EPCglobal offers help finding RFID value
By Staff -- Manufacturing Business Technology, 8/1/2006 12:00:00 AM
EPCglobal US, the not-for-profit RFID standards body, has three industry-specific kits—also called value models for chemical, aerospace, and retail pharmacy—for finding the best uses of RFID.
Last year, EPC released similar kits for consumer goods and health care. Each contains a white paper of experts' findings, a spreadsheet for calculating costs and benefits, and a user manual. The models are free to EPCglobal US subscribers at the group's Web site.
The search for RFID value tends to focus on the supply chain, says Bob Celeste, EPCglobal US's director of adoption tools, but many companies are looking at how the technology can enhance internal operations. "We found a great difference in how RFID value is perceived in different verticals," he says. "In pharmaceuticals, the value might be in counterfeit diversion, but in chemicals it might be tracking feedstock."
EPCglobal US plans to issue value models for other industries. "We're discussing which ones look most promising and have the most need," says Celeste.
