Reviewing the Drivers and Challenges in RFID Implementation in the Pharmaceutical Supply Chain

Counterfeiting is a global phenomenon that poses a serious financial threat to the pharmaceutical industry and more importantly jeopardizes public safety and security. Different measures, including new laws and regulations, have been put in place to mitigate the threat and tighten control in the pharmaceuticals supply chain. However, it appears that the most promising countermeasure is track-and-trace technology such as electronic-pedigree (E-pedigree) with Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology. In this study we present a framework exploring the antecedents and consequences of RFID applications in the pharmaceutical supply chain. The framework proposes that counterfeiting and E-pedigree regulation will drive the implementation of RFID in the pharmaceutical supply chain, which in turn provides strategic and operational benefits that enable competitive advantage. Meanwhile, the implementation of RFID requires overcoming many operational, technical and financial challenges. The framework provides a springboard that future study can explore using empirical data

Critical Management Issues for Implementing RFID in Supply Chain Management

The benefits of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology in the supply chain are fairly compelling. It has the potential to revolutionise the efficiency, accuracy and security of the supply chain with significant impact on overall profitability. A number of companies are actively involved in testing and adopting this technology. It is estimated that the market for RFID products and services will increase significantly in the next few years. Despite this trend, there are major impediments to RFID adoption in supply chain. While RFID systems have been around for several decades, the technology for supply chain management is still emerging. We describe many of the challenges, setbacks and barriers facing RFID implementations in supply chains, discuss the critical issues for management and offer some suggestions. In the process, we take an in-depth look at cost, technology, standards, privacy and security and business process reengineering related issues surrounding RFID technology in supply chains

The RFID PIA – developed by industry, agreed by regulators

This chapter discusses the privacy impact assessment (PIA) framework endorsed by the European Commission on February 11th, 2011. This PIA, the first to receive the Commission's endorsement, was developed to deal with privacy challenges associated with the deployment of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, a key building block of the Internet of Things. The goal of this chapter is to present the methodology and key constructs of the RFID PIA Framework in more detail than was possible in the official text. RFID operators can use this article as a support document when they conduct PIAs and need to interpret the PIA Framework. The chapter begins with a history of why and how the PIA Framework for RFID came about. It then proceeds with a description of the endorsed PIA process for RFID applications and explains in detail how this process is supposed to function. It provides examples discussed during the development of the PIA Framework. These examples reflect the rationale behind and evolution of the text's methods and definitions. The chapter also provides insight into the stakeholder debates and compromises that have important implications for PIAs in general.Series: Working Papers on Information Systems, Information Business and Operation

RFID TECHNNOLOGY - NEW CHALLENGE FOR MANUFACTURING AND LOGISTICS CENTERS

RFID technology can be exploited in newly developed logistics centers in Polandas well. The Radio frequency identification (RFID) has been recognized as one of the greatesttechnologies implemented by enterprises in different branches. Constantly increasing numberof enterprises, which are making use of RFID technology to improve their efficiency ofmanufacturing goods, functioning as well as to achieve a competitive advantage on themarket, shows the great necessity of large changes. One of the fields where RFID can be usedis logistics centers. There are projects that implement RFID into logistics centers. Suchprojects start with a study of what kinds of needs are in the market, and proceeds to thedevelopment of concept as well as project determines what the new systems and hardwarerequirements will be to translate the concept of logistics centers with RFID systems to anactual infrastructure. Conclusion is that RFID will be more universally diffused andassimilated into everyday life in the future.RFID, logistics centre, project

Radio Frequency Identification Technology: Applications, Technical Challenges and Strategies

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to discuss the technology behind RFID systems, identify the applications of RFID in various industries, and discuss the technical challenges of RFID implementation and the corresponding strategies to overcome those challenges. Design/methodology/approach - Comprehensive literature review and integration of the findings from literature. Findings - Technical challenges of RFID implementation include tag cost, standards, tag and reader selection, data management, systems integration and security. The corresponding solution is suggested for each challenge. Research limitations/implications - A survey type research is needed to validate the results. Practical implications - This research offers useful technical guidance for companies which plan to implement RFID and we expect it to provide the motivation for much future research in this area. Originality/value - As the infancy of RFID applications, few researches have existed to address the technical issues of RFID implementation. Our research filled this gap

Tahap penguasaan, sikap dan minat pelajar Kolej Kemahiran Tinggi MARA terhadap mata pelajaran Bahasa Inggeris

Kajian ini dilakukan untuk mengenal pasti tahap penguasaan, sikap dan minat pelajar Kolej Kemahiran Tinggi Mara Sri Gading terhadap Bahasa Inggeris. Kajian yang dijalankan ini berbentuk deskriptif atau lebih dikenali sebagai kaedah tinjauan. Seramai 325 orang pelajar Diploma in Construction Technology dari Kolej Kemahiran Tinggi Mara di daerah Batu Pahat telah dipilih sebagai sampel dalam kajian ini. Data yang diperoleh melalui instrument soal selidik telah dianalisis untuk mendapatkan pengukuran min, sisihan piawai, dan Pekali Korelasi Pearson untuk melihat hubungan hasil dapatan data. Manakala, frekuensi dan peratusan digunakan bagi mengukur penguasaan pelajar. Hasil dapatan kajian menunjukkan bahawa tahap penguasaan Bahasa Inggeris pelajar adalah berada pada tahap sederhana manakala faktor utama yang mempengaruhi penguasaan Bahasa Inggeris tersebut adalah minat diikuti oleh sikap. Hasil dapatan menggunakan pekali Korelasi Pearson juga menunjukkan bahawa terdapat hubungan yang signifikan antara sikap dengan penguasaan Bahasa Inggeris dan antara minat dengan penguasaan Bahasa Inggeris. Kajian menunjukkan bahawa semakin positif sikap dan minat pelajar terhadap pengajaran dan pembelajaran Bahasa Inggeris semakin tinggi pencapaian mereka. Hasil daripada kajian ini diharapkan dapat membantu pelajar dalam meningkatkan penguasaan Bahasa Inggeris dengan memupuk sikap positif dalam diri serta meningkatkan minat mereka terhadap Bahasa Inggeris dengan lebih baik. Oleh itu, diharap kajian ini dapat memberi panduan kepada pihak-pihak yang terlibat dalam membuat kajian yang akan datang

Communication Subsystems for Emerging Wireless Technologies

The paper describes a multi-disciplinary design of modern communication systems. The design starts with the analysis of a system in order to define requirements on its individual components. The design exploits proper models of communication channels to adapt the systems to expected transmission conditions. Input filtering of signals both in the frequency domain and in the spatial domain is ensured by a properly designed antenna. Further signal processing (amplification and further filtering) is done by electronics circuits. Finally, signal processing techniques are applied to yield information about current properties of frequency spectrum and to distribute the transmission over free subcarrier channels

A sector analysis for RFID technologies: fundamental and technical analysis for financial decision making problems

Automatic identification technologies have been used in a wide range of applications for reducing the amount of time and labor needed to input data and improving data accuracy. As an important automatic identification technology, radio frequency identification (RFID) technologies allow contactless reading and these technologies are particularly successful in manufacturing and other environments where traditional identification technologies such as bar codes can not perform well. By integrating the RFID technology into their business models, companies may save time, lower labor cost, improve products quality and provide better service. RFID is the wireless technology that uses RF communication to identify, track and manage objects and collect and store data. RFID technology enables companies to develop applications that create value by tracking and identifying objects, animals or people. Business applications of RFID technology can be seen in areas such as manufacturing, supply chain management, software integration, security systems, asset tracking and many others. RFID technology was predicted to be one of the “top ten” technologies in 2004 by CNN. Although, the RFID market is less than five years old, it has been applied to many different industries, from retail industry to logistics, or from healthcare to service business industry – and it is still growing. Particularly, RFID has fundamental influences on today's retailing and supply chain management for applications like asset tracking the inventory control and management. RFID technology also finds major application in mobile phones and is widely used in toll collection of highways, for payments in restaurants, vending machines, retail and parking lots. There are a wide range of RFID systems currently being used or being developed. Examples to these systems include but not limited to the following; automatic vehicle and personnel access control for security (Simpson, 2006), airport passenger and baggage tracking (Ferguson, 2006), tracing blood for cutting down errors such as giving patients wrong blood types (Ranger, 2006), payment process systems (Ramachandran, 2006), production control in manufacturing (Liu & Miao, 2006), transfusion medicine (Knels, 2006) real-time inventory control by automated identification of items in warehouses, tracking and management of physical files, tracking of books in the libraries (Shadid, 2005). For some other applications, interested reader is referred to (Finkenzeller, 2003; Smith, 2004). RFID solution providers claim that their technology and solutions bring significant benefits and have valuable advantages in practice. As new RFID solutions being developed and more RFID tags and equipments being used, these solutions will become more cost effective and RFID businesses are expected to grow rapidly. Since RFID is fairly new, it’s difficult to measure resulting sales increases or heightened customer satisfaction quotients. On the other hand, according to IDC estimation (IDC is a subsidiary of International Data Group, a leading technology media, research, and events company and provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology, telecommunications, and consumer technology markets), companies in the retail sector will spend nearly $1.3 billion on RFID in their supply chain operations in 2008, compared to about$91.5 million in 2003 which corresponds to annual growth rate of 70 percent. In a similar look; the Wireless Data Research Group projected that the global market for RFID increased from $1 billion in 2003 to$3 billion in 2007 (Asif & Mandviwalla, 2005). There are two major drivers of this growth. The first one is the adoption of RFID technology by major retailers and government agencies. The second one is the reduction in the price of RFID tags, readers, and IT systems required to deploy RFID. Given the huge potential of RFID technology, there has been a huge emergence of RFID specialty companies and the development of RFID practices within many market-leading companies. Due to huge emergence, it is desirable to make a sector analysis. In this study, we perform a sector analysis for RFID technologies for researchers and analysts. We investigate public RFID companies traded on the stock exchange markets, summarize their financial performance, describe their RF products, services, and applications, and perform fundamental and technical analysis