Research Proposal: RFID Tags for Improvement of Object Tracking SCM

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Added on 2024/07/29

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This research proposal investigates the use of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags for enhancing object tracking in supply chain management. It highlights the increasing adoption of RFID technology and the associated security and privacy concerns, particularly in cloud environments. The proposal aims to study the role of RFID in tracking objects, identify limitations and challenges, and elaborate on the effects of using RFID in supply chains. Key research questions focus on the advantages and disadvantages of RFID, challenges faced by users, and potential solutions to overcome these limitations. The proposal also delves into the history of RFID technology, its evolution, and its increasing importance in inventory tracking and supply chain efficiency. It defines supply chain management, discusses the shift from barcode to RFID technology, and addresses common problems in supply chain logistics, emphasizing the potential of RFID to improve traceability and identification.

Research Proposal
“Research Topic”
“RFID Tags for improvement of object tracking in supply chain management Start with
Stage”
Student Name:
Student ID:
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Table of Contents
Research Project Motivation............................................................................................................3
Research Questions..........................................................................................................................4
Description of Thesis....................................................................................................................... 5
Methodology..................................................................................................................................10
Research schedule..........................................................................................................................12
References......................................................................................................................................15
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Research Project Motivation
Radio Frequency Identification is an advanced and effective technology for tracking objects in
the supply chain. With the increase in usage of Radio Frequency Identification security and
privacy issue arise. In cloud environments authentication is important. Though many Radio
Frequency Identification protocols are available for tracking objects in the supply chain it has
also seen that lack of security in those protocols is a limitation. For improving supply chain more
scalable, secure and efficient protocol is required.
The aim of this research is to study on Radio Frequency Identification role in tracking objects.
Further, identify their limitation and issues also to elaborate effect of using Radio Frequency
Identification for tracking objects in the supply chain. Radio Frequency Identification allows the
user to track objects via authentication in cloud computing and track the object in the supply
chain. The main aim of Radio Frequency Identification to provides the way to the user that they
can trace the objects in the supply chain by just using RFID (Ropraz, 2008). Due to high ease in
tracking Radio Frequency Identification becomes the most promising technology.
Indeed, many businesses are seeking to invest in this emerging automatic data collection
technology which also provides safety, security and convenience to the users. This all done by
using frequency transponder contains a microchip which transmits data via radio waves even
without interaction of human. With high accuracy, Radio Frequency Identification not only used
in tracking object in the supply chain but also in public services, research and administrations.
Radio Frequency Identification essence what organisations need to advance supply chain
management. Radio Frequency Identification provides enabled company and users in secure,
managing and tracking objects via their life cycle (Chatziantoniou, et. al., 2011). Although,
integration of Radio Frequency Identification in information system requires perfect testing and
planning because of it represents high investment and it also relies on business process re-
engineering.
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Research Questions
The main purpose of the research is to make the study about Radio Frequency Identification
application in object tracking in supply chain management. RFID used in identifying the object
on the supply chain.
 Do the study on Radio Frequency Identification usage and advantages in tracking objects
in supply chain management. Further, identify pros and cons of Radio Frequency
Identification in tracking objects.
 The aim of the research is to study on RFID challenges that are facing by the users while
tracking objects in the supply chain and do the study on the same to overcome limitations
and challenges.
 To understand and research the best approach to overcome the limitations than do the
study on the current approach that has proposed in research papers.
 How does Radio Frequency Identification Usage in the supply chain and also evaluate
issue and result?
 How does Radio Frequency Identification technology help users to track the object in the
supply chain?
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Description of Thesis
A world so full with advanced technology which can help in tracing any item possible for
example, the inventory in a store can be updated without any manual help or the customers can
check out automatically without standing in the queue. This fantasy is made true with the help of
RFID. RFID is the short form of radio frequency identification which is a common point of
discussion in today's world where anything is possible with the help of technology. The benefits
that RFID provides are all over the media nowadays (Hinkka, 2013). Much nosiness is adapting
to this technology as this can be easily accommodated with less implementation cost, the
government mandates and the performance is also improved.
This technology of auto-collecting the data is gaining the attention of many other businesses as
this can also improve the accuracy, privacy and safety of the data. This technology of tracking
and identification usually places a radio frequency transponder with a microchip inside it on any
topic that needs to be tracked. Once the tracker is fitted then whenever the item passes under the
radio waves, a signal will be reflected which will exchange the data or information without the
help of any human interference (Ivanov, et. al., 2011).
This brilliant idea of data collection without any human intervention has made its use in other
industries and applications such as public services, administration, sports and even in research
and development. Despite its usage in any application, the RFID is proven to be most potentially
developed in the field of supply chain. This is not a surprising fact as the tracking of an item
without being physically touching it throughout its entire life cycle like tracking, securing and
managing items and the inventories have given a lot of potential for this technology to be
improved and used for the application of the supply chain. This technology also helps in
improving the internal business efficiency of the supply chain processes (Björk, et. al., 2011).
Due to these advantages of this technology, many businesses are showing confidence in tracking
their assets, tracking its location and keep the inventory updated.
However, the integration of the RFID technology to the business's information system can
involve a large planning and testing because along with the huge investment it may require to
integrate this technology into its system it will also change the infrastructure of the firm's
engineering. Another factor is that the technology is changing from time to time which may or
may not affect the firm in a positive way. The misconceptions which are present for this
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technology are getting in the way of many firms to adopt this technology and enjoy its
advantages. The firms need to aim at learning the concept of this wonderful technique and
understand how it can be beneficial for its advantages along with improving its applications. The
successful implementation can be done once the capabilities, purpose, benefits and the
challenges coming to its ways are known by the firms (Tajima, 2007).
The technology can look new to some people but the existence of this technology goes back to
decades. The origin of the RFID technology was traced to the World War II, where a system was
developed in which the radio waves used so that the pilots can be identified as the friends on the
radar of the authorities. The first patent in the RFID technology is on the name of Mario Cardullo
in 1973 who proposed an RFID tag with rewritable memory. As the time passed, different
companies have commercialized the usage of RFID to operate at different frequencies. By the
late 90's, tags were basically the mobile database that carried information about the items on
which they were applied. Then some authors who changed the vision of the people. The partners
successfully launched the idea of storing all the relevant data with a serial number on a tag over
the database on the internet, which linked the objects to the internet. That was a turning point in
the evolution of the technology as well as the companies as they gained their trust on this
technology as the suppliers and the customers were able to share the data about their shipments
and products. The one question that may rises while understanding this technology is that why
the technology is evolved now when the idea was given decades ago (Sarac, et. al., 2010). The
answer to this can be that the right deployment and the need for this technology are now which
was not there earlier and another reason is that the economic condition to implement this
technology is now. The right time also depends on the scope of the problems it can solve, how
mature the technology is and the cost of deployment of technology in the real world. These three
points of concern are changed in the world in the last decade which made it possible for the
RFID technology to be accepted today. One of the most important features of the company on
which the development and the growth are dependent is the inventory tracking. Inventory
tracking has helped the company to remain competitive in the market. Additionally, the
components used to produce the tags and the tag reader are becoming sophisticated day by day
and the price on which the RFID systems can be purchased is decreased based on the increased
demand for this technology (Dolgui, A., & Proth, 2008). The features like speed, functionality,
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reading range, data transfer speed of is component have contributed a lot to the improvement of
this technology.
The technology is well adapted to the field of supply chain management. The firm needs to
accurately identify and track the goods and also should have the knowledge of the inventory a
company have, about its location, about its quantity and its condition. This type of information is
very crucial for companies to be sustained in the market (Tanner, 2015). There is an ever-
growing pressure on the manufacturing companies, retailers and the distributors to maximize the
efficiency of the process, cost minimization and providing best end result to the customer which
in turn requires the improvement in the supply chain efficiency. The RFID looks like an ideal
way to solve this ever-pressing requirement. The better traceability and the identification
provided by the RFID technology can provide solutions to these requirements.
Definition of supply chain management
Supply chain:
It basically shows the organization’s sequence. This means the functions, facilities and activities
that re-involved in various processes along with the activities that provide the goods and services
to the customers to produce the company's value. A supply chain generally comprises
manufacturing, warehousing, retailing and distribution.
Supply chain management (SCM):
This simply means to integrate the organization along with the supply chain and helping to
understand the ways to coordinate materials, information and financial flows for their advantage
in placing orders faster to the market, faster fulfilment of the orders at lower costs. The main
function is to plan, implement and control the operations related to the supply chain at efficient
rates. The goods and the services of an organization are placed at the right time, at the right place
and in the right quantity required which is also low in cost with the help of this management
strategy. The collaboration between the supply chains partners is also improved using this
method in a way that the inventory visibility is enhanced along with improving the inventory
velocity. The correct management of this process will require maintaining the relationship
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between the suppliers and the customers and the control of inventory, forecasting the demands of
the future, receiving the feedbacks about the happening at the links of the supply chain (Chen, et.
al., 2013).
Tracking the movement of goods: from barcode to RFID technology:
As the items are moved from one phase to another in the supply chain, it is normal to get the
problems in between the stages. The problems that can be faced during the transport are getting
the parcel stolen, misplaced, damaged or the product can get spoiled. Companies with supply
chain also encounter problems like under shipping, over-shopping, customer dissatisfied with
parcel or the returned items especially if their record is not present properly in the system. This
can result in the collection of the idle and duplicate items in the warehouse. Many of these
problems can be solved by the RFID technology as it requires less human intervention because
no employees are required to manually scan the barcode (Ropraz, 2008). On the other hand,
while solving the issues without the RFID technology the manual scanning is necessary as the
employees need to scan the barcodes of the items manually. Using the RFID technology the tags
can easily be scanned to track the movement of the item such as arrival time, departure time and
the reshipment time. The inventory and the goods are in direct communication with each other
which avoids any mistakes of typing into the database and scanning the wrong barcode which
can help in reducing the human errors and cost to labor. The system of automatically reading the
tags of the items, the factories or the warehouse is fitted with readers and the RFID on the store
shelves. Whenever the reader reads the tag it passes the tag id, the reader's id and the time tag to
the host computer. The companies have a specific structure of the readers so the company is well
aware of the location of the item, the nature of the item and the time when it has been received
because of the time stamp. The observation recorded in this technology, it is known that the
tracking of the physical movement of the product happens in the real time which is a specific
property of this technology. The RFID has the potential to improve the management of the
supply chain and its visibility thanks to its ability to automatically track the movement or
location of the item anywhere in the supply chain securely and in real time. Another quality of
this technology is that it has a great ability to identify every container uniquely along with the
pallet, case and the item which is being manufactured, shipped or sold. These advantages and the
properties of this technology are making it adaptable to many companies or replacing the old and
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traditional ways of barcode scanning process (Chatziantoniou, et. al., 2011). The technology of
RFID should not be considered as the simple replacement of the bar code scanning process as
this technology has proven its potential and differentiates itself through the outstanding
performance and the diversities in its applications based on its capabilities.
Some of the advantages of using the RFID technology over the barcode scanning process are
listed below:
Higher storage capacity: apart from the bar code process where the information of the
manufacturer and the product is stored, the RFID tags can include the detailed information of the
item such as tracking information like arrival, shipment, departure time etc as well as the data
about changes in environmental conditions based on the circuit of the tag (Hinkka, 2013).
Programmability: unlike the traditional barcode process where nothing can be altered once the
barcode is printed, the addition and the removal of the information can easily be done from the
tag. Some of the tags are so advanced that the capabilities of reading/write rights can be
programmed.
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Methodology
The aim of this report is to detail the methodologies which are used in the way to design research
project. For that, the section provides the methodologies that are using in the research to find out
limitations and problems associated with the research and further eliminate the limitations.
For making the project of research, quantitative methodologies are used. On the way to complete
the research, each researcher works independently as per the topic on which research has made.
The quantitative methodology provides assistance to better understand the topic "RFID tags for
improvement of object tracking in supply chain management" and further, assist to write
research in standard and formal way and while reviewing the research use quantitative words.
The research presents the overview and survey of Radio Frequency Identification tags for
improvement of object tracking in supply chain management.
In the research, deep learning and study of Radio Frequency Identification for the betterment of
object tracking is discussed. Further, also analyse the role of tracking or identification schemes in
supply chain management. In addition, also represent the issues and limitations associated with
the Radio Frequency Identification scheme and further discuss how they can be eliminated and
what schemes can be useful in the way to make RFID more effective and efficient.
Quantitative methodology is so useful and effective that many of the kinds of literature used in
my research project are using quantitative methodology. The research topic demands to gather
information about Radio Frequency Identification's usage, limitations and application in supply
management. Hence, to gather information, I have checked the Journals and papers that are
published in 2017-2018 years.
After collecting all the relevant data about the research topic, it got separately elaborated on
different parameters using Literature Reviews of each. Here are some of the reasons behind
quantitative methodology for doing the research is –
1. In the first step, research limitations and problems are identifying. In this research, focus
made on identifying the best solution for analysing Radio Frequency Identification.
2. Literature review comes in the second step, where various solutions reviewed to enhance
the Radio Frequency Identification system in supply chain management.
3. This step is to evaluate the weakness and strength of the defined method.
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4. In the fourth step, all best criteria's get finalized and gather to compare in the literature
view section.
5. After comparison in the fourth step, best approach got figured out. After completing all
these steps best approach now should be capable to address and eliminate the issues in
the technology.
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Research schedule
The schedule of the research is produced by using the Microsoft project. The schedule of the
research gives the timeline of the research which includes the name of the task, start date, end
date and the duration of the task. The task schedule of this research is given as:
Task
Mode Task Name Duration Start Finish Predecessors Resource
Names
Auto
Schedule
d
Thesis Part 1 "RFID
Tags for
improvement of
object tracking in
supply chain
management"
17 days Mon 13-
08-18
Tue 04-
09-18
Auto
Schedule
d
Oral presentation 2 days Mon 13-
08-18
Tue 14-
08-18
Auto
Scheduled Data collection 1 day Mon 13-
08-18
Mon 13-
08-18
Auto
Scheduled
Preparation of
presentation based
on a collection of
data
1 day Tue 14-
08-18
Tue 14-
08-18 2
Auto
Schedule
d
Study the articles
on RFID technology 2 days Wed 15-
08-18
Thu 16-
08-18 1
Auto
Scheduled
Finding the
research work
related to the topic
1 day Wed 15-
08-18
Wed 15-
08-18
Auto
Scheduled Review articles 1 day Thu 16-
08-18
Thu 16-
08-18 5
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