RFID: REVOLUTIONARY TECHNOLOGY OR COST BURDEN?

Almost two years after Wal-Mart announced its radio frequency identification (RFID) initiative, thousands of companies have complied with mandates. No one denies that RFID is a revolutionary technology changing global business - but many are asking if RFID can deliver tangible economic benefits.

According to the authors of "RFID Labeling: Smart Labeling Concepts & Applications for the Consumer Packaged Goods Supply Chain" (second edition), the economic benefits reside in expert implementation. This book teaches global retail and business leaders how to stream RFID into their current bar-code labeling systems, using smart labels to integrate both the physical tags and the associated electronic product code (EPC) data.

Robert A. Kleist, Theodore A. Chapman, David A. Sakai and Brad S. Jarvis return as "RFID Labeling" authors to update the handbook previously released in August 2004. Nearly 19,000 copies of the first edition were sold or distributed in less than one year. This second edition offers EPCglobal(tm) Generation 2 information, case studies and implementation checklists. The authors are executives at Printronix, the leading integrated supply-chain printing solutions manufacturer.

"RFID Labeling" is a collaboration of information from Printronix subject matter experts and business partners. They present expert knowledge culled from retail industry and U.S. Department of Defense initiatives as well as lessons learned in digestible case study formats.

"RFID implementation is a real opportunity for those who support the retail industry," said Kleist, who is president and chief executive officer of Printronix. "That's the reason for updating the 'RFID Labeling' handbook. It's part of our collaborative effort to help move RFID adoption forward."

Advance praise for "RFID Labeling" comes from industry drivers, including Cisco Systems, EPCglobal US, IBM Printing Systems Division, Manhattan Associates, Microsoft, MIT, Nashua, SAP American, ScanSource and Sun RFID Business Unit.