Friday | 5 September, 2008
CIO
Kimberly-Clark's Secrets to RFID Success
The man in charge of keeping store shelves across the US stocked with Kleenex and Huggies reveals the company’s best practice for making RFID work
Thomas Wailgum 29 October, 2007 13:24:18

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Extending RFID's Reach

RFID's initial applications have centred around inventory management, such as tracking shipping containers across the supply chain, and now many enterprises are exploring how to get additional benefit from those investments. Wholesale drug company HD Smith has used RFID on pallets for several years, plus individual RFID tags on narcotics bottles, "increasing the security of each product along the supply chain," says Rob Kashmer Jr, the company's vice president of IT. The firm expects state governments to soon require the individual tags on drug bottles for safety purposes. Kashmer's team aims to have a leg up when those RFID compliance requirements go into effect.

Denver law firm Kamlet Shepherd & Reichert is using RFID tags in a traditional inventory management approach, tracking movement of case files within the law office, and expects to expand the business benefits over time, says Technology Director Adam Yantorni. By adapting the firm's FileTrial software to cover other materials, such as furniture and computer equipment, Yantorni plans to build a general-purpose automated inventory management plan. The firm will also grab opportunities to integrate its RFID database with its document management software, to improve workflow.

Another established use of RFID is for security applications, such as door locks that read RFID-enabled badges, notes Rebecca Wettemann, a vice president at Nucleus Research. But oil giant BP is testing a new twist on that approach at its refineries and oil and gas platforms. BP personnel wear RFID-equipped security badges that broadcast their whereabouts each second to a tracking application, so safety managers can see where everyone is. The system also helps analyze fast-moving loads and alerts drivers if they are on a collision course, says Curt Smith, BP's application director.

RFID cost and deployment barriers are falling, notes Wettemann. "A few years ago the CIOs' questions were all about tag technology and costs. Now it's all about how do we evaluate the technology for specific uses," she says. Even if RFID doesn't turn out to be the right tactic approach for a current business need, it may be the right tactic down the line, she says.

Market Place
 

2008 CIO Summit

19th August, 2008 Four Seasons Hotel, Sydney Developed in partnership with CIO Magazine, IDC, INTEP and the CIO Executive Council.

The world of the CIO is extremely complex and diverse. Multiple priorities demand attention and decisions are needed instantly. Individual teams need to be driven towards common goals, and businesses strive to become more mobile, agile and responsive. For CIOs, the challenge never ends.

Every year the CIO Summit identifies what is top of mind for CIOs across Australia and New Zealand, and offers insight for CIO benchmarking and vendor strategic planning alike.

Recent IDC research shows that over 59% of CIO's believe that 'to achieve their business strategies, technology should be used more aggressively than today.'

Join us on August 19th to discover how this is possible with the latest technologies including Virtualisation, Web 2.0, IP Surveillance and Software as a Service (Saas).

Click here for registration.

Click here for more information.

Please email Denyse_Robertson@idg.com.au for further information.

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CIO Webcast Innovation #8 - What are the biggest roadblocks to IT's involvement in innovation at your company?
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CIO Live Podcast #79: Brent D Taylor, author of The Outsider's Edge: The Making of Self-Made Billionaires Part II
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Listen to the podcast
Sign up to the CIO Live email
Whitepaper

Radicati Market Quadrant 2008 on Corporate Web Security

An Analysis of the Market for Corporate Web Security Solutions, revealing Top Players, Mature Players, Specialists and Trail Blazers. Read on to discover who makes the grade.

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