I’m Gregg Maggioli, along with my partner, Karen Radde, we started BlueBean in 2004 to focus exclusively on RFID solutions.  I have 20 years experience working with “C” level executives helping them to uncover process improvement opportunities by leveraging technology.   BlueBean has RFID certifications from Alien Technology, Symbol, Intermec, Omron, Printronix and Zebra and have published several technical and application articles in academic and trade journals.  I hold a BS in Industrial Engineering from Purdue University and a MS in Computer Integrated Manufacturing from Arizona State University.

My intention with this blog is to focus completely on Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) issues and the current state of the technology. I will also focus on RFID technology such as RFID Readers, RFID Tags and RFID Software that I feel provides best in class performance or top features.

I sometimes wonder how successful companies got that way when I see some poor choices they make.  In my previous post I discussed why the RFID market has not seen the dramatic growth that was predicted.  There was another factor that has lead to the slow growth.  The companies who tried to implement RFID and failed for all the wrong reasons.  They hired a systems integrator or a consultant that was not a RFID expert. 

BlueBean receives calls frequently from panicked project managers that has a failed RFID project on his or her hands and needs to be rescued.  At this point their budget is usually busted, the project is not near completion and the read accuracy is poor.  The only out for this project manager is to blame the technology.  He tells his boss that RFID technology is not ready. 
Result: RFID gets the bad rap for a company hiring an inexperienced RFID vendor

The lesson is that RFID projects require an experienced RFID consultant or systems integrator. Companies beware of bar code companies or IT shops pretending to be RFID experts. They can hide behind their technical expertise and be convincing but RFID is a very different animal.  I would recommend asking questions like:
1. What percentage of your annual revenue is from RFID projects?
2. How many complete implementations have you done?
3. How long have you been implementing RFID?
4. Do you have any RFID certifications?

There are few pure RFID consulting and integration companies in the United States.  BlueBean is one of them with over 150 clients.

We have all heard and witnessed that RFID has not exploded onto the scene like initially predicted.  It has seen steady growth but no big breakthroughs...why?

We need to look back a couple of years and look at the market in 2003.  Proprietary RFID equipment (RFID Readers and RFID Tags) were being sold in small quantities but obviously no company was going to invest a large amount of money in proprietary RFID hardware - result: no market movement

In 2005 the EPCglobal Gen 2 standard was passed. Finally the RFID market would explode...wrong. It took most of this year to get the Gen 2 compliant RFID equipment into the hands of integrators and early adapters.  Intermec was claiming it owns the RFID patents and wants everyone to pay royalties - result:unsteady market and only pilot programs

In 2006 the results are being published of tests performed with the first release of  Gen2 compliant RFID Readers and RFID Tags.  The test results are not spectacular.  Wal-Mart slows its roll-out plans - result: slow market growth

In 2007 (of late 2006) the second generation of RFID Hardware was released. Performance was much  improved  and  prices have dropped for both readers and tags - result: closed loop applications have become more common

In 2008 what will happen? The performance of RFID equipment is excellent for pallet and case applications.  RFID Tag and Reader prices have dropped and are very affordable.  Performance is good enough for item level applications to be considered.  What is the key to unlock the door that is holding back the RFID market?  One word...Volume!  If you talk to any of the RFID chip companies (i.e. Alien, Impinj...).  They need volume to drive down prices.  It is no longer an issue of technology it is an issue of economies of scale.  They need volume to drive down tag prices thus making item level applications (pharma, clothing ...) become cost justifiable. Wal Mart, DoD and other retailers need to keep the pressure on and the FDA needs to mandate that all drugs sold in the United States be serialized with a RFID tag. 


Wow!  Looking back on what I just wrote I was only planning on writing a quick post but I really got into this topic:)

While BlueBean mainly focuses on EPCglobal Gen2 RFID applications and some active RFID solutions the recent announcement from Hitachi about a new  RFID Powder is very interesting.  Leveraging the semiconductor  industry advances in manufacturing smaller and smaller IC's Hitachi has managed to strip out all unnecessary circuits to create the smallest RFID tag - .05 x.05 mm - WOW!

Their target market is mainly financial - anti-counterfeit - bonds, currency...

You could easily see where this technology could be embedded in different paper products.  Legal companies, accounting companies and hospitals could take advantage of having RFID tags in every piece of paper.  These organizations all face mountains of paperwork. 

What about the jewelry industry?  Another great opportunity for "Powder" RFID Tags.

It will be interesting to see what form factor the RFID Readers will take to read these little RFID tags.

Hitachi says the RFID Power will be commercially available in 2-3 years.

 As RFID technology matures and the capabilities of RFID equipment improves new and interesting applications arise.  BlueBean has recently started a project using active RFID for a electronics retail chain that wants to correlate the amount of time its sales people spend on the show room floor in their respective departments to actual sales.

Hmmm...who would have thought that RFID could drive more sales?  We all know how Wal Mart is improving out of stocks by utilizing passive RFID to improve its supply chain but to improve people utilization is an interesting idea.  If you have have not spent
time in electronics retail you would be surprised how real-time it is.  Managers look at sales and other metrics by the hour so adding an additional metric of sales people location utilization to this mix will allow them to keep optimizing the same resources to drive more sales.  MAN I LOVE THIS TECHNOLOGY!

The moment of truth is close in determining the winner of the battle for the RFID pharmaceutical market.  While the FDA has not and probably will not back one frequency or technology over another California's ePedigree mandate will provide the market with the de facto standard UHF or HF.  California's 2009 ePedigree mandate for all drug packages coming into the state explicitly requires package serialization...can you say RFID?  All of the major drug distributors AmerisourceBergen, McKesson and Cardinal Health are scaling up to met the mandate.  The distributors, while they will not declare the winner being UHF or HF, are either testing both HF and UHF or only UHF - another sign UHF will probably win.

The impact of using RFID tags at the item level for the pharmaceutical market will finally provide the hockey stick demand curve the industry has been waiting for.  So all of us in the RFID business will be watching the success or failure of the RFID California mandate very closely.

I would like to reference a very good article on this topic of UHF vs. HF (California RFID Mandate).  The performance of RFID Readers and RFID Tags as well as the cost seems to be in favor of UHF so it will interesting to see who will win.

It seems I hear less and less each week about how High Frequency (HF) is the best frequency for item level tagging. As near field UHF (Ultra high frequency) continues to mature one by one the advantages and myths continue to disappear. 

1. UHF RFID tags are affected by liquids

• UHF far field is affected by liquids - TRUE
• UHF near field is affected by liquids - FALSE
• UHF near field not only works on water but in water!

2. UHF RFID tags won't work on tags in close proximity

• UHF Gen 2 singulation and anti-collision algorithms are superior to HF protocols - TRUE
• UHF can read >1000 tags/sec - TRUE
• UHF has more reliable reads on large tag populations - TRUE

Stay turned for at least one more posting in this series on HF vs. UHF.  If you are interested in experimenting with near field technology you can contact BlueBean or if you are ready to purchase a RFID Reader or RFID Kit you can go line at www.rfidsupplychain.com

Ok... the question of UHF vs. HF for item level RFID tagging is bigger than Beta vs.VHS or for the younger people Blue-ray vs. HD-DVD.  This is an all out war between the established HF companies and the new up-and-coming UHF companies.  There is so much propaganda out there it is difficult to determine fact from fiction or truths from half truths. In order to compare these two technologies it would be fair to state that I will discuss near field UHF not far field UHF.  Some of the HF folks like to compare HF to far field UHF to tilt the playing field in HF's favor

I am actually going to start with discussing the cost of making each type of RFID tag.  If history teaches us anything is that the low cost producer usually wins all else being equal.  Assuming the performance of both HF & UHF tags are the same (I will discuss and contrast performance in the next few posts) then tag costs will determine the winner. 

HF Tags 2 layers of many turns of etched copper.  This is expensive to manufacture (look at all the copper!) - actual size of the tag 12mm
UHF Tags 1 layer and can use conductive inks (very simple looking - that is a good thing!) - actual size of the tag is 9mm

I also look at the large companies that would have an impact on pushing the decision to UHF or HF.  Wal-Mart has already committed to UHF far field for case and pallet tagging.  So I would summarize that Wal-Mart would not want to have two different  RFID technologies.

Also the major distributors; Cardinal, McKesson and ABC have come out in favor of near field UHF. 

Back to the question at hand..."UHF vs. HF" for item level RFID tagging?  If I was a betting man there are several reasons why I would pick near field UHF to become the item level tagging standard:
1. UHF is much easier to manufacture
2. Simple antenna geometries
3. Inexpensive conductive ink process

All else being equal the low cost producer wins.  In this case UHF would seem to be the logical choice. 

Stay tunned for more posts about RFID hardware and deployments costs and I will contrast performance issues between these two competing technologies.

Recently I was an expert moderator for a 400 level RFID class at a university and a student posted an interesting question:

"How do you communicate to upper management the benefits of using RFID?" 

This is a very good question.  I typically break down the benefits into three categories:

1. Intangibles - benefits of implementing a RFID system where no dollar savings can be calculated (Better costing, improved charge audit capabilities, improved job satisfaction...)

2. Soft Savings - you can calculate a dollar savings but it will not be used as part of the ROI calculation (i.e. improvement in nurses productivity by improving out of stocks so the nurse doesn't need to search for supplies - 5% improvement * 40 nurses = $210,000/yr in productivity.  This is a soft savings because the number of nurses does not decrease.)

3. Hard savings - you can calculate a savings and it will reduce expenses or increase revenue (reduction in inventory shrinkage, reduction in headcount....)

It is important to note that for some projects the soft savings could be included with the hard savings to calculate a ROI for the project.  The other part of the ROI calculation is the cost piece...RFID Equipment, RFID Middleware, RFID Tags, Consulting & Design Services.

Alien Technology has recently introduced what they call a game changer when it comes to RFID Readers.  They introduced the ALR-9650, a single Gen2 reader with an integrated antenna. They introduced a very different form factor then what we expect from RFID readers.  Typical readers have four or eight antenna ports and cost $1500-$2000 each and if you add in one antenna it would cost an additional $200.  The ALR-9650 is a single unit that is a reader and antenna which makes it perfect for single read point applications. Just in case you need a two read point reader it allows for a second external antenna.  The ALR-9650 can be purchased for around $850.

The ALR-9650 takes up little space; at only 9 inches square it uses less than half the real-estate of a typical reader and antenna system. This unit is nice to use in applications where the reader is visible to the consumer or general public since there are no antenna cables and is rather stylish. Colleges and universities could create cost effective labs for students to get some hands on experience.

Alien has again shown that it can compete against the big RFID hardware suppliers such as Motorola and Intermec.  They continue to innovate and are quicker to the market with innovative products like the ALR-9650.


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I want to take a break from my usual posts and take a little time to brag about a project we just completed.  BlueBean, headquarter in Indianapolis, Indiana, was selected to provide RFID products and RFID services to General Electric (GE) Aviation. As we all know GE is HUGE and what most of us call a pilot would usually constitute a full implementation for most companies.  GE Aviation implemented RFID at one location to evaluate reducing the size of its work in process (WIP).  GE Aviation produces jet engines worth sometimes millions of dollars each.  The manufacturing and assembly of these engines takes place all over the world so it is easy to understand the size (cost) of their supply chain. The challenge for GE was how to reduce the size of their WIP while still maintaining on-time shipments.

RFID to the rescue!  By installing BlueBean’s dock portals equipped with Alien RFID Readers at all dock doors and at choke points between departments provided production planners better visibility and more timely information.   Keep in mind that most engine parts they deal with cost tens of thousands of dollars so they have great interest in just-in-time inventory control.   It is a fine line the production planners must walk between having too much inventory and starving production.  The visibility RFID provides allows the planners to better match WIP with production needs.  With their WIP worth hundreds of millions of dollars company wide even a small improvement would be worth millions of dollars.

Keep tuned in for a follow-up post when the results of the pilot are available.  I would expect sometime by mid 2008. 
 

In the midst of all the rumors indicating Wal-Mart was scaling back or slowing its RFID ambitions the retail giant sends a strong signal that their plans for RFID is alive and well.  To date Wal-Mart has been slow to penalize suppliers that were tardy implementing RFID but that has all changed.  For the first time a division of Wal-Mart, Sam’s Club, will required its suppliers to apply RFID tags to pallets by Jan. 31  or face a service fee for every pallet shipped without a pallet tag.  The fee will be $2 per pallet starting Feb. 1 and increasing to $3/pallet on Jan 1, 2009.

Make no mistake that Wal-Mart has done exactly what it wanted to accomplish when it announce its RFID mandate.  At the time of its announcement RFID Technology was immature and very expensive.  Suppliers were upset and for a good reason.  100% read accuracy was very difficult to attain and the RFID passive tags were $.70/ea.  Wal-Mart knew that they needed to accelerate the development of the next generation of RFID hardware and create the demand so hardware providers had the economies of scale to quickly drive down RFID tag and RFID reader prices.  Fast forward to Jan 2008 and RFID tag prices are around $.10/ea and the Gen2 standard has become widely accepted.  100% pallet & case level readability is easily achievable. 

What’s next for the retail giant?  Well with RFID tag prices heading lower Wal-Mart is considering just when to push the RFID tagging requirement down to the item level.  That decision has already been made at Sam’s Club.  They will require suppliers to apply RFID tags at the item level for shipments to the DeSoto DC and related stores by Oct. 31, 2009.

Wal-Mart has executed its RFID grand plan with perfection and has shown why it has the most efficient supply chain in the world.

When I was sitting watching my beloved Indianapolis Colts lose their first round of the NFL playoffs I started losing interest and starting of thinking about how RFID will transform the world we live in.  If you think about the billions of dollars that have been spent on ERP, accounting, CRM, Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) and many other IT systems they all have one thing in common.  They rely on humans to input data.

Recently BlueBean completed a RFID project for GE Aviation and I was speaking with one of their Six Sigma Black Belts.  We discussed that RFID is perfectly suited for taking the human (variability) out of the process.  RFID allows for real world objects to communicate directly with those expensive IT systems with no human interaction.

Ok, lets take a Healthcare example - consider a mobile asset management system in a hospital.  The only way to track a mobile asset (i.e. IV pump, heart monitor...) in the past was for a person to manually keep track of where these assets were located.  So if maintenance was required on a certain IV pump someone would need to physically walk around the hospital until that pump was found.  It was too difficult and error prone to manually track these assets.  Now consider RFID.... every mobile asset has a active RFID tag or passive RFID Tag and would provide location information back to a centralized mobile asset management solution.

Consider hospital supplies - each item (supply) would have a RFID tag and when these items are placed on a smart shelf the backend inventory system will know inventory levels in real time with no human intervention.

As RFID equipment prices drop and the performance improves more applications will become viable.

There are many form factors for Active RFID Tags. In the past there was typically a "one size fits all mentality" when it came to Active RFID Tags. The life and performance was also over promised and under delivered....that is until now.

There is a new generation of active RFID tags that finally lives up to the hype. Excellent battery life and affordable! Depending on the type of tag and quantity you can expect to pay between $15-$45.

The development tools have also improved.  For developers there are SDK's and middleware that eliminates the need to write low level software code thus reducing the time it takes to develop applications and solutions.

Domino Tag
		The Domino Tag is ideally suited for use on non-metallic assets for general tracking or movement monitoring purposes. The tag has a polycarbonate coated external antenna. The tag can incorporate a motion sensor and has an anti-tamper facility.

Frame Mount Tag
	The Frame Mount tag is suited for asset tracking and monitoring where the tag is required to be attached to tubular frames (including metal frames), such as roll cages, bicycles etc. The tag has an anti-tamper facility.

Personnel Tag
		For use with all personnel monitoring applications such as dynamic mustering and health and safety compliance. The tag can incorporate a motion sensor and has an anti-tamper facility. The tag can also incorporate certain access control card chips allowing dual functionality.

Key Fob Tag
		For use with personnel applications where the tag can be secured to a key chain etc. The tag also includes a push button that can be used to raise an alert in the event of an emergency or allow for user initiated transmissions.

Asset Tag
		The Asset Tag is ideal for use on all types of assets (including those made from metal) for general tracking and monitoring applications. The tag can incorporate a motion sensor and has an anti-tamper facility.

Industrial Asset Tag
		The Industrial Asset Tag is ideally suited for heavy duty or external asset or vehicle tracking and monitoring applications that require a rugged, waterproof tag. The tag is ideally suited for operating on metallic surfaces or on plastics containing a high metal content. The tag has an anti-tamper facility.

Small Asset Tag
	The Small Asset Tag is specially designed for use in asset tagging applications where a smaller tag is required, such as for tracking and monitoring laptops, IT equipment and transport media. The Small Asset Tag is ideally suited for operating on metallic surfaces or plastics containing a high metal content. The tag can incorporate a motion sensor and has an anti-tamper facility.

It seems like every other day their is an article or a news story about how a bank, retailer or some company had a notebook stolen or lost with millions of peoples social security and credit card numbers.  The question I would ask these companies is why haven't they invested in an active RFID system to help them manage this risk.

Active RFID solutions have recently become cost effective and the technology reliable.  BlueBean has recently been Active RFID Certified and have developed a framework for tracking notebooks.  This is much more then "asset management".  The RFID solution must provide real-time notification of events like when a unauthorized notebook is removed from an office or building.  The solution can also include a camera to take a photo each time a notebook is moved in or out of a doorway.

A typically notebook tracking solution has several key components:

1. Active RFID Tag	2. Active RFID Reader

3. Database
4. Application (Business Logic)
5. Real time notification engine (email, text message, log file...)

Active RFID Tag prices have dropped significantly over the last 12 months and the batter life can last 5+ years. 

The bottom line is this RFID technology is ready and the price point makes the solution affordable. So.......all you companies that have my private data please invest in securing your notebooks so I won't find out that I was charge $1000 for buying on some exoctic leather slippers that were shipped to some country that I have never heard of !!!!!!

As RFID tag prices drop more applications utilizing RFID become feasibly and cost effective.  Specifically, item level applications such as using RFID to track hospital supplies or pharmaceuticals.  It was not conceivable that when the cost of a UHF RFID tag was $.70 ea that using RFID to track millions or billions of individual items would make financial sense.  The dramatic price drop of RFID tags over last several years will remove one of the main obstacles for using RFID to track inventory & pharmaceuticals at the item level. 

UHF Gen2 compliant RFID tags - the great debate out in the RFID industry is if HF or UHF will win and become the default standard for RFID tags at the item level.  As in any other industry the "low cost producer" usually wins.  In this case that would seem to be UHF RFID tags.  The cost of making the UHF RFID tag is lower then that of HF RFID tags and with Wal Mart, Department of Defense and other retailers standardizing on EPCglobal's Gen2 standard the economies of scale is in favor of UHF RFID tags.