Selecting RFID Middleware for Supply-Chain Applications

CIO Today

October 4, 2005 8:30AM

"There is a tendency to think that RFID is unique," said president Dan Mullen of the trade assocation AIM Global. "But the basic process and the things to consider in using RFID data are similar to what happens if the data had come in by a barcode or some other means".

By Mark Long

Implementing RFID in the enterprise supply chain is no easy task given the evolving character of today's marketplace.

There are uncertainties over the communication protocols, data-sharing protocols and frequency levels to be used, noted Frost & Sullivan senior research analyst Soumilya Banerjee. "As a result, a majority of the prospective end-users are hesitant to commit any investment in hardware and software that might be redundant as the market matures."

So how should enterprise managers go about sorting through all the hype to get the RFID middleware that is most appropriate for their business?

"In such a situation, it is always advisable to look at vendors who have the experience of working in a wide range of business types," Banerjee suggested. "Large vendors also have the advantage of having resources to change their services and product offerings when the market changes."

 The Platform Perspective

Kevin MacDonald, vice president of client architecture at Odin Technologies, a vendor specializing in RFID technologies, believes that selecting the right middleware for RFID applications is not a straightforward, easy process. "From a platform perspective, I personally like to divide the market into three categories in order to put it into perspective: the infrastructure vendors, application vendors and what I call the 'cogs' -- the RFID pure-plays."

Infrastructure vendors such as IBM , Oracle and Sun "look at RFID as a pipe that you write standards to, basically wedging it in as part of your overall architecture," MacDonald said.

Going with one of these vendors might be great for enterprises doing deep integration, MacDonald suggested, but is difficult for firms that are just trying to get something up and running right away. He pointed out that what vendors such as IBM are looking to do is expand their footprint in an existing account. "But if you are just trying to add simple functionality, this approach tends to be a bit more expensive," he said.

Other application vendors, such as Manhattan, are the guys that come at the world assuming companies already own a warehouse-management system (WMS), MacDonald said. "If you already own their WMS, then it's easy to view it as a natural extension" of something that is already in place.

But such offerings have very limited functionality out of the box, warned MacDonald, which is why they tell you to use a third party, the reason being that they want to provide a standard module to their entire customer base. "So it is a great fit only if you already own their WMS," he added.

Enterprises that do not want to buy an RFID system tied to a specific RFID vendor can turn to a pure-play like Shipcom Wireless, which can "set your RFID world up as a stand-alone so you can get everything up and running on a pilot scale," MacDonald said. "This can be good if you want to get up and be compliant quickly, but not so good if you are trying for deep integration because it might fall down with respect to Web services."

Defining Business Processes

One of the most effective ways to think about integrating software and hardware through middleware is to look at the requirements for the whole system, not separate components.

"There's a tendency to think that RFID is unique," said Dan Mullen, president of AIM Global, a trade association that has just formed an action group to provide industry guidance related to RFID middleware and application software. "But the basic process and the things to consider in using RFID data are similar to what happens if the data had come in by a bar code or some other means."

Mullen said that everybody seems to realize that the value proposition you really have to leverage is what is happening at the level of data and software integration. "We want to support the users in being able to extract that data carefully," he said.

Moreover, enterprises have to be able to interpret and act upon the data to be successful, noted Nick Evans, BearingPoint's Global RFID solution lead. "This is really no different from other business application strategies; it presents the same old game plan for solving business problems with technology," he said.

"We currently have to piece together five or 10 products to help achieve integration because their needs require so many devices -- active and passive tags, PDAs, bar coding, RFID printers, wireless infrastructure, and security with encryption," Evans noted. "Some of the larger applications will actually need up to 10 vendor technologies."