SupplyChain Magazine June 2022 | Page 125

TECH & AI took a team of 40 employees five hours to complete . With RFID handheld readers , a team of 10 can complete the same task in half the time .”
RFID can also improve the in-store shopping experience for customers , allowing them to identify items they ’ re interested in and verify in-store availability in advance . Store workers are also able to easily locate RFID-tagged items in-store or arrange to have an item shipped from one location to another .
“ Nobody wants to fumble about scanning a barcode at a self-checkout stand ,” says Meyer . “ Plus , in the wake of COVID , shoppers with compromised immune systems prefer to limit close contact with others , which makes RFID touchless self-checkouts perfect . Not only is it fast and accurate , but it also allows for social distancing . RFID helps make the retail experience a positive , delightful thing for customers .”
Low-cost RFID makes it ideal for global IoT systems Away from retail – and with an eye on the future of RFID – Meyer says the low cost of RFID tags makes the technology ideal for large-scale IoT systems that connect thousands , millions , or billions of things .
“ RFID technology has evolved since it was first deployed for retail inventory tracking ,” she says . “ Large global companies are now deploying RFID across their enterprises . Delta airlines , for example , uses it to track passenger bags from check-in to when they ’ re back into travellers ’ hands .
“ And the automotive industry , including Daimler AG , Volvo , Audi and Volkswagen , use RFID as part of their automated assembly lines , to identify parts , and to ensure every vehicle that rolls off the production line is consistent with the configuration selected by its new owner .”
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