Enterprises Using Radio Frequency Identification: Industry usage and specific purposes

Implementation and usage of the latest inventions in information technology provides enterprises better position on the global market. Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) presents the innovative information technology that can change and improve many of the enterprises collaboration operations and support decision making process. The best results of RFID usage are achieved in the supply chain systems, but RFID can be applied in the fields of medicine, finance, logistics and trade. Goal of this paper is to evaluate trends and purposes of RFID usage among enterprises in European Union. We also analyse usage of RFID among Enterprises in European Union according to the industry. Future research will focus on application of RFID among enterprises worldwide and to examine are there any differences in RFID usage among developed and developing countries. This work is licensed under a&nbsp;Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.</p

Federated blockchain-based tracking and liability attribution framework for employees and cyber-physical objects in a smart workplace

The systematic integration of the Internet of Things (IoT) and Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) into the supply chain to increase operational efficiency and quality has also introduced new complexities to the threat landscape. The myriad of sensors could increase data collection capabilities for businesses to facilitate process automation aided by Artificial Intelligence (AI) but without adopting an appropriate Security-by-Design framework, threat detection and response are destined to fail. The emerging concept of Smart Workplace incorporates many CPS (e.g. Robots and Drones) to execute tasks alongside Employees both of which can be exploited as Insider Threats. We introduce and discuss forensic-readiness, liability attribution and the ability to track moving Smart SPS Objects to support modern Digital Forensics and Incident Response (DFIR) within a defence-in-depth strategy. We present a framework to facilitate the tracking of object behaviour within Smart Controlled Business Environments (SCBE) to support resilience by enabling proactive insider threat detection. Several components of the framework were piloted in a company to discuss a real-life case study and demonstrate anomaly detection and the emerging of behavioural patterns according to objects' movement with relation to their job role, workspace position and nearest entry or exit. The empirical data was collected from a Bluetooth-based Proximity Monitoring Solution. Furthermore, a key strength of the framework is a federated Blockchain (BC) model to achieve forensic-readiness by establishing a digital Chain-of-Custody (CoC) and a collaborative environment for CPS to qualify as Digital Witnesses (DW) to support post-incident investigations

A conceptual model of RFID’s impact on relational value cocreation and appropriation

With the advances of Internet of Things (IoT), RFID technology is becoming ubiquitous. While prior studies have conceptualized RFID technology as a unidimensional concept or examined its impact from a homogeneous organizational context perspective, little attention has been paid to RFID technology characteristics deployed in a firm and the extent to which they impact this firm’s network of business partners in terms of relational value co-creation and appropriation. This study draws from relational perspective and Media Synchronicity Theory and proposes a conceptual model relating RFID characteristics – synchronicity, integration capability, scope of utilization – to relational value creation. Specifically, it proposes that RFID impact depends on the direct and combined effects of individual RFID characteristics on relational value. These effects are moderated by the quality of partnership between IT and business units in the firm. The conceptual model validation is necessary to assess the predictive power of the emitted hypotheses

E-Grocery Supply Chain Management Enabled by Mobile Tools

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study mobile services for supply chain management (SCM) in the electronic grocery (e-grocery) sector. The authors investigate their diffusion and formulate policies in order to stimulate the adoption. Design/methodology/approach – A System Dynamics model is proposed for a short fresh food supply chain (SC). The model predicts how product traceability, mobile payment, and time-based delivery management functionalities contribute to the adoption of a SCM mobile application. Findings – The three services drive the diffusion of the application. A high level of real time information brings decreased inventory levels and more frequent order placing, leading to an increased number of logistics transactions managed by the mobile application and growth in the associated revenue for the service provider company. Research limitations/implications – The proposed study fosters research on overcoming the barriers that prevent integration, collaboration, and better visibility in e-grocery SCs. Practical implications – This work constitutes a roadmap to identify the key enabling factors of e-grocery expansion. Originality/value – This is one of the few contributions focussing on increasing the efficiency of e-grocery SCs by applying management strategies supported by mobile devices

Desarrollo de un sistema exportable de confianza corporativa: Aplicación a entornos de trazabilidad de productos

Cada vez es más habitual que en los procesos de fabricación participen diversos fabricantes y empresas. Por otro lado, una característica de los productos muy valorada hoy en día por los consumidores, es la calidad. Ya no es suficiente con producir barato, sino que cada vez es más importante producir con calidad, siendo ésta un factor diferenciador de las manufacturas que se realizan bajo las diversas marcas. La calidad se está integrando cada vez más en las empresas y en sus procesos productivos y de gestión, como un valor añadido y diferenciador del producto. Es habitual encontrar diversos controles de calidad a lo largo de los procesos de fabricación. Lo que ya no es tan habitual es que se pueda identificar a los operarios encargados del control de calidad. A lo sumo, el encargado del control de calidad final deja algún tipo de identificación (por ejemplo un pequeño adhesivo o etiqueta con un número impreso), pero esta identificación carece de sentido en cuanto el producto entra en otra cadena de producción o llega al comprador. En este escenario, aparece otro factor importante como es la confianza. En los actuales sistemas productivos se deben establecer relaciones de confianza entre las empresas encargadas de las diferentes fases de producción (todas esperan que las demás hagan su trabajo según lo acordado). Además, los agentes designados para verificar la adecuación de los productos a lo esperado en las diversas fases de producción, son depositarios de la confianza de la empresa a la que pertenecen. El objetivo principal de la tesis es el desarrollo de un modelo de confianza corporativa exportable, que sea sencillo y económico de implementar. Para ello, se ha propuesto un sistema confiable de identidad digital de los productos. Es decir, cada producto posee un conjunto de atributos que definen su identidad digital, que lo hace único, pero además, cada uno de estos atributos está avalado por el agente de control que lo verificó, por tanto se puede afirmar que es una identidad de calidad. Con este planteamiento, y con una infraestructura mínima, se pueden integrar en el sistema todos los procesos y compañías involucrados en la cadena de producción, bajo un sello de calidad común: la identidad de calidad del producto. Para comprobar la validez de esta propuesta, se ha realizado una prueba de concepto, integrando este sistema de identidad de calidad en un entorno de trazabilidad alimentaria basada en RFID (identificación por radiofrecuencia). Este prototipo, que sirve para securizar la trazabilidad de un producto cárnico elaborado, se ha realizado sobre la tecnología de etiquetado basada en RFID. Con esta tecnología, y para las condiciones ambientales donde se ha desarrollado el proceso de producción de las piezas a controlar en este caso concreto, el tipo de etiquetas idóneo dispone de una cantidad de memoria extremadamente reducida. Además, debido a que anualmente deben utilizarse cientos de miles de etiquetas, el coste de estas etiquetas debe ser sumamente bajo, por lo que sólo es posible utilizar etiquetas muy sencillas (y por tanto sin capacidades de cálculo). Para poder utilizar este tipo de etiquetas, se ha planteado que las operaciones criptográficas no sean realizadas en la etiqueta, sino en un sistema externo basado en una Infraestructura de Clave Pública (PKI), de manera que la etiqueta sólo sirve como soporte de datos en texto plano (sin cifrar), pero firmados electrónicamente. Para resolver el problema del poco espacio de memoria disponible para las firmas de los diferentes agentes de control, se ha recurrido a la utilización de firmas agregadas. Además, al trabajar con criptografía de curvas elípticas, el tamaño de la firma es notablemente menor, para un mismo nivel de seguridad, que el de otros sistemas. Adicionalmente, el sistema propuesto permite transferir la confianza entre las compañías implicadas en un proceso de producción (basta compartir las claves públicas de los firmantes y sus nombres), y se adapta a cualquier entorno productivo. Por todo ello, el sistema propuesto resuelve de forma eficaz la integración de diversas empresas en el proceso de fabricación de un producto, con escaso coste, y permitiendo una verificación de la identidad digital en cualquier parte del proceso, incluida la fase de comercialización

Organisational factors in RFID adoption, implementation, and benefits

This study investigates the impact of organisational and technological factors within pre-adoption, implementation, and post-implementation phases of RFID system deployment. In the pre-adoption phase, the study examines factors that drive and hinder organisations’ decision to adopt RFID. In the implementation phase, the study investigates the impact of organisational factors (business size, strength of culture, and business process re-engineering) on influencing the implementation processes of RFID. In the post-implementation phase, the study investigates how the benefits derived from RFID implementation interact with organisational factors (business size, strength of culture, and business process re-engineering) and RFID-related factors (product unit level of tagging, RFID implementation stage, and organisational pedigree in RFID). This study was motivated by the lack of (i) an advisory framework which considers quantifiable firm characteristics and the costs and benefits of implementing RFID, in yielding advice to guide decisions on RFID adoption, and (ii) a framework that covers the complete processes of RFID project deployment (from adoption decision to benefits derived) in yielding advice to guide decisions on RFID adoption. This study is achieved using a two-phase research approach: questionnaire survey of organisations that have adopted or plan to adopt RFID and case studies of organisations that have integrated RFID into their business processes. In addition, a thorough review of existing literature on RFID in different industrial settings was conducted. The key findings from the study indicate that RFID adoption is driven by factors from technological, organisational and environmental contexts and that the adoption, implementation and benefits of RFID are influenced by organisational culture strength, business size, and BPR. It was found that strong cultures, organisational size and BPR are all positively correlated with RFID adoption decisions, implementation and benefits. Potential contribution towards the existing body of knowledge is through highlighting the significance of organisational culture strength, business size, and BPR in providing a platform in which RFID will be accepted and implemented successfully to achieve maximum derivable benefits

Organizational and business impacts of RFID technology

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to briefly discuss some aspects of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, potential applications, and challenges including scientific methods that will help to study the impacts of RFID implementation on businesses.Design/methodology/approachAs an introductory paper, this paper conducts a brief literature review, provides personal reflection on RFID technology, and consolidates expert opinions.FindingsThis paper identifies a set of research topics that seem relevant for a large‐scale implementation of RFID systems. It brings up the importance of business impacts as a result of new RFID systems introduced to organizations.Originality/valueThe paper is original in the sense that it combines literature review, personal reflections, and expert opinions to draw a set of research topics that contribute to both acceptance and large‐scale implementation of RFID systems.</jats:sec