Able-Bodied

Want to know what RFID will really look like, but too afraid to ask? Get a sneak preview in Supply Chain Digest's highly accessible guide, “Anatomy of an RFID Pilot.” Right on the first page, we learn that it's not essential to be familiar with the dozens of RFID applications available. Only four truly relate to conventional supply chain management — compliance, distribution, closed-loop manufacturing systems, and cargo tracking/security. SCD then goes on to dissect the technology and its applications with admirable precision. The study identifies four primary phases of RFID pilot activity: application definition and business case development, technology immersion, product testing, and production pilot. Descriptions of each phase are followed by a list of key mistakes that companies are likely to make at each stage. These are more mundane than you'd expect — in the second phase, for instance, the most common problem, says SCD, is “simply spending too long ‘playing around’ with the technology and not expeditiously moving through it to more detailed product testing.” For more information, visit www.scdigest.com.