You are right different technologies should be used for different uses. Keeping the pros and cons of RFID in mind I am sure they cannot be used for all purposes. But I think they can be used for intelligent solutions.
I would like to add here that there are different types of tags in the market, i.e. read only, read-write, write once and read many. Counterfeiting may also be difficult depending upon the nature of the tags being used.
Read only tags the information is stored in the manufacturing process and cannot be changed.
Read-write tags the information one can add information to the tag or write over the previous information. But still you cannot write over the serial number.
Write once and read many tags can have a serial number written onto them once which cannot be overwritten later.
@Barbara: I agree with you. Counterfeiting tags is a lot of trouble for very little reward. Even if counterfeiters get hold of the tags and clone/modify them it will mostly likely be non productive.
Firstly, they will have to get hold of tags from a specific shipment. Since, information on tags is relevant to orders they will have to predict the information for the next order to get into the system. And I think the chances of doing that are pretty slim.
@Cryptoman, looking at the pro and cons of the RFID i can imaging that they are not useful for everything for lagging. Airline industry still use barcode technology and they handle huge amount of customer luggage. So, i think that just for tracking and keeping an inventory database barcode is more than enough. To keep a check on counterfeit we need more intelligent solutions.
-hm,
Exactly right. For about 10 EUR, a tag can be cloned. If the counterfeit tag enters the Supply Chain First, the real tag sets off the alarm, but often times not before the counterfeit tagged goods are through distribution and onto retail shelves or in OEM stockrooms.
@hm: Excellent point. No doubt that will or already is happening. I would think, though, that efforts are spent on circumventing the technology rather than counterfieiting it becuase it is not a really high-value product. Tags themselves should cost less than a nickel apiece, so I think it is a lot of work for little reward. The real money is made in the scanners, which no doubt could be counterfeited as well. But scammers would have to develop an entire system. I think they still prefer the path of lease resistance, which is taking an existing chip and re-marking or re-topping it in some way.
That is essentially what it is. It is an imporovement upon the previous iteration of scanning technology. But now it extends those same functionalities and more to all types of devices and on the Internet.
@cryptoman: It is indeed a very informative post. Thanks for sharing this.
Although the RFID technology is not mature and has some other drawbacks. I still think can be used in developing an intelligent supply chain network. Where more information about the products can be transmitted rather than just a unique identification number?
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Thailand Stages a Comeback Join EBN contributor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday August 23, 2012, at 11:00 a.m. EST for a live chat on how electronic manufacturers in Thailand have shored up their supply chain to reduce the impact of future natural disasters.
Euro-Crisis: What It Means for High-Tech Firms Join EBN Editor in Chief Bolaji Ojo and Contributing Editor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday, July 12, at 10:00 a.m. EDT for a Live Chat on high-tech and Europe's economic difficulties.
Microsoft Surface: Potential Winners & Losers What are the implications for the electronics industry supply chain of Microsoft Corp.'s decision to launch its own tablet PC? Join industry veteran and EE Times' systems and OEM expert Rick Merritt on Tuesday, July 3, at 12:00 pm EDT for a Live Chat on this subject.
Join EBN contributor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday August 23, 2012, at 11:00 a.m. EST for a live chat on how electronic manufacturers in Thailand have shored up their supply chain to reduce the impact of future natural disasters.
Peter Drucker famously said "Trying to predict the future is like trying to drive down a country road at night with no lights while looking out the back window." Yet in the razor's-edge world of electronics—with a lean supply chain and just-in-time demands—the need to know the future is vital.
While no one really can accurately predict the future, we can take guidance from another Drucker saying which is the best way to predict the future is to create it.
You've heard the saying "the No. 1 supply chain risk is your people." That hasn't always been the case. But today's complex global supply chain requires a new type of multitalented employee. It's one who understands, finance, marketing, economics, is savvy with technology, graceful with relationships and can think analytically.
Where are these people? Are universities properly preparing the next generation supply chain professionals? How do train your existing workforce for these new, demanding positions?
Brian Fuller, editor-in-chief of EBN, will lead a 60-minute Avnet Velocity panel discussion that will ask and answer these and other questions swirling around today's supply-chain talent challenges.
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