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RFID chips are everywhere - companies and labs use them as access keys, Prius owners use them to start their cars, and retail giants like Wal-Mart have deployed them as inventory tracking devices. Drug manufacturers like Pfizer rely on chips to track pharmaceuticals. The tags are also about to get a lot more personal: Next-gen US passports and credit cards will contain RFIDs, and the medical industry is exploring the use of implantable chips to manage patients. According to the RFID market analysis firm IDTechEx, the push for digital inventory tracking and personal ID systems will expand the current annual market for RFIDs from $2.7 billion to as much as $26 billion by 2016. . RFID technology dates back to World War II, when the British put radio transponders in Allied aircraft to help early radar system crews detect good guys from bad guys. The first chips were developed in research labs in the 1960s, and by the next decade the US government was using tags to electronically authorize trucks coming into Los Alamos National Laboratory and other secure facilities. Commercialized chips became widely available in the '80s, and RFID tags were being used to track difficult-to-manage property like farm animals and railroad cars. But over the last few years, the market for RFIDs has exploded, driven by advances in computer databases and declining chip prices. Now dozens of companies, from Motorola to Philips to Texas Instruments, manufacture the chips. The link for this article located at Wired is no longer available. . RFID technology, originating in WWII for military aircraft tracking, evolved into a versatile tool in inventory, supply chains, and healthcare, shaping modern solutions. RFID Technology, Access Control, Inventory Management, Personal Identification, Medical Applications. . LinuxSecurity.com Team
The Department of Defense issued a mandate early this month requiring all of its suppliers to use passive RFID tags on the cases and pallets they deliver to its various branches by January 2005. The Defense Department isn't the first to require that suppliers support RFID--Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has told its top 100 suppliers to use RFID tags on cases and pallets by the same date and will require all its suppliers to use the technology in 2006.. . .. The Department of Defense issued a mandate early this month requiring all of its suppliers to use passive RFID tags on the cases and pallets they deliver to its various branches by January 2005. The Defense Department isn't the first to require that suppliers support RFID--Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has told its top 100 suppliers to use RFID tags on cases and pallets by the same date and will require all its suppliers to use the technology in 2006. RFID is expected to improve inventory management with less manpower. Today, Defense agencies check inventory manually with bar-code scanners, says Alan Estevez, assistant deputy undersecretary of defense for supply-chain integration. "Anytime you have intervention, there's some margin of error. With passive RFID, you now have the ability to in-check without manual intervention." The Defense Department's directive could have huge ramifications for the technology, which until recently has been too costly to use on a wide scale. The initiative will affect tens of thousands of suppliers, more than Wal-Mart's initiative, which ultimately will involve more than 10,000 suppliers. The Defense Logistics Agency, the department's largest agency, has nearly 24,000 providers. "This is as good or better than the Wal-Mart mandate in terms of driving adoption of RFID," says Noha Tohamy, a Forrester Research senior analyst. The Defense Department "is a global enterprise," she adds. "They stay away from proprietary deployments." The link for this article located at SecurityPipeline is no longer available. . The National SecurityAgency's guidelines stipulate that contractors implement active RFID systems, improving asset tracking capabilities.. Passive Rfid, Defense Suppliers, Supply Chain Efficiency, Rfid Strategy. . Anthony Pell
OpenSales today announced the availability of their open source e-commerce solution. "The software, called AllCommerce, lets companies such as MyHome.com build online sales catalogs that can handle orders, keep track of inventory and generate Web pages. It's open-source software, . . .. OpenSales today announced the availability of their open source e-commerce solution. "The software, called AllCommerce, lets companies such as MyHome.com build online sales catalogs that can handle orders, keep track of inventory and generate Web pages. It's open-source software, meaning that anyone can use or modify it for free, and it competes with better-known but proprietary software from companies such as Intershop and InterWorld." The link for this article located at News.com is no longer available. . OpenMarket has introduced a public domain retail platform, ShopWorld, allowing enterprises to create and oversee digital transactions.. Ecommerce Solution, Open Source Software, Business Solutions, AllCommerce, Inventory Management. . LinuxSecurity.com Team
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