| Bhaaminy: Beginning with bar code in the early 1970s, operations management has depended upon various AIDC (Automatic Identification & Data Capture) technologies to provide the accurate, real-time input to manufacturing and supply chain systems so critical to error-free control and visibility of material flow. The first RFID deployment for operations management was at General Motors in 1984 when tags were attached to chassis carriers to serve as "license plates" that when read triggered the just-in-time delivery of the appropriate components for a given vehicle to the assembly line. The unique license plate num¬ber buried within each $100 RFID tag was system-linked to the build plan for the specific automobile at the beginning of the line. Upon assembly completion, the tagged carrier was returned to the head of the line and the process repeated for another vehicle. At the time, a typical tag could take 200 to 300 trips down the line be¬fore failing -- and, the resulting cost-per-trip of 30 to 50 cents more than justified the value of the data to process integrity. Since 1984, RFID has been deployed in hundreds of operations where environmental constraints or the absence of line-of-sight access to the tag precludes the use of bar coding. Examples include item or carrier identification while moving into or through spray booths, ovens or machining operations where the tag must provide reliable feedback in spite of extremes of temperature or contamination by paint or coolants. Further, in the supply chain, RFID has been and is now being used in a wide variety of industrial applications ranging from product carriers to lift trucks to containers, tires and beer kegs. More recently, as I'm sure you know, RFID labeling of cases and pallets is making a significant contribution to improved supply chain tracking and visibility for US and European retailers and many of their suppliers. |