For businesses that plan to adopt RFID technology but do not know how to start, here is a centre where you can walk in and get to know RFID applications by taking a close look at how each one works in a practical environment.

Aimed at helping companies understand and adopt RFID technology, GS1 Thailand - formerly EAN Thailand and responsible for supply-chain standards - has turned its Centre of Excellence into a place where information about how RFID works is available.

RFID uses computer chips to store data, which are transmitted wirelessly by a tiny antenna to a receiver. The chips, embedded in tags, track pallets in warehouses and let drivers pass checkpoints without stopping.

With a main focus on improving industry logistics and supply chains, applications demonstrated at the centre are based on the EPC-RFID standard.

EPC, or the electronic product code, is the one standard that, when used with RFID, can uniquely identify individual products, giving a different electronic signature to, for example, each bottle of beer coming out of a brewery.

The system has the mathematical potential to number all future products as well.

The EPC standard works on ultra-high frequency (UHF) of 860-960 megahertz.

Pitchya Vajarodaya, CEO of GS1 Thailand, said about six applications demonstrated at the centre were simulated to show how RFID  could effectively manage products, from receiving their raw materials, palletising, packing for logistics, all the way to the final products being placed on the shelves in retail stores. At the centre, businesses can view how RFID tags communicate with an industry' s database and back-end systems.

For stock management, the information is transmitted to a central stock database, where automatic comparison with a stock profile triggers a replenishment order, giving the company a complete overview of stock management.

The demonstrations include the advantages of technology that allows product traceability.

"If there is anyone who would like to implement EPC-RFID, we'll do our best to find supporters for the project. Say if you're retailer, we would seek RFID tags as well as equipment for you," Pitchya said.

Chris Adcock, president of EPCglobal Inc, said the use of EPC-RFID could effectively reduce complexity and costs while facilitating collaboration amongst trading partners.

It is expected that implementation of the technology will not be too costly, since prices for RFID tags are dropping rapidly.

He said that two years ago, RFID tags cost as much as 45 US cents (Bt17.50) per unit. Now the in-laid chip tags cost about 8 or 9 cents apiece, with the prices expected to go down to 6 cents by the end of the year and be well below 5 cents within the next five years.

suchalee@nationgroup.com

Suchalee Pongprasert

The Nation