Best Practices for RFID Adoption and Implementation

Toronto,&nbsp;Canada&nbsp;–&nbsp;GAO&nbsp;RFID&nbsp;Inc.’s&nbsp;(http://www.GAORFID.com)&nbsp;focus&nbsp;and&nbsp;expertise&nbsp;is&nbsp;based&nbsp;on&nbsp;successful&nbsp;customer&nbsp;deployments,&nbsp;empirical&nbsp;testing&nbsp;and&nbsp;innovative&nbsp;design.&nbsp;To&nbsp;this&nbsp;end&nbsp;we&nbsp;offer&nbsp;these&nbsp;10&nbsp;Best&nbsp;Practices&nbsp;for&nbsp;the&nbsp;adoption&nbsp;and&nbsp;implementation&nbsp;of&nbsp;your&nbsp;RFID&nbsp;initiative.<br />START&nbsp;NOW<br />An&nbsp;early&nbsp;start&nbsp;is&nbsp;necessary&nbsp;to&nbsp;research&nbsp;the&nbsp;technology,&nbsp;determine&nbsp;partners&nbsp;with&nbsp;whom&nbsp;to&nbsp;work,&nbsp;and&nbsp;address&nbsp;the&nbsp;process&nbsp;changes&nbsp;required&nbsp;within&nbsp;the&nbsp;company.<br />DO&nbsp;YOUR&nbsp;SUPPLIES&nbsp;HOMEWORK&nbsp;FIRST<br />There&nbsp;are&nbsp;a&nbsp;number&nbsp;of&nbsp;vendors&nbsp;all&nbsp;providing&nbsp;a&nbsp;variety&nbsp;of&nbsp;antenna/chip&nbsp;designs&nbsp;for&nbsp;end-users’&nbsp;consideration.&nbsp;The&nbsp;components&nbsp;of&nbsp;smart&nbsp;media&nbsp;including&nbsp;tags,&nbsp;label&nbsp;material&nbsp;backings,&nbsp;adhesives,&nbsp;etc.,&nbsp;need&nbsp;to&nbsp;come&nbsp;together&nbsp;precisely&nbsp;so&nbsp;that&nbsp;the&nbsp;finished&nbsp;product&nbsp;encodes&nbsp;properly,&nbsp;performs&nbsp;as&nbsp;needed&nbsp;on&nbsp;the&nbsp;products&nbsp;to&nbsp;which&nbsp;they&nbsp;are&nbsp;affixed,&nbsp;and&nbsp;provides&nbsp;the&nbsp;wear&nbsp;and&nbsp;tear&nbsp;required&nbsp;over&nbsp;its&nbsp;life&nbsp;cycle.&nbsp;Getting&nbsp;smart&nbsp;labels&nbsp;right&nbsp;could&nbsp;be&nbsp;the&nbsp;single-most&nbsp;important&nbsp;decision&nbsp;of&nbsp;your&nbsp;entire&nbsp;RFID&nbsp;implementation,&nbsp;because&nbsp;they&nbsp;carry&nbsp;electronic&nbsp;product&nbsp;code&nbsp;(EPC)&nbsp;data.&nbsp;If&nbsp;the&nbsp;smart&nbsp;labels&nbsp;do&nbsp;not&nbsp;work,&nbsp;all&nbsp;the&nbsp;rest&nbsp;of&nbsp;your&nbsp;RFID&nbsp;architecture&nbsp;will&nbsp;not&nbsp;make&nbsp;up&nbsp;for&nbsp;it.&nbsp;Work&nbsp;closely&nbsp;with&nbsp;a&nbsp;reputable&nbsp;RFID&nbsp;Media&nbsp;vendor.&nbsp;<br />COMPLETE&nbsp;DUE&nbsp;DILIGENCE&nbsp;WHEN&nbsp;RESEARCHING&nbsp;RFID&nbsp;OFFERINGS.<br />RFID&nbsp;implementations&nbsp;can&nbsp;require&nbsp;a&nbsp;variety&nbsp;of&nbsp;readers&nbsp;and/or&nbsp;tags&nbsp;based&nbsp;on&nbsp;what&nbsp;types&nbsp;of&nbsp;items&nbsp;are&nbsp;being&nbsp;read&nbsp;(wood,&nbsp;paper,&nbsp;metal,&nbsp;liquid),&nbsp;how&nbsp;far&nbsp;the&nbsp;readers&nbsp;need&nbsp;to&nbsp;be&nbsp;from&nbsp;the&nbsp;tags,&nbsp;and&nbsp;the&nbsp;speed&nbsp;at&nbsp;which&nbsp;items&nbsp;are&nbsp;moving&nbsp;past&nbsp;the&nbsp;readers.&nbsp;If&nbsp;your&nbsp;company&nbsp;plans&nbsp;to&nbsp;use&nbsp;its&nbsp;existing&nbsp;bar&nbsp;code&nbsp;label&nbsp;formats&nbsp;as&nbsp;the&nbsp;basis&nbsp;for&nbsp;compliance&nbsp;smart&nbsp;labels,&nbsp;their&nbsp;size&nbsp;and&nbsp;layout&nbsp;will&nbsp;set&nbsp;requirements&nbsp;for&nbsp;the&nbsp;size,&nbsp;thickness,&nbsp;and&nbsp;antenna&nbsp;design&nbsp;of&nbsp;the&nbsp;tag.&nbsp;Because&nbsp;of&nbsp;these&nbsp;interdependencies,&nbsp;all&nbsp;decisions&nbsp;on&nbsp;RFID&nbsp;components—readers,&nbsp;printers/encoders,&nbsp;supplies,&nbsp;and&nbsp;so&nbsp;on,&nbsp;should&nbsp;be&nbsp;synergistic.&nbsp;An&nbsp;RFID&nbsp;supplier&nbsp;can&nbsp;assist&nbsp;in&nbsp;determining&nbsp;the&nbsp;“Best&nbsp;Approach”&nbsp;in&nbsp;selecting&nbsp;the&nbsp;right&nbsp;tag&nbsp;for&nbsp;the&nbsp;application.&nbsp;A&nbsp;good&nbsp;place&nbsp;to&nbsp;start&nbsp;once&nbsp;the&nbsp;most&nbsp;appropriate&nbsp;product&nbsp;offerings&nbsp;have&nbsp;been&nbsp;identified&nbsp;is&nbsp;to&nbsp;have&nbsp;a&nbsp;variety&nbsp;of&nbsp;tags&nbsp;tested&nbsp;on&nbsp;your&nbsp;products&nbsp;by&nbsp;your&nbsp;RFID&nbsp;integrator.&nbsp;Once&nbsp;tags&nbsp;are&nbsp;selected,&nbsp;choose&nbsp;hardware&nbsp;that&nbsp;has&nbsp;a&nbsp;solid&nbsp;track&nbsp;record&nbsp;in&nbsp;supporting&nbsp;those&nbsp;tag&nbsp;types.<br />SELECTING&nbsp;THE&nbsp;RIGHT&nbsp;PARTNERS<br />Finding&nbsp;the&nbsp;best&nbsp;fit&nbsp;of&nbsp;partners&nbsp;to&nbsp;work&nbsp;with&nbsp;depends&nbsp;on&nbsp;a&nbsp;number&nbsp;of&nbsp;considerations,&nbsp;including&nbsp;level&nbsp;of&nbsp;expertise&nbsp;in&nbsp;your&nbsp;specific&nbsp;vertical,&nbsp;cost,&nbsp;availability&nbsp;of&nbsp;personnel,&nbsp;location&nbsp;and&nbsp;presentation&nbsp;of&nbsp;a&nbsp;solid&nbsp;deployment&nbsp;and&nbsp;implementation&nbsp;plan.&nbsp;Even&nbsp;the&nbsp;best&nbsp;tag&nbsp;and&nbsp;reader&nbsp;implementation&nbsp;can’t&nbsp;help&nbsp;a&nbsp;deployment&nbsp;that&nbsp;is&nbsp;not&nbsp;thought&nbsp;through&nbsp;to&nbsp;its&nbsp;end.&nbsp;The&nbsp;presented&nbsp;solution,&nbsp;even&nbsp;though&nbsp;it&nbsp;represents&nbsp;a&nbsp;new&nbsp;technology&nbsp;spin&nbsp;for&nbsp;your&nbsp;company,&nbsp;must&nbsp;be&nbsp;designed&nbsp;and&nbsp;implemented&nbsp;with&nbsp;the&nbsp;least&nbsp;interruption&nbsp;of&nbsp;day&nbsp;to&nbsp;day&nbsp;operations.<br />PILOT&nbsp;THE&nbsp;PROJECT<br />Starting&nbsp;small&nbsp;makes&nbsp;a&nbsp;project&nbsp;a&nbsp;lot&nbsp;less&nbsp;intimidating&nbsp;and&nbsp;reduces&nbsp;costs&nbsp;by&nbsp;saving&nbsp;on&nbsp;mistakes&nbsp;that&nbsp;could&nbsp;disrupt&nbsp;operations.&nbsp;A&nbsp;“pilot&nbsp;deployment”&nbsp;will&nbsp;quickly&nbsp;reveal&nbsp;overlooked&nbsp;or&nbsp;unforeseen&nbsp;hindrances.&nbsp;Pilots&nbsp;are&nbsp;designed&nbsp;to&nbsp;address&nbsp;obstacles&nbsp;and&nbsp;difficulties&nbsp;in&nbsp;getting&nbsp;good&nbsp;read&nbsp;rates,&nbsp;having&nbsp;to&nbsp;make&nbsp;big&nbsp;changes&nbsp;to&nbsp;your&nbsp;business,&nbsp;and&nbsp;spending&nbsp;a&nbsp;lot&nbsp;to&nbsp;put&nbsp;in&nbsp;a&nbsp;system.<br />TEST,&nbsp;TEST,&nbsp;TEST<br />Now&nbsp;that&nbsp;you&nbsp;have&nbsp;selected&nbsp;the&nbsp;best&nbsp;team,&nbsp;product&nbsp;offerings&nbsp;and&nbsp;solution&nbsp;software,&nbsp;you&nbsp;need&nbsp;to&nbsp;determine&nbsp;how&nbsp;to&nbsp;orient&nbsp;the&nbsp;tags&nbsp;on&nbsp;cases&nbsp;and&nbsp;pallets&nbsp;for&nbsp;reliable&nbsp;read&nbsp;rates,&nbsp;how&nbsp;to&nbsp;set&nbsp;up&nbsp;readers&nbsp;so&nbsp;they&nbsp;won’t&nbsp;interfere&nbsp;with&nbsp;each&nbsp;other&nbsp;and&nbsp;more.&nbsp;Because&nbsp;tags&nbsp;perform&nbsp;differently&nbsp;with&nbsp;different&nbsp;materials,&nbsp;at&nbsp;different&nbsp;locations,&nbsp;and&nbsp;at&nbsp;different&nbsp;channels&nbsp;within&nbsp;the&nbsp;frequency&nbsp;spectrum,&nbsp;it&nbsp;is&nbsp;important&nbsp;to&nbsp;complete&nbsp;thorough&nbsp;testing&nbsp;early&nbsp;in&nbsp;the&nbsp;process&nbsp;to&nbsp;avoid&nbsp;creating&nbsp;more&nbsp;issues&nbsp;as&nbsp;implementations&nbsp;scale&nbsp;up&nbsp;in&nbsp;volume.<br />PLAN&nbsp;RFID&nbsp;FROM&nbsp;THE&nbsp;GROUND&nbsp;UP&nbsp;(IF&nbsp;POSSIBLE)<br />If&nbsp;your&nbsp;company&nbsp;will&nbsp;be&nbsp;involved&nbsp;in&nbsp;new&nbsp;construction&nbsp;or&nbsp;remodeling,&nbsp;implementing&nbsp;new&nbsp;applications,&nbsp;or&nbsp;upgrading&nbsp;IT&nbsp;infrastructure,&nbsp;gaining&nbsp;experience&nbsp;with&nbsp;RFID&nbsp;and&nbsp;factoring&nbsp;it&nbsp;into&nbsp;your&nbsp;plans&nbsp;is&nbsp;a&nbsp;very&nbsp;good&nbsp;idea.<br />UTILIZE&nbsp;THE&nbsp;DATA<br />Once&nbsp;you&nbsp;start&nbsp;operations&nbsp;including&nbsp;your&nbsp;newly&nbsp;deployed&nbsp;RFID&nbsp;solution&nbsp;the&nbsp;focus&nbsp;is&nbsp;to&nbsp;translate&nbsp;the&nbsp;RFID&nbsp;data&nbsp;flow&nbsp;to&nbsp;upstream&nbsp;business&nbsp;applications.&nbsp;This&nbsp;is&nbsp;where&nbsp;you&nbsp;will&nbsp;gain&nbsp;insights&nbsp;from&nbsp;the&nbsp;data.<br />ROI<br />To&nbsp;leverage&nbsp;your&nbsp;RFID&nbsp;implementation,&nbsp;you&nbsp;can&nbsp;use&nbsp;shipment&nbsp;data&nbsp;collected&nbsp;via&nbsp;RFID&nbsp;to&nbsp;automatically&nbsp;create&nbsp;a&nbsp;bill&nbsp;of&nbsp;lading&nbsp;and&nbsp;advance&nbsp;ship&nbsp;notice&nbsp;for&nbsp;EDI&nbsp;transmission.<br />Another&nbsp;goal&nbsp;could&nbsp;be&nbsp;to&nbsp;push&nbsp;compliance&nbsp;labeling&nbsp;to&nbsp;worldwide&nbsp;suppliers.&nbsp;You&nbsp;could&nbsp;also&nbsp;use&nbsp;RFID&nbsp;information&nbsp;for&nbsp;its&nbsp;own&nbsp;planning&nbsp;and&nbsp;suppliers.<br />*&nbsp;to&nbsp;increase&nbsp;shop&nbsp;floor&nbsp;efficiencies<br />*&nbsp;to&nbsp;improve&nbsp;shipping&nbsp;and&nbsp;receiving<br />*&nbsp;to&nbsp;automate&nbsp;the&nbsp;warehouse<br />*&nbsp;to&nbsp;allow&nbsp;operations&nbsp;to&nbsp;gain&nbsp;real-time&nbsp;visibility&nbsp;into&nbsp;exception&nbsp;warnings<br />*&nbsp;to&nbsp;provide&nbsp;positive&nbsp;proof&nbsp;of&nbsp;deliveries<br />*&nbsp;to&nbsp;retain&nbsp;serialization&nbsp;of&nbsp;products&nbsp;for&nbsp;returns&nbsp;or&nbsp;trade&nbsp;promotions.<br />ROI&nbsp;and&nbsp;extending&nbsp;the&nbsp;technology&nbsp;internally&nbsp;in&nbsp;an&nbsp;organization&nbsp;requires&nbsp;business-process&nbsp;and&nbsp;software&nbsp;re-engineering.&nbsp;But&nbsp;the&nbsp;payback&nbsp;is&nbsp;clear.<br />PLAN&nbsp;FOR&nbsp;CHANGE<br />Today,&nbsp;increasing&nbsp;numbers&nbsp;of&nbsp;companies&nbsp;plan&nbsp;to&nbsp;use&nbsp;RFID&nbsp;technology&nbsp;for&nbsp;compliance&nbsp;initiatives&nbsp;and&nbsp;for&nbsp;closed-loop&nbsp;inventory,&nbsp;asset&nbsp;or&nbsp;WIP&nbsp;applications&nbsp;to&nbsp;improve&nbsp;internal&nbsp;business&nbsp;processes.&nbsp;Initiatives&nbsp;like&nbsp;RFID&nbsp;asset&nbsp;and&nbsp;inventory&nbsp;tracking,&nbsp;work&nbsp;in&nbsp;process&nbsp;control,&nbsp;access&nbsp;control,&nbsp;patient&nbsp;and&nbsp;patron&nbsp;monitoring&nbsp;are&nbsp;already&nbsp;underway&nbsp;at&nbsp;many&nbsp;companies.<br />Academic&nbsp;institutions&nbsp;across&nbsp;the&nbsp;country&nbsp;are&nbsp;setting&nbsp;up&nbsp;RFID&nbsp;labs&nbsp;and&nbsp;expanding&nbsp;research&nbsp;projects,&nbsp;and&nbsp;more&nbsp;vendors&nbsp;are&nbsp;entering&nbsp;the&nbsp;market,&nbsp;increasing&nbsp;the&nbsp;number&nbsp;and&nbsp;kinds&nbsp;of&nbsp;products&nbsp;and&nbsp;software&nbsp;available.&nbsp;Global&nbsp;standards&nbsp;are&nbsp;being&nbsp;settled.&nbsp;Certainly&nbsp;the&nbsp;RFID&nbsp;architecture&nbsp;put&nbsp;into&nbsp;place&nbsp;today&nbsp;will&nbsp;undergo&nbsp;changes&nbsp;over&nbsp;time,&nbsp;but&nbsp;that’s&nbsp;to&nbsp;be&nbsp;expected&nbsp;as&nbsp;most&nbsp;businesses&nbsp;don’t&nbsp;stand&nbsp;still.&nbsp;What’s&nbsp;important&nbsp;is&nbsp;to&nbsp;realize&nbsp;that&nbsp;the&nbsp;vendor&nbsp;relationships&nbsp;you&nbsp;establish&nbsp;today&nbsp;will&nbsp;become&nbsp;more&nbsp;critical&nbsp;as&nbsp;your&nbsp;implementation&nbsp;matures.&nbsp;By&nbsp;choosing&nbsp;strong&nbsp;and&nbsp;knowledgeable&nbsp;partners&nbsp;today,&nbsp;you&nbsp;can&nbsp;ensure&nbsp;you&nbsp;are&nbsp;prepared&nbsp;for&nbsp;the&nbsp;many&nbsp;developments&nbsp;in&nbsp;RFID&nbsp;tomorrow.&nbsp;GAO&nbsp;RFID&nbsp;is&nbsp;here&nbsp;to&nbsp;help.<br /><br />About&nbsp;GAO&nbsp;RFID&nbsp;Inc.<br />GAO&nbsp;RFID&nbsp;Inc.&nbsp;is&nbsp;a&nbsp;leading&nbsp;provider&nbsp;of&nbsp;Radio&nbsp;Frequency&nbsp;Identification&nbsp;(RFID)&nbsp;hardware&nbsp;and&nbsp;solutions&nbsp;to&nbsp;end&nbsp;users&nbsp;worldwide.&nbsp;GAO&nbsp;RFID&nbsp;combines&nbsp;best&nbsp;of&nbsp;breed&nbsp;with&nbsp;low&nbsp;cost&nbsp;RFID&nbsp;readers,&nbsp;RFID&nbsp;tags&nbsp;and&nbsp;enabling-RFID&nbsp;software.&nbsp;We&nbsp;have&nbsp;a&nbsp;wide&nbsp;variety&nbsp;of&nbsp;RFID&nbsp;readers,&nbsp;tags&nbsp;and&nbsp;antennas&nbsp;in&nbsp;all&nbsp;the&nbsp;RFID&nbsp;technologies,&nbsp;Low&nbsp;Frequency&nbsp;(LF),&nbsp;High&nbsp;Frequency&nbsp;(HF),&nbsp;Ultra&nbsp;High&nbsp;Frequency&nbsp;(UHF,&nbsp;Gen&nbsp;2)&nbsp;as&nbsp;well&nbsp;as&nbsp;Active&nbsp;and&nbsp;Semi-Passive.&nbsp;&nbsp;GAO&nbsp;RFID’s&nbsp;products&nbsp;and&nbsp;services&nbsp;are&nbsp;easily&nbsp;customized&nbsp;for&nbsp;use&nbsp;in&nbsp;Asset&nbsp;Tracking,&nbsp;&nbsp;Health&nbsp;care,&nbsp;Supply&nbsp;Chain&nbsp;&&nbsp;Logistics,&nbsp;Event&nbsp;Management,&nbsp;Access&nbsp;Control,&nbsp;Livestock&nbsp;Tracking,&nbsp;Inventory&nbsp;Control&nbsp;&&nbsp;Management,&nbsp;Field&nbsp;Service,&nbsp;Maintenance&nbsp;and&nbsp;Document&nbsp;Authentication.<br />For&nbsp;more&nbsp;information&nbsp;please&nbsp;visit&nbsp;http://www.GAORFID.com&nbsp;<br /><br />