, this is due to better RFID technology, lower RFID tag costs and mature and stable software solutions. TrailerTrailers will guide your through the RFID minefield and work with you to deliver exceptional solutions that deliver real business benefit, The advantage of a TrailerTrailers solution is that you can seamlessly add additional components to manage all aspects of your business at a later stage because the TrailerTrailers platform is designed to be “future proof”.

TrailerTrailers stategy is not to be tied to any supplier for RFID tags or RFID technology, after we gain a good understanding of your requirements we use our experience and expertise to implement the technology that is best suited for you’re company or organisation.

Its therefore probably no surprise that many of the world’s major retailers have adopted RFID tagging for pallets, cases and cargo to monitor asset flow in their distribution networks, retail centres or supply chains.

It is estimated that RFID activity has impacted on around 250,000 manufacturers, suppliers and distributors globally, RFID will is now becoming a must have for organisations wishing to increase efficiency and profits, these benefits are mainly realised in the following areas;

• Improvement in supply chain efficiency
• Providing visibility for goods in storage and transit.
• Accurate reporting which leads to reduced stock outages and reduced inventory levels
• Reducing time to invoice for deliveries and improved cash flow
• Implementing “Just in time” delivery systems
• Reduced inventory loss
• Reduced supply chain shrinkage
• Automated proof of delivery
• Reduced labour costs
• Reduced spoilage
• Integration with ERP and backend systems

RFID is a technology that has a huge potential impact on business processes and systems, it is often considered as a logical development from the barcode as a tool for gaining increased productivity through automation. When used in conjunction with complementary technologies such as TrailerTrailers’ GPS, GPRS and 802.11* solutions the potential uses and power for additional automation and financial savings icreases still further. TrailerTrailers will help you decide if RFID is a technology you should be implementing.

RFID costs

RFID tags and equipment have progressively fallen in price as production volumes steadily increase and advances in technology lead to lower production costs. Today RFID tags have become financially viable for many more companies and applications than were previously possible.

Historically a large proportion of costs for any RFID system have been those used associated with implementation and consultancy, these costs have fallen due improvements in RFID middleware have simplified integrations.

Emerging RFID standards are also helping companies realise gains as interoperability with different tags and readers increases economies of scale for manufacturers, costs have fallen to levels where you should now be considering RFID as an integral part of your long term strategy for your logistics and supply chain processes. Even if you have looked at RFID in the last few years things have changed significantly for you to justify calling TrailerTrailers to revisit the feasability of introducing RFID into your organisation.

RFID features

Advances in RFID technology now makes RFID a suitable technology for many more industry sectors.

Some of the most significant changes to RFID technology are seen in the following areas;

• Semi-active or semi-passive tags
• Larger RFID tag memory
• Longer read-write ranges
• Improved read reliability
• Extended range of materials that RFID tags can be applied to.
• Extended battery life

An example of RFID innovation are the introduction of RFID tags which have several kilobytes of memory which can even be partitioned and password protected so that different locations or asset handlers can access to their own private piece of asset information. This can be used to ship data such as parts lists, maintenance history, size and weight, location history and special handling requirements with each individual asset.

The trend of moving to higher frequencies such as the use of 915 MHz tags is increasing read/write ranges and speeds. Ranges of well over 100m or 300ft can often be achieved with a 915MHz tags.

RFID - a proven technology

After many years of development and thousands of successful RFID implementations, RFID has finally convinced the sceptics that it can provide real financial benefit to many companies. TrailerTrailers see RFID as a core technology that is a vital to Trailer Trailers’ vision for a totally integrated supply chain. By integrating RFID with TrailerTrailers extensive range of trailer, fleet, personal and other asset management products the dream of complete, real time, supply chain visibility is here.

RFID risks

The decision to implement RFID in your organisation is no guarantee that you will make operational savings. Detailed business analysis and complete management “buy-in” are vital in making your RFID investment pay real dividends. TrailerTrailers will work with you to determine if RFID is an appropriate choice for your business, we help you to make a detailed analysis of your organisation, if the analysis verifies RFID will provide real benefits and cost savings we will design a solution and produce an implementation plan to see your investment work.

Importantly if RFID is not yet suitable for your organisation we will suggest that an alternative and perhaps more cost effective process is implemented.

For further information download a brochure and technical specifications or contact a TrialerTrailer tracking consultant today.

  Download brochures and specifications

  See "Where on earth" we track

  Contact a TrailerTrailers consultant

  Become a reseller or partner