24/10/05 RFID: technology leaps as standards lag

Nothing captures the state of the RFID market better than the following two developments – CHEP has launched a breakthrough 3-in-1 tag that can be read through RFID reader, bar code scanner and simply human eye, and a Symbol executive has a more humble request for a US government committee – please work towards uniform RFID standards worldwide.
Meanwhile the suppliers have again cried foul over the skewed costs and benefits situation.

Image: Chep's 3-in-1 TagFirst the 3-in-1 tag developed by CHEP. The company highlights the tag’s multi-mode readability feature, the modes being RFID, bar code and human eye. The reason the company has refrained from calling it an RFID tag is that it reduces the need for installation of RFID readers in all supply chain locations.

While the costs are not known at this stage, it would be somewhat on the higher side as the tag offers the ability to temporarily write product related information such as serial shipping container code (SSCC) whilst permanently identifying the asset on which it is stuck.

The company said that the tag comes with a packaging format that protects it from the external interference such as from metals and moisture. As if to prove it, the company is employing the tag in its United States Intermediate Bulk Container (IBC) business. These containers are used to ship liquid raw materials and food ingredients.

Jurie Welman, president of the company’s Africa/Middle East business (the 3-in-1 tag was unveiled in South Africa) believes this tag helps his customers comply with the ever increasing requirement of traceability across the supply chain. Brian Beattie, senior vice president, Marketing says customers can now improve data capture for tracking purpose irrespective of their readiness for reading RFID tags.
The company says the 3-in-1 tags fully conform to the EPCglobal standards.

Maybe now life would be more meaningful for the hybrid scanners that have been around since 2002 when NCR launched a prototype with Alien Technologies. More was heard on this product in January this year when NCR announced that it has integrated a hybrid scanner with the its Advanced Store point-of-sale (POS) application. The company believes this is a good solution for the retailers who want to evaluate the potential impact of item-level RFID tagging on POS operations and other store processes before a full roll-out takes place.Image: Chep't trial of 3-in-1 tag

Staying with the standards, Larry Blue, vice president and general manager of the RFID Tag Business Unit at Symbol Technologies has told a US government committee that internationally agreed RFID standards are needed to ensure the technology can effectively track prescription drugs.

The committee is called the Government Reform Committee. It is a House committee that oversees legislation on various issues, including the use of emerging technologies and standards.

Presuming a leadership status for the US, Mr. Blue said, “The United States should work with other governments to help them understand the value of working together on standards.”
" It is in their long-term interest, as well as ours, to develop uniform standards that will speed international commerce and make it more secure,” Mr. Blue said.

Finally, a website silicon.com has carried reactions from various CIOs on the lopsided situation where suppliers have to bear most of the average RFID rollout cost of $500,000 (A$664,000).
Here is a sample.

According to Byron Thomas, UK and Ireland IS director at Kraft Foods: "Retailers are going to have to give manufacturers a bit of the cost. There's a big impact from retailers going 'we want to do it, we want to do it', and manufacturers saying 'you'll have to help us pay for it'.”