Avoiding the RFID money pit

RFID technology offers significant potential benefits to companies and therefore many RFID trials are underway. But so far, these trials have delivered fewer benefits than expected, and the majority have not progressed to rollout, raising questions about the value realised.

PA Consulting Group believes that businesses need to take a different look at RFID trials, only investing in RFID trials that could be fully rolled out to deliver payback within 18 months. Very few of the current initiatives meet this criterion. Adopting this strict policy towards RFID will benefit businesses, by: avoiding unnecessary costs; not investing time and resources in trials with minimal benefit; and forcing the business to search rigorously for areas where RFID can add real value.