Radio frequency identification (RFID) will be ready for adoption within supply chain infrastructure by 2005-6, but at current development rates, it will be 2013 and beyond before it is widely implemented at item-tagging level, according to AMR Research.
Nigel Montgomery, research director, European e-Business Service at AMR Research, says that despite its benefits, RFID is still not quite ready for full-scale adoption. He predicts that adoption will evolve in three stages:-
The Pilot phase (2003 – 2005).
The Supply Chain Infrastructure phase (2005 – 2009).
The Item-Level Tagging phase (2009 – 2013 and beyond).
He says: “RFID taggings potential to revolutionise the supply chain management process is widely accepted including: real-time locating and identification, within compliance initiatives, and within service, maintenance and repair of the supply chain, to name just a few. The main obstacles to adoption currently include the question of tag application, readability, quality and price. These issues will be addressed in time, with collaboration throughout the supply chain driving thr process forward. However, overhauling today’s global supply chains won’t happen overnight. It will be interesting to follow the technology’s progress over the coming years.”
The main obstacles to adoption, according to AMR Research are:-
Application of tags.
Dedicated product lines.
Becoming man and machine readable.
Quality problems.
