As a barcode and RFID systems designer and integrator, we’re constantly uncovering areas where new technology is being used to save expense or improve business operations. For the purposes of this article, our focus is to spotlight the benefits of RFID Asset Tracking.

Benefits of RFID Asset Tracking

One of the most highly regulated environments in the world – the U.S. Military – uses RFID asset tracking systems, and that should tell us all something about the value of this technology. Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) allows the military to gain real-time visibility into the movement of key goods throughout their tightly controlled supply chain. It represents a monumental advance over prior manual tracking procedures such as clipboards, pencils and visual inspections, as it allows operations and assets to be tracked with greater precision and efficiency.

All businesses, whether they are supporting a military mission or not, can benefit from RFID asset tracking solutions when implemented correctly. Let’s review the four high level benefits that your business will achieve upon rolling out an RFID asset tracking software solution. Your return on investment depends upon which of the benefits are the greatest to your operating model:

  • Increase productivity and reduce labor waste: RFID allows businesses to keep track of moving assets that are passing through many departments or teams during the assets’ lifecycle. When RFID tags are placed on assets, these assets are scanned automatically as they move throughout your operations. Consequently, the labor costs are almost eliminated, as you don’t need teams of people who are responsible for manually scanning or logging the movement of items and, a significant labor expense, looking for assets that disappear. This frees up your employees to focus on other areas that make a difference for the bottom line.
  • Improve customer service: When a customer signs a contract to work with your business, they are expecting to get the biggest return on their investment in you – and that includes knowing exactly what is happening to their assets in real time. With RFID, you are able to prove to your customer exactly where their assets are when audited, the efficiency with which the assets are moving through your internal processes, and give your customer the real-time visibility necessary to discuss opportunities to improve production or asset management processes.
  • Eliminate delayed product deliveries: Businesses encounter waste because their various teams and divisions aren’t able to achieve efficient production flow due to bottlenecks. When lacking visibility of items moving throughout stages in production or distribution, products don’t get to where they need to be when they need to be there – and this ultimately creates waste and extra expense for the business. With RFID, you are cutting out the dependency on employees to consistently engage in logging and tracking of items, as RFID asset tracking solutions take care of all of the necessary identification and tracking automatically.
  • Ensure accuracy and peace of mind: Perhaps the greatest benefit of RFID is the peace of mind that comes with knowing your business has achieved maximum accuracy in asset tracking, with the ability to consistently pass internal and external audits with flying colors. Because RFID is automated, every single employee – from floor technicians to upper management – can track assets in real time, and simultaneously provide this data in customized formats to customers, vendors and auditors.

The US military has demonstrated the value of RFID asset tracking solutions time and time again. These are benefits that any business can take advantage of – because they are the shared goals and values of every business. From increased productivity to reduced labor and product waste, from improved customer experience to maximum accuracy in tracking with minimal error, there’s no reason not to begin reaping the benefits of RFID tracking technology today.