How does RFID Create Value?

How do you want to impress your boss? Here’s a tip - do things faster, without error and be trustworthy. Who could argue with that, right? Well in a nutshell, that is exactly the value proposition of RFID.

• Visibility
• Efficiency
• Security

If you ask any COO what they would like to improve within their operations, the probability of one of these three answers being first off the tongue is through the roof. ODIN has real world experience in utilizing RFID to prove each of these benefits into our client’s business.

Visibility: Within the Department of Defense ODIN has innovated solutions around container tracking and, more to the point, inside the container tracking to move the DoD beyond in-transit visibility (ITV) toward total asset visibility (TAV).

Efficiency: At DePuy, a Johnson & Johnson company, we deployed a UHF kit tracking tunnel (ODIN EasyTunnel^TM) to move their consignment supply chain operations away from barcode scanning every item and improving from six to seventy-two and hour, for a 12x increase in efficiency!

Security: A major civilian agency of the U.S. government had concerns over the security of their IT Assets. These were concerns not only about the cost of the assets themselves, but the intrinsic cost of any sensitive data that resided on those assets. ODIN deployed an IT asset tracking solution that gives the agency the security of knowing where those assets are in their facilities and, importantly when and with whom those assets leave the building.

How do I get there?

That said, as the maturation of this technology continues the consumer is met with the confounding problem of deciding how they can make it work for them.

          “What are the benefits?”    “How do I use it?”    “How much will it cost?"

1. Target the Benefits
2. Evaluate the Use Cases
3. Assess the Costs

RFID deployments have created impressive productivity increases, faster billing cycles and higher accuracy for our clients. Realizing these benefits in your business starts with acceptance that this value is out there, and mapping those possibilities to your business. What benefits should you target? Where is your pain? Once you have drawn a bead on that, you can then determine your use case.

At ODIN, we have done over 250 RFID projects and with this experience we have wrapped solutions around typical use cases that you may find useful:

• Shipping / Receiving
• Kit Tracking (conveyor environs)
• Item Level Retail Tracking
• SMART Container^TM
• Jig Tracking
• Pipe Tracking
• Weapons Tracking
• IT Asset Tracking

Once you have your target benefits and your use case defined, it is time to recognize there is a reality of cost. Soft costs such as changes in workflow and employee routines will inevitably enter in, but it is the hard costs of the infrastructure that is most clearly definable. In order to assess these costs, they should be broken down into four general areas:

1. Design Cost
2. Infrastructure
3. ERP Integration
4. Tags

One all too common mistake is to “wing it” with an RFID implementation and try to work it with your existing IT or engineering crew. Investing in a thoughtful design with a firm that makes RFID their business is surely the wisest investment toward a successful RFID experience. A thoughtful design takes into account everything from the workflow changes to the physics of the environment. Having a blueprint for success is as essential in the building of an RFID network as it is in the building of your business LAN or your family’s home. Hiring someone that knows the ropes also protects you from the common mistake of mis-estimating the other costs such as infrastructure and integration. With our help, you can get an accurate gauge on the real costs.

Once you have targeted your benefits, evaluated your use case and assessed your costs, you have all that you need to make a sound business decision. If that decision is to proceed, you will also have a shepherd in your RFID consultant to get you to the Promised Land.

ODIN can help.