For the last 30 years, radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology has been considered “the next big thing” in asset tracking. But 30 years is a terribly long time for a technology to be on the brink of having its moment in the sun — and still be waiting.
Now, this isn’t to say that RFID doesn’t have its uses. In manufacturing environments, RFID tags can be attached to specialist tooling and returnable packaging. In grocery stores, RFID tags serve as anti-theft devices for high-value items. Go through a road toll, and an RFID tag on the windshield automatically identifies your vehicle, initiating billing without requiring drivers to stop, roll down their car window, and pay a human in a booth.
But in many applications where RFID was expected to be a game changer, it still isn’t major-league technology. And it never will be. Case in point: the downstream finished vehicle supply chain. RFID asset tracking was supposed to transform this industry, but vehicle visibility is still an issue. Let’s look at four reasons why.
1. RFID solves the wrong problem
Successful RFID deployments are observed in scenarios where assets pass specific fixed points. Examples include returnable packaging reaching marshaling points or stores, grocery store checkouts, toll booths, and assembly lines.
And the reason for RFID’s success in these applications is easy to understand: When an asset passes those fixed points, the act is detected and recorded automatically. No human has to do anything — and inventory records can’t be corrupted by humans forgetting or doing something incorrectly. Plus, there are obvious efficiency savings.
In addition to being recorded automatically, the data is captured fairly reliably, too. As long as an RFID tag is physically present, its data is consistently read unless significant metal interference exists in the immediate surroundings, which may cause missed scans or read errors.
But in vehicle yards, the requirement is different. In vehicle yards, the goal is to capture an individual vehicle’s current location. Knowing that a vehicle passed through an RFID gate 250 yards away is better than nothing, but that might still only narrow the vehicle’s location down to a general (and fairly large) location — like being one of 5,000 vehicles in the corner of the yard. This is far from the original intent of the technology, which is being able to pinpoint a vehicle’s specific location.
2. RFID for asset tracking requires hefty infrastructure investment
RFID technology is certainly an advancement over barcode technology, but it is considerably more expensive than the low cost of using paper or cards and printing barcodes on them. And the cost only grows if you want to enhance the location granularity of the data.
Consider the example above: a vehicle passes by (or through) an RFID reader 250 yards away, narrowing its location down to being one of 5,000 vehicles in a corner of the yard. To increase that locational precision, further RFID readers must be added. Add two further readers, and you’re potentially narrowing the location down to being one in 2,500 vehicles. Four more readers take you to one in 1,250 vehicles. Four more, one in 625. And so on, and so on.
In theory, this would be fine — if drive-by (or drive-through) RFID readers were inexpensive. But they’re not. The costs of that additional infrastructure amount to a hefty investment with a rapidly diminishing ROI.
3. Fixed infrastructure offers limited flexibility
The shortcomings of fixed infrastructure don’t end there. In addition to being expensive and imprecise, RFID readers offer limited flexibility. The readers must be strategically placed at specific points within a facility, such as entry and exit points or designated scanning zones. This can make it challenging to adapt to changes in operational workflows or sudden shifts in inventory volume.
For instance, if a facility needs to temporarily reroute the flow of vehicles to accommodate a special project or unforeseen event, the existing RFID infrastructure can’t be easily reconfigured to support new routing.
In addition, RFID asset tracking technology lacks mobility. To access the data, yard workers and managers must use expensive and inconvenient RFID-specific mobile devices. With other technology, such as Bluetooth (BLE), data is much more easily accessible via a smartphone app.
4. RFID has little value in a cloud-connected world
RFID falls short in another important area: cost-effectiveness. Simply put, technology has advanced; yet, RFID tags still try to unnecessarily address yesterday’s problems.
One example is how standards-setting bodies — e.g., the Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG) and Europe’s Odette — have worked to build capabilities into RFID tags that simply aren’t necessary in today’s cloud-connected world.
One standard, for instance, requires tags to encode the vehicle’s model, VIN, assembly plant, destination address, fuel type, date of production, transportation handling requirements, and OEM-specific additional information.
All helpful information, to be sure — but not in an RFID tag. In today’s world, there are better ways to store and transmit such data, such as the cloud. Encoding them within an RFID asset tracking system adds cost but very little value.
So, if RFID isn’t the vehicle location solution, what is?
At Cognosos, we know there’s a better way of delivering what RFID tries — and largely fails — to achieve. Our approach uses low-cost, wireless-equipped, GPS-enabled tracking tags, which are activated by onboard accelerometers, so that any time a vehicle is moved in the yard, its precise location is automatically captured in real time. And by precise, we mean within around ten feet of the vehicle’s location — or even less, with the latest generation of our technology.
There’s no need to extensively populate the yard with expensive RFID readers to track location, either. Cognosos’ patented low-cost, long-range wireless network gateway offers a range of up to two miles outdoors. One or two wireless masts can serve an entire yard, with tags communicating directly with the mast or masts, uploading their current location to our cloud-based solution.
The result: real-time vehicle location data with pinpoint accuracy, updated automatically every time a vehicle moves, that is reliable and always up to date.
Does that sound better than RFID? It does to us.
To learn more about advancements in real-time vehicle location technology — and how they can lead to improved operational performance and significant cost reductions — download our guide, “How to Improve FVL Efficiency and Profitability.”
