Foreign experts thoroughly interpret the impact of RFID on the packaging industry

Editor's note: Bar code is a former product, its vitality has dried up, and RFID is the master of the future packaging world. If you know nothing about RFID before, then you are outdated. All you have to do is to know something quickly and the sooner the better.

PW: How did we start talking about RFID technology and its impact on packaging?

Greaves: First of all, RFID technology is a very well-established technology, but it was not invented by Wal-Mart. Of course, Walmart has played an extremely important role in RFID technology. Wal-Mart has had the most significant impact on your readers, so much so that the impact is far greater than the initiator of RFID technology - the US Department of Defense. RFID is actually related to WEC (wireless commerce). It can track items in stores, which is why Wal-Mart focused on RFID technology.

PW: Will wireless business (WEC) take RFID out of the packaging area?

Greaves: No, actually WEC brought it into the packaging field. That is why packaging companies are so strongly influenced by RFID technology that they will decide where their labels go. Redesign the packaging - we will see opportunities for those corrugated boxes with RFID tags installed.
PW: Why do packaging manufacturers use RFID technology?

Greaves: There are three direct reasons why (packers) use this technology. I call them FCA - Federal (Institutional), Business (Value), and Advantage. In federal terms, you use this technology in pharmaceuticals or other products because the law requires you to do so. For business (value), it may be because (a company) like Wal-Mart asks you to do this. Finally, you use RFID technology because you foresee the use of this technology can make you more competitive and commercial advantages.
PW: Can you compare bar codes and RFID?

Greaves: The problem is that the barcode is a product of the past and it has no vitality. Once the bar code is printed, it (the transmitted information) will remain at that stage forever. Another difference is that RFID technology is governed by regulations. There is nothing for the supply chain until regulations are created around various areas of RFID. You can also call a barcode a smart information union. If you look at barcodes and RFIDs with a historical perspective, you can see that their origins are similar. The only difference between them is that barcodes have been developed for eight years before Wal-Mart used barcodes. This time is another matter.

PW: What does that mean for packers?

Greaves: For packagers, RFID-enabled packaging
It is very important to enter the market quickly. At the beginning, this kind of product may have a slight impact on prices due to the use of innovative technologies, but people will clearly recognize that it has a very competitive advantage in the market.

PW: How did you evaluate Walmart's role in the use of RFID?

Greaves: Wal-Mart understands that all basic data is not suitable for (RFID), in order to enable RFID to operate, need to spend millions of dollars to solve this problem. Wal-Mart knows better than we all that we can't use RFID technology on the existing basic data. I think they are very smart at this point. Wal-Mart decided to use RFID. They recognized where the difficulties were. They were excellent and they did a series of detailed work. Wal-Mart recognizes that RFID is based on data synchronization.

PW: What is data synchronization and why is it so important?

Greaves: Let's put it this way: Put an RFID tag on the package and get the RFID antenna in the mall. Then you tell me that you can pass data from the mall through the RFID reader to the global data center in the city of Toledo (U.S. cities). Then I will say: Congratulations! This is what we are talking about data consolidation, data synchronization, data classification and data transmission. It enables packers to have the ability to know in advance the actual number of orders to be placed, because they now know the actual number of products they need to manufacture because they know the exact information in the mall. And now we must store 20% more products in the supply chain because we can't get accurate information about what is being consumed and where it is being consumed. Companies tend to make more products each month, because their goal is to meet the hypothetical demand rather than the real market demand. RFID provides a real way to seize the opportunity to solve this 20% problem, because it (RFID) is an important aspect of solving this problem: 0 Human Intervention Operation.

PW: Is the unattended operation (0HIO) very important?

Greaves: Absolutely (so). It means that most data processing can be done accurately and automatically. If packagers can fully use RFID, this will be a huge leverage they have. This is why experts in the packaging and packaging industry are very concerned about the success of RFID in the consumer product supply chain. It is time for them to seize this opportunity and moment. Can you imagine the cost of returning 20% ​​of an existing inventory to a shareholder? For the mall, we must also consider that the cost of inventory is not only the savings of 40 finished products in the mall, but we must also consider 40 empty bottles or 40 cartons containing these products. The products we produce will be effective and visible. Today, many operators may order products because they do not know they have already ordered them, and they do not know the status of these products. Although we will have all the information today, the problem is that we cannot grasp this information and apply it properly - because we do not believe in the data we have.

PW: What about cargo-level RFID, especially high-value products?

Greaves: Let me offload your readers. RFID cargo-level packaging cannot be realized until 2010 with the current technology. Even for Wal-Mart with mature technology, it is impossible to label a single Mars bar (a type of chocolate) except for the pharmaceuticals, electronic products, brown goods (television, radio, camera) and white goods (which are required by those regulations). Large, high-priced household appliances such as refrigerators, washing machines, etc., tobacco products, and alcoholic beverages. I suggest that packagers of these products should boldly probe into cargo-level RFID solutions. Because these products can be sold at high prices, it is easier to prove the value of cargo-level FFIDs.

PW: How Alcoholic Drinks - What Drives RFID into this Market?

Greaves: Under the management of the National Liquor Control Commission, bottled drinks have been very standardized and they do not need more restrictions. RFID is a tool that can resist the sale of alcoholic beverages to minors. With a bottle of wireless ID and RFID, you can get sufficient information by "handshaking" between these two electronic media. Of course, basic data must be established and I believe this will come very quickly.
PW: Is liquid not a problem for RFID?

Greaves: Oh, that's the opinion of the critics, but that's not entirely correct. You can find a label for all-day work, but you can't get a 25-inch label that works in liquids. The liquid I'm referring to is something like giving him power (trade name, a sports drink) and gasoline. It is the difference. For example, the energy of hydrocarbons (such as motor oil) is not easily absorbed, so they are transparent to RF (radio frequency) waves. However, the oil is canned in plastic containers because of the strong insulation of the plastic, which causes problems, which can make the RF (radio-frequency) signal weak or deviate.

PW: It is said that metal also has problems.

Greaves: It depends on what you are trying to do. You can turn your defect into an advantage by changing the structure of the metal to make it part of the antenna. We are now working on the research of several programs. For RFID, my motto is: Don't complain, compete!

PW: So "put down and ship" RFID tags?
Greaves: At present, "the way to put down and ship again" is not going to last forever. This is because the temporary nature of the program prevents it from being manually upgraded. With the increase in label shipments, the demand for labor will also increase, and eventually the labor cost will exceed the value of the label. This is a retrogression that violates the principles of 0HIO.

PW: What is the status of metal inks used to print RFID tag antennas?

Greaves: They will eventually work, but not now.

PW: What is the role of Electronic Article Surveillance?