Tag It Right!
Written By Louis Sirico
“O tag, where art thou?” That is the question your RFID reader keeps asking thousands of times per second. Most of the companies that supply RFID-tagged products to the major retailers or the US Department of Defense have realized that simply slapping tags on their products isn't going to be enough to keep their customers happy. When tagged products arrive at the distribution center, some of the tags fail to read, even though the tags are functioning properly. What's the secret to producing stellar read-rates? Location, location, location.
RFID tags are not like bar codes. Just because you see a tag doesn't mean your RFID equipment will see it. Contrarily, if you can't see a tag, it doesn't mean your RFID equipment won't read it. Confused yet?
Successful suppliers understand some basic concepts about tag placement and have taken the time to consider the complex journey of a product from manufacturer to retailer and the different ways a tag's readability may be affected. They have chosen their real-estate wisely and placed their tags with care and precision. It is time and money well spent because if your tagged product doesn’t read, either your customer will catch it and charge you a handling fee, or worse yet, they won’t catch it so you’ll loose the cost of the product, your customer’s inventory will be wrong, AND you’ll have to send a replacement. Exception handling is by far the more costly scenario. Either way – you’re gonna pay.
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