No abstract

Radio frequency identification (RFID) technology has recently begun to receive increased interest from practitioners and academicians. This interest is driven by mandates from major retailers such as Wal-Mart, Target and Metro Group, and the United States Department of Defense, in order to increase the efficiency and visibility of material and information flows in the supply chain. However, supply chain managers do not have a monopoly on the deployment of RFID. In this article, the authors discuss the potential benefits, the areas of applications, the implementation challenges, and the corresponding strategies of RFID in hospital environments.

Purpose -A great deal of confusion exists in the literature concerning the benefits of radio frequency identification (RFID). The purpose of this paper is to investigate the actual benefits of RFID on supply chain performance through the empirical evidence.Design/methodology/approach -The research reviews and classifies the existing quantitative empirical evidence of RFID on supply chain performance. We classify the evidence by process (operational or managerial) and for each process by effect (automational, informational, and transformational).Findings -The empirical evidence showed that the major effects from the implementation of RFID are automational effect on operational processes followed by informational effects on managerial processes. The RFID implementation has not reached transformational level on both operational and managerial processes. RFID has an automational effect on operational processes through inventory control and efficiency improvements. An informational effect for managerial processes is observed for improved decision quality, production control and the effectiveness of retail sales and promotions coordination. In addition, a three stage model is proposed to explain the effects of RFID on supply chain. Research limitations/implications -Limitations of this research include the use of secondarysources and the lack of consistency in performance measure definitions. Future research could 2 focus on detailed case studies that investigate cross-functional applications across the organization and the supply chain.Practical implications -For managers, the empirical evidence presented can help them identify implementation areas where RFID can have the greatest impact. The data can be used to build the business case for RFID and therefore better estimate ROI and the payback period.Originality/value -This research fills a void in the literature by providing practitioners and researchers with a better understanding of the quantitative benefits of RFID in the supply chain.

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology is a data acquisition tool that is currently having a major impact in industries such as retail, distribution, logistics, defense, health care and many others. RFID is revolutionizing business processes including supply chain and reverse logistics and decision making within and across organizations due to its ability to provide highly accurate, automated information in real-time. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the technology behind RFID systems, identify the applications of RFID in various industries, and discuss the technical challenges of RFID implementation and the corresponding strategies to overcome those challenges.

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology has received considerable attention from practitioners, driven by mandates from major retailers and the United States Department of Defense. RFID technology promises numerous benefits in the supply chain, such as increased visibility, security and efficiency. Despite such attentions and the anticipated benefits, RFID is not well-understood and many problems exist in the adoption and implementation of RFID. The purpose of this paper is to introduce RFID technology to practitioners and academicians by systematically reviewing the relevant literature, discussing how RFID systems work, their advantages, supply chain impacts, and the implementation challenges and the corresponding strategies, in the hope of providing guidance for practitioners in the implementation of RFID technology and offering a springboard for academicians to conduct future research in this area.