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RFID is gaining momentum in a variety of sectors. It is not limited to traditional applications for retail and security but also expanding to healthcare, pharmaceuticals, transportation, defense and a host of other fields. RFID’s inherent technical attributes and its further enhancement through integration with new and existing software and systems allow it to become an enabler of solutions to a variety of industries.
Various types of consumer merchandise are purchased using RFID technology, from common uses like fuel to grocery and fast food. Consumer products are perhaps the simplest and widest application of RFID solutions, which have the potential to make transactions fast, easy and secure for a large number of customers. It is a system in which a transponder with a unique code is attached to an object that the customer purchases, and a reader is fitted at the place of payment, and the amount can be debited from a credit card or a pre-paid debit account. With the increase in credit card usage across the region, and organized retailers opening more and more stores in metros and non-metro cities, smart payment solutions using RFID are the next logical step. AVAANA provides RFID solutions that help retailers track, count and locate goods anywhere in the supply chain from manufacture, to sales and beyond. Furthermore, the technology has practical appeal, allowing the retailer to locate products accurately, ensure that the correct product is available for sale, eliminate excess inventory and thereby cut down on costs. AVAANA™ equips products with unique tag identifiers, preventing double counting and ensuring authenticity, precision, security and storage of large amounts of information. We install devices that combine RFID reading, writing and barcode scanning, in addition to tag programming, item counting and location and verification of content. These capacities for handling multiple business operations simultaneously make RFID solutions invaluable. The RFID retail solutions we deliver are leading edge and offer much more than conventional inventory control and sales systems, while having the advantage of being compatible with the existing technology infrastructure. Handling unique and precious information and complex logistics are the strong areas of the RFID technology, lending it particularly well to solutions for government departments as well as for defense applications. The military, anywhere in the world, is involved in enormous logistics exercises, where men and materials need to be transported, accommodated and managed over large distances and long time periods, often in hostile circumstances. Communication, information management and inventory become vital functions. The Department of Defense of the United States made an initial foray into RFID systems in the 1980s after logistics failures in tracking shipments made it necessary for them to open more than half their shipments in the Gulf War, merely to determine their content. RFID has been subsequently adopted military use in tagging people, supplies, expensive equipment and high-security gear and files and is gaining recognition worldwide. Other government departments ranging from home affairs to transport need data collection, storage and item tracking systems as well as security and access control systems, all of which are available under the RFID umbrella. RFID solutions can be offered over the entire spectrum of government activity, from local and municipal level functions to managing systems at the state or central level. RFID technology can provide answers to fundamental questions of manufacturing by enabling more efficient forecasting, production and distribution operations. By deploying RFID, just-in-time manufacturing can be replaced by more efficient near-real-time manufacturing. Manufacturers and industrialists can boost sales by reducing out-of-stock items, decrease inventory by cutting the amount of safety stock on hand in case demand suddenly arises and reduce shrinkage. Additionally, deeper insights into the manufacturing and distribution processes, management of raw materials, management of raw materials and reusable assets, warehouse inventory, shipments, returns processing, logistics and elimination of manual processes like counting items make RFID solutions attractive for industrial and manufacturing uses. Life Science and Pharmaceutical The pharmaceutical industry is increasingly relying on RFID, not only for simple tagging and tracking purposes, but to put a hold on drug counterfeiting. Spurious, fake and mislabeled drugs are a rampant problem in India, resulting in the ill health and even death of many people. Drug companies are becoming increasingly aware of the need to check this trend. Similarly, other biological products used for life science research need to be completely protected from counterfeiting. RFID technology has the capacity to attach unique codes to drugs and chemicals that help monitor their movement, handling and security. In general, RFID can enhance the safety and security of the pharmaceutical supply chain, improve the process of pharmaceutical returns management; and increase the efficiency of distribution operations. Specifically, it can help in expiration date management, lot and batch tracking, returns management processing, shipping and receiving accuracy, operational integrity and product security and consumer safety, among other areas. RFID can help not only pharmaceutical companies, but also pharmacies and chemists, transporters of life-saving and perishable equipment, doctors and hospitals, save their reputations and legal costs. We have a proprietary architecture that delivers end-to-end authentication and assurance that the consumer receives authentic pharmaceuticals. RFID solutions are particularly suitable for all aspects of transportation, from ticketing to tracking shipments, over rail, road, air and water. Transportation companies as well as ports and terminals use RFID to identify shipments and track them. In aviation, aircraft manufacturers are tagging aircraft parts to monitor performance and improve maintenance. Airline baggage tracking and parcel identification by courier companies is available today. Additionally, access control and security systems using RFID are being increasingly used in airports and other terminals and hubs. Toll access and ticketing as well as road safety systems are also using RFID tags, to increase efficiency and revenues, while decreasing cost and enhancing data handling capacity. AVAANA provides solutions that link GPS systems with RFID systems for transportation. Development of standards and norms for the industry has gained relevance along with the increasing popularity of RFID solutions and applications. A number of companies from various industries as well as academic institutions into research and development of RFID technology have come together in a partnership called the Auto-ID Center, which has been working on developing an Electronic Product Code (EPC). Even as the EPC is being worked out and EPC Compliance is being touted as the upcoming world standard in RFID, Wal-Mart has announced a set of regulations and rules that its suppliers need to adhere to, in a defined time frame. AVAANA is helping suppliers with developing and installing the open, scalable architecture and technology necessary for meeting EPC standards. We deliver a Wal-Mart compliant roadmap, and design a comprehensive approach to automation. The criteria for choosing appropriate RFID software, middleware and hardware are devised and multi-location expansion options are built in. This is the first of a series of compliance adaptations that manufacturers and vendors will be required to make as RFID technology gains popularity and becomes the norm for all inventory-dependent industries. Specific RFID solutions for warehouse location and tracking can provide highly accurate location systems for goods moving through an industrial warehouse, changing the way warehouses are operated by increasing efficiency and accuracy. The primary concern is to eliminate the possibility of inventory errors and lost or misplaced goods. RFID provides inventory visibility, which prevents errant shipments. The added advantage of RFID is that it can be fully integrated with existing warehouse management systems, and enhances functionality without upsetting the prevailing method of operation. AVAANA delivers solutions that help locate key inventory items, including those that present traditional challenges to RF location devices e.g. metal parts. Employee Time-keeping and Item Tracking Human resources and personnel management are major concerns of any organizations and time keeping of employee activity and efficiency is a key function. RFID tags embedded in employee IDs are common now, enabling offices to establish a log-in and log-out time keeping system without manual or forced data entry mechanisms, as were previously required. Additionally, the location of employees within workplaces can be logged using RFID, providing an ideal solution for security concerns. High security areas can be put off limits for certain categories of employees by installing readers that look for specific information on the tags and authorize access at sensitive points. Further still, data stored of RFID tags about employee movement and entry and exit times can be used to generate employee records for evaluation purposes as well as for internal HR research functions. The AVAANA solution ( PRASITI ) offers specialized Employee Time-Keeping and Item Tracking to increase the efficiency of offices and manufacturing plants, while helping ensure that items that are not authorized do not leave the premises. Supply chain management is based on the simple principle that increased visibility ensures value. RFID can provide the required visibility starting from storing information about goods tagged at the manufacturing level to tracking their locations through the loading and transportation processes. Distribution is made easier as sorting and directing goods to their correct locations is easily automated by the use of RFID tags. In the retail environment, RFID simplifies and speeds up the process of maintaining stock. In short, RFID can transform the way inventory is managed across the entire supply chain. Record-keeping and accurate inventory management in the healthcare system is a tedious, yet vital function, often with life and death implications. Patient records can be stored on tags using RFID, which can in turn be linked with treatment and consultation records and payment options. The inventory of expensive medical equipment and perishables commodities is important to keep track of, and their consumption recorded through the use of RFID. Supply of drugs and other commodities to hospitals can also be monitored. With the healthcare industry in the United States and Asia growing at a healthy rate, and with many private players expanding aggressively geographically, the opportunities to deliver improve efficiencies, reduce medical errors and improve quality care are key imperatives that are enabled with RFID technologies. A wide array of RFID solutions can be implemented for supply chain management and inventory applications, primarily because of increasing competition between businesses, where inventory control and not mere product quality determines success and profit. With RFID, the entire supply chain becomes a transparent process, stock replacement can be done instantly, in real time and inventory-based errors minimized, enabling better client servicing. The cost benefits and increased profit margins due to RFID tagging and tracking of inventoried items have been amply demonstrated in the retail, pharmaceutical and transportation fields, to name a few. Moreover, data storage capacities in the RFID system allow businesses to review mechanisms and make necessary system and process changes. This makes it possible for businesses to introduce system changes and organizations to grow continuously, with a near seamless transition between old and new systems. |