RFID technology works via radio frequency, tracking almost every bit of information there is in real time and making tracking businesses more efficient.
Whether as a customer or as a business leader, you have almost certainly come into contact with RFID technology before today, and possibly without realizing it. Radio frequency identification has been around for a while, but it’s versatile enough that we’re even now finding novel ways to use it to our advantage.
The technology is deceptively simple: Make Use Of explains, RFID tags — or “chips” — contain a small circuit with data on it along with an antenna, which communicates with a separate reader — or “interrogator.”
At their simplest, RFID chips perform the same function as a barcode: They provide each product with a unique identifier. As you might have guessed, though, identification only scratches the surface of what this technology can help you accomplish in retail.
Real-time data
Data informs everything that happens in retail and the greater world of commerce. But industry movers and shakers are used to dealing with information delay. Retailers must gather information, order it and render it into some kind of actionable format. That can sometimes take the time we just don’t have in such a fast-paced environment. During peak shopping times — both weekly and throughout the year — having access to information as quickly as possible is vitally important.
Thanks to RFID technology, data gathering can now happen practically anytime and at every step of the supply chain. Taking stock of inventory, for example, has historically been such a time-consuming task that in the past most retailers chose to do it just once or twice per year. This process, and many others, can now happen near-instantly. We’ll talk more about other types of data in a moment.