Beyond RFID Mandates — Looking For ROI Interview With Uday Shankar, Chief Executive Officer, Supply Insight Inc.

RFID technology has been used by companies in closed-loop systems for years. RFID usage in open-loop supply chain systems has been initiated by the mandates from various retailers. These mandates from retailers and government organizations like Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Department of Defense (DoD) and Federal Drug Administration (FDA) are driving the first wave of RFID adoption (2003-2007). These retail mandates are driving the RFID technology providers to innovate and improve their products, improve read rates, agree on standards, reduce cost and build better solutions.

In the second wave, we feel that companies will use RFID to improve their internal business processes and derive steady ROI (2006-2008). This will set the stage for the third wave, which will drive mass RFID adoption. Once the mass adoption starts, we will see better information visibility and supply chain optimization across enterprise.