In a broad sense, RFID (Radio Frequency IDentification) stands for technology that uses radio waves to detect and identify an object. In application to asset and inventory management, RFID system consists of a reader (scanner) and a tag with embedded chip and antenna. When tag appears in the reader’s working range (around 60 feet), it “wakes up” and sends a signal containing encoded information. The reader receives and decodes information, and sends it to the inventory and asset management software for processing.
RFID provides tremendous increase in processing speed as compared to traditional barcode scanning. Instead of scanning one item at a time, with RFID technology you can read information from all items in the working radius at the same time. For example, if you need to check in inventory on a service van, all you need to do is turn on RFID reader and information for all inventory in the van will be read and transmitted to an asset and inventory management software in a matter of seconds.
