Companies that are up to speed with RFID when the inevitable explosion takes place will almost certainly be in a better position to serve their customers and themselves.

On the other side of the pond, the research and education process is already under way. A recent Produce Marketing Association (PMA) webcast - which proved to be its most popular to date - found industry interest in RFID to be growing, and detailed the benefits and challenges of adopting the technology.

Some 40 per cent of the companies participating in the PMA webcast were actively pursuing RFID programs and 48 per cent of participants had been exposed to RFID technology. Held on June 29, the webcast had nearly 500 attendees from 147 participating companies.

Participants learned about PMA research, which found that the industry is at the very earliest stages of the RFID testing, piloting and implementation adoption curve. The majority of companies polled are watching RFID with great interest and are willing to implement RFID within the next 12 to 18 months. The research also revealed that, despite the capital investments required for RFID adoption, a small number of companies have started the necessary steps for RFID laboratory testing, pilot tests, and deployments.

The webcast addressed the benefits of RFID implementation in the produce industry. Among the benefits were:

• Increased sales and reduced shrink via better inventory control and real-time product information

• Improved customer relations and retention through reduced receiver errors and increased accuracy of shipments

• Enhanced traceability attributes (ie real-time tracking) and origin labeling (data is stored on the RFID chip)

In addition, seminar participants learned about some of the unique challenges fruits and vegetables present for RFID technologies.

PMA research found that, due to the nature in which produce is shipped throughout the distribution chain, cold temperatures and the moistness of some items may hinder the ability for RFID chips to transmit data to scanners. Other challenges are the multiple ways in which pallet loads are configured, and the various types of packaging used (bags, clamshells, bulk containers, corrugated cases, and returnable packaging).

“As with any new technology for the produce supply chain, it’s important to start small and build from there. This webcast was PMA’s first step in helping expand its members’ knowledge base about RFID. We will soon have a RFID report available and we’re partnering with Michigan State University this September on their RFID conference in Monterey.

“Those who were unable to participate in the webcast should plan to come to PMA’s Foodservice Conference in July or to the Fresh Summit in October to hear the latest on PMA’s efforts in RFID and other technologies,” said PMA vice president of industry technology and standards Gary Fleming.

Following its webcast, the PMA released its RFID report, entitled Radio Frequency ID in the Produce Industry. Designed to provide members of the produce industry supply chain with a better understanding of RFID, the report addresses the challenges presented to the fresh produce industry by this technology and examines the benefits of implementation.

“One of PMA’s goals is to closely follow the development of RFID and to ensure that the produce industry is informed about this technology,” said Fleming. “To that end, PMA has formed a RFID Produce Action Group, which will focus on the application of RFID in produce, as well as standards development. In addition, PMA is a participating member of EPCglobal to ensure that the industry has a voice in the RFID standards development process.” The EPCglobal Alliance Group was formed to keep associations representing fast-moving consumer goods (including produce) informed about RFID.

Supply chain members who purchase PMA’s Radio Frequency ID in the Produce Industry will learn about:

• RFID tags, RFID readers, signal frequencies, hardware concerns, and the flow of how a RFID tag is read

• The benefits of RFID implementation

• Specific challenges of RFID in the fresh produce industry and

• Generic RFID challenges applicable to all industries.

The report is available to PMA members for $79 and is sold electronically as a PDF document. The non-member price is $299. To order this report, contact the PMA Solution Center at +1 (302) 738-7100.

SO, WHAT’S ALL THE FUSS ABOUT?

RFID is a proven technology that’s been around since at least the 1970s. Up to now, it’s been too expensive and too limited to be practical for many commercial applications.

But if tags can be made cheaply enough, they can solve many of the problems associated with bar codes. Radio waves travel through most non-metallic materials, so they can be embedded in packaging or encased in protective plastic for weather-proofing and greater durability. And tags have microchips that can store a unique serial number for every product manufactured around the world.

RFID is a generic term for technologies that use radio waves to automatically identify people or objects. There are several methods of identification, but the most common is to store a serial number that identifies a person or object, and perhaps other information, on a microchip that is attached to an antenna (the chip and the antenna together are called an RFID transponder or an RFID tag).

The antenna enables the chip to transmit the identification information to a reader. The reader converts the radio waves reflected back from the RFID tag into digital information that can then be passed on to computers that can make use of it.

An RFID system consists of a tag, which is made up of a microchip with an antenna, and an interrogator or reader with an antenna. The reader sends out electromagnetic waves. The tag antenna is tuned to receive these waves. A passive RFID tag draws power from field created by the reader and uses it to power the microchip’s circuits. The chip then modulates the waves that the tag sends back to the reader and the reader converts the new waves into digital data.

RFID is not necessarily better than bar codes. The two are different technologies and have different applications, which sometimes overlap. The big difference between the two is bar codes are line-of-sight technology. That is, a scanner has to “see” the bar code to read it, which means people usually have to orient the bar code towards a scanner for it to be read.

RFID, by contrast, doesn’t require line of sight. RFID tags can be read as long as they are within range of a reader. Bar codes have other shortcomings as well. If a label is ripped, soiled or falls off, there is no way to scan the item. And standard bar codes identify only the manufacturer and product, not the unique item.

It is likely that RFID and bar codes will coexist for many years.

BEING SYSTEMATIC IN IMPLEMENTATION

My previous articles covered the software and partner selection process as well as the importance of implementing on an effective network infrastructure. Now focus switches to the vital implementation process. It is an area where many projects of this nature have foundered in the past so it is as well to start with a health warning.

“There is nothing more difficult to plan, more doubtful of success, nor more dangerous to manage than the creation of a new system. For the initiator has the enmity of all who would profit by the preservation of the old and merely lukewarm defenders in those who would benefit by the new,” said Macchiavelli.

Although written in the 16th century, the warning is valid today. Implementing an integrated business management system involves change. If it doesn’t then why are you doing it? The effective rollout of a new solution will affect people and processes. Nobody likes change and therefore the role of management is crucial. The first task is to explain why change is necessary and gain buy-in.

Once achieved, the next task is to set up an internal project team to manage the deployment process internally. Anglia Business Computers has successfully implemented more than 60 integrated MBS Navision solutions since becoming involved with the system eight years ago. While all have worked, the smoother implementations have a number of attributes that are worth sharing.

They include the following:

• Board champion: The backing of a board director with a clear vision of the expected deliverables from an integrated solution has been a key factor in the success of the deployment.

• Operational champion: The attributes of an operational champion is somebody with an in-depth knowledge of the business who works well with the board champion to deliver the required changes.

• Appropriately resourced: The smoother deployments invariably have key users with the right skills and attitude on board from the start.

• Realistic expectations: Setting and managing expectations that are realistic from the business aspect are crucial. These days, modern software technology is rarely the inhibitor. Barriers to progress tend to be the ability of the company personnel to absorb the required process changes while still carrying out their daily tasks.

• Detailed planning: An agreed roadmap with clearly defined milestones is essential for resource planning. At Anglia, we use a solution model to outline the deliverables and a project foundation document to define the terms of reference and resources required by both sides for a successful deployment.

• Effective communications: In a project involving various departments and which can take between two and six months, things will go wrong. When they do, it is important that all parties involved are informed on the causes of the hold-up and what remedial steps are being taken to get back on track.

• Training: The most successful deployments have always involved time invested in key users. These then passed on their system skills to end users in formalised training sessions. Curtail this activity at your peril.

• Test, test and test again: Just because the supplier has delivered the system configured to meet your stated requirements doesn’t mean that you are ready to deploy. At Anglia, we conduct what we call a conference room pilot. This takes key users through every part of the system using real client data to ensure that the company is ready for the system. The cutover to the new system doesn’t occur until all parties agree that the testing is complete.

• Review: Once live, review progress against the key deliverables. Is progress being made or has the game plan changed. In the heat of battle during the last few weeks of the project, it is easy to lose sight of the reasons you transferred.

Hopefully, this will provide you with some useful guidelines in avoiding some of the pitfalls that have been endemic in the IT industry where integrated business management solutions are involved. In the next article, I will be turning my attention to the topic of supply chain integration, one of the key requirements of many of the larger organisations.

Email bobr@angliabc.co.uK