RFID: Retail Applications For Right Now

Tags and readers are creeping into stores and back offices in likely, and not-so-likely, places.

Inventory management, merchandise authentication, logistics system visibility, and loss prevention are just a few of the challenges that RFID (radio frequency identification) technology is helping retailers tackle. But don't be mistaken; an RFID tag is not a better bar code.

The cost of infrastructure required for widespread RFID tagging is still prohibitive enough to keep the technology from becoming bar code-like in ubiquity. But for now, RFID reader and consumables manufacturers are saying that's quite all right. Ronny Haraldsvik is VP of marketing and industry relations for Alien Technology. He cautions that while the more automated structure allowed by RFID technology can have a dramatic impact on some business processes, it's not a proposition that should be taken lightly. "RFID is not bar code-simple, so don't be simplistic about it," he says. "It's a different technology with different attributes, and approaching it as though you'll be able to swap out bar code processes with RFID is a mistake." That said, Haraldsvik is quick to point out that using RFID tags and readers for inventory management decreased human intervention by a factor of 10 for one of Alien's retail customers. He says many more retailers are in the late stages of inventory management pilots.