PRODUCTS
Transportation vs. Supply Chain

DID YOU KNOW?

In 1991, the AAR mandated a standard that requires all railcars in interchange service to be equipped with TransCore's Amtech radio frequency tags.

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Susan McDermott

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Transportation Applications Compared to Supply Chain Applications

Applied RFID technology pioneered by TransCore in the 1980’s is now used in many other applications in addition to transportation. The latest industry “buzz” is centered on RFID used in retail supply chain applications. So, what’s the difference between RFID technology applied to transportation applications versus retail and wholesale supply chain applications?

First, supply chain applications involve tracking many items (retail item packages, cartons, cases, and pallets) at a relatively slow rate of speed (e.g. fork-lift, conveyor, or items on a storage rack or display shelf) in a protected environment. Many times the value of items being tracked in supply chain applications are of relatively low value.

On the other hand, RFID technology applied to transportation applications involves tracking only a few items or assets (cars, trucks, trailers, shipping containers, etc.) but at a high rate of speed and at long distances. Many transportation applications are specified and tested at highway speeds exceeding 100 MPH. The value of the underlying assets being tracked in transportation applications is generally higher than the value of items being tracked in supply chain applications.

These differences in speeds and numbers of items being identified dictate the performance and cost of the underlying hardware and software necessary to support the desired applications. For example, lower cost RFID readers, typically used in supply applications and which are certified under the FCC’s Part 15 regulation for unlicensed use, will not perform satisfactorily in transportation applications. In transportation applications, due to the travel speed of the vehicles and the requirement for 99%+ accuracy, more expensive, more powerful and licensed FCC Part 90 readers are required.

Transportation Applications Compared to Supply Chain Applications

There are significant differences in tag packaging between RFID tags used in transportation applications and RFID tags used in supply chain applications. RFID tags deployed in supply chain applications are generally, although not always, designed to be disposable, one time use tags. They only need to endure the single journey through the supply chain from the manufacturer, to distribution center(s), to the retail shelf and, finally, to retail checkout. After checkout, the supply chain RFID tag is either disabled or destroyed.

Transportation RFID tags, on the other hand, must be designed for years of continued, reliable use in the harshest operating environments. Consider, for example, RFID tags affixed to all rail cars used by Class 1 railroads operating in North America. These tags are subjected to every imaginable harsh environmental exposure (heat, cold, snow, ice, dirt, rain, oil, and, in certain cases, temperatures over 350° (F) yet they are required to be installed once and operate indefinitely with 99%+ reliability.

Also, consider transportation tags used in road tolling applications. These tags are installed on vehicles’ windshields where temperatures range from sub-zero to 150° (F) and must operate for many years or indefinitely with 99%+ accuracy.

Finally, when comparing prices between supply chain tags and transportation tags, in addition to the above factors, there always will be the issue of economies of scale. Although TransCore has millions of tags installed in transportation applications, these volumes pale in comparison to the volume potential of billions of tags that could be deployed in supply chain applications.