RFID in Freight Planning ...

From FHWA ...

... "But the customer demands are really a key component of everything we do. In addition to what goes on inside the industry, an additional customer requirement that is out there, is radio frequency identity, or RFID. RFID is a hot topic across a lot of vendors, especially because of Wal-Mart, one of the largest retailers in the world, has decided that this will be their new method, not only security tracking but also product traffic. RFID is the next step, if you ever walk through the retailer that has the little scanners as you walk out the door, that beeps if they don't deactivate the strip inside. The RFID is actually an enhanced version of that. What it does it allows the retailer to automatically store the serial number of that product, time and date, where it was purchased, not just the store, but actual city, state, regional locations. As that product moves through the store, and if it should ever return, in exchange or the product wasn't defective when you got it home, when they scan that, they should automatically be able to tell, how long it was out, the reason for that term, once it is brought back and everything is automatically linked to that serial number. That information can then be passed back to the manufacturer for use in their own quality tests, their own product tracking, to see who registered users are. Typically when you purchase a product, you have a little card to fill out, you have to mail that in, call a phone number or log onto the Internet. The radio frequency identity, one advantage that is coming out in the next few years, once you purchase that product, your serial number is already registered with the manufacturer. It is just attaching your name and -- information to that purchase. So it is the next step in product registration. But it has a great amount of potential and some really " ...