Manufacturers should focus on the "true business value" of RFID, rather than how much they will be out of pocket for compliance, says a report from Manufacturing Insights. The research and advisory firm follows processes associated with the design, development and distribution of goods in discrete and process manufacturing, high-tech/electronics manufacturing, consumer packaged goods and retail.

The "current RFID climate is overwrought with a sense of urgency (especially in the consumer goods and retail industry) to reap the potential supply chain benefits promised by RFID and comply with the plethora of aggressive mandate timelines," according to RFID Investment: Cost of Compliance or Strategic Business Benefit? "This has forced many manufacturers to implement immature technology in a narrow, compliance-focused scope."

Only a handful of industry leaders progressed into the "process" stage, which focuses on end-to-end supply chain integration and transforming both upstream and downstream processes. The report says that the "true value" of RFID lies in the sensor networks of the final stage "product" postulating that current passive RFID solutions will prove to be the stepping-stone to sensor networks for open end-to-end supply chain applications.

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