Purchasing Advice
Choosing the best RFID solution for your business

As a result of major retailers and the DoD mandating the implementation of RFID by suppliers, there are now hundreds of manufacturers getting started with RFID. Few purchases will have a more dramatic effect on your supply chain efficiency than a RFID system does.  The wrong system, however, can be a waste of money and a source of ongoing frustration.

Step 1: Defining the Business Problem. The first step in selecting an RFID system is to define the business problem you want to solve and determine goals for the project.  Often companies will put together a cross-functional management team from different departments within the organization to ensure that company issues are addressed enterprise wide. To understand what functionality potential vendors offer and the cost of an RFID system, many companies write a Request for Proposal (RFP) to distribute to a list of potential systems integration partners.
 
Step 2: Selecting a Systems Integrator. Develop a short list of systems integrators that have experience designing RFID systems in similar business environments using the following criteria:

Experience: Because of the critical nature of an RFID System, choosing a systems integrator with experience in designing RFID systems is essential - bigger in many ways than the actual hardware and software choices.  One way to investigate your systems integrator is to ask for references of other customers that are in business similar to yours. Of course, you will be referred to the vendor's most satisfied customers, but you can still learn quite a bit from them.

Facilities: An experienced RFID systems integrator will have a testing facility available that will be used to establish proof of concept for your RFID project. Nothing will give you a better sense of how effective the system will be than trying it in a live environment.

Support: Having a good understanding of what type of pre-sale and post-sale training programs are available is a key to ensuring employee buy-in to the implementation of a new technology. Customer support is also critical to the success of an RFID implementation. Make sure you know exactly what your systems integrator provides in terms of response times, replacement policies, service calls, and telephone support.

Internal Resources: Your systems integrator should have enough internal resources – systems engineers and support personnel – to ensure your project is successfully completed. These resources should be experienced with regard to best practices in software, systems design and installation.

Step 3: Developing the application. The process of selecting of an RFID solution typically begins with determining what software and tags are right for your application. Then RFID hardware (readers, printers, and labels) are selected to complete the system. 

Step 4: Testing proof of concept. Once the hardware and software for the project are selected, the next step is testing the application either onsite or at your integrator’s facility.  The most important step in this process is the testing of readability zones.  Many companies do a field test to ensure the system is working properly and that ROI goals are on target. Also important is the ability to integrate into key enterprise wide infrastructure like your ERP system.