RFID and NFC for SMART SUPPLY CHAINS

• Retail supply chains are notoriously complex, hard to manage, and difficult to optimize. With RFID/NFC, retailers have a way to turn big data into smart data, so the entire process of getting products into customer hands is more efficient and much easier to control.
  Each item has its own unique serial ID number embedded inside its RFID/NFC tag. Tagged items can be identified at any time, and the cloud-connected reader infrastructure can digitally report the provenance and pedigree of those items as they’re tracked and traced along the supply chain, all the way to the store shelf. Through the backend system that supports RFID and NFC, retailers gain global, real-time visibility into supplier, warehouse, and retail inventories, so operations are more streamlined, most cost-effective, and more secure.
  Equipped with digital security features, tagged items can be authenticated with secure mechanisms at every point, assuring the authenticity of any product, whether it’s sold online or
  off. This makes it much harder to divert products into grey markets and unauthorized channels, or to sell cheaper fakes as genuine products.
• Goods In and Goods Out
  Retailers can identify where products are in the supply chain atany time and in real time. Receiving at distribution centers is moreefficient, since there’s no need to open boxes or containers to countwhat’s inside. When sealed boxes pass by the RFID read point, thesystem can automatically read hundreds, even thousands, of items inan instant.
• Item-Level Tracking
  Individual items can be tagged and monitored, so retailers can knowwhat’s in the shop, what’s in the storeroom, and what’s on its wayfrom the warehouse. This extreme level of detail can even be madeaccessible to consumers, so they can find what they want withouthaving to ask for assistance or wait for help.
• Inventory Management
  What used to take days, with an army of clerks, can now take minutesand be managed by just one person. Compared to barcodes, RAINRFID is dramatically faster, with the ability to read up to 1000 itemsper second, while barcodes have a read rate of about 1 item persecond. Cycle counting can take place more frequently, with lessdisruption, which in turn adds to better inventory accuracy and helpsensure the right products are always available on store shelves.
• Brand Protection
  Tagged items can be identified at any time and, when equipped withhigher security features for advanced authentication (such as digitalsignatures or cryptographic cores), can be digitally verified thatthey’re genuine. That means it’s much easier to tell what’s legitimateand what’s not, and it’s much harder for counterfeiters to presentfakes as genuine items. And, because NFC-enabled tags can beverified by anyone with an NFC smartphone, everyone – brand staff,inspectors, even consumers – can join in the fight against counterfeitsand help protect brands.