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Contrary to perceptions fostered by the recent buzz around mandates from Wal-Mart, Target, Albertson's, the Department of Defense and others, RFID is not a new technology. It was first used over sixty years ago by Britain to identify friend and foe aircraft in World War II. For over twenty years, every railroad car in North America and many other countries have had RFID tags on them. And if you have an Exxon/Mobil SpeedPass or use a tollway transponder in your car, you are using RFID technology.

However, the way manufacturers and suppliers are being required to apply the passive EPC (electronic product code) technology in their distribution operations to satisfy current compliance mandates is pioneering.

Suppliers to Wal-Mart, Target, DoD and the others have a brief window to learn about and deploy RFID technology to meet rapidly approaching compliance deadlines. This is complicated by the fact that passive RFID technology for EPC is still in its infancy, and existing tags and readers may be obsolete in 12 months or less.

Companies exploring RFID for purposes other than EPC compliance may not have strict deadlines, but they still assume similar risks. In the absence of best practices and clear, proven value for suppliers and manufacturers, companies should proceed with a well-defined RFID roadmap, based on carefully considered business objectives.

This article will focus on five essential steps to follow for successful RFID deployments whether you are responding to EPC-based mandates or simply trying to gain competitive advantage through RFID. However, before getting started, it is important to understand some of the challenges that RFID deployment presents in its current state of development.

Download the complete white paper now.