5. Conclusion

RFID offers numerous opportunities for reducing logistics costs and improving visibility, and hence the security and performance of logistics exchanges. RFID is only the most recent of the automatic identification tools, and the challenges of implementing it are very similar to those of implementing bar codes and EDI. Most of the first successful projects were closed-loop, characterized by controlled data exchange, synchronization of basic data, and ease of agreement on the standards to be implemented.

RFID makes it effortless to capture the status and location of goods, animals and even people. Imagination alone will limit the potential applications of RFID, but if early achievements are anything to go by, the profitability of applications lies in reducing labor and waste, or in securing and authenticating exchanges.

Implementing RFID poses...