Chances are your brain is already working overtime with ideas for things to do with the influx of data about to come your way. It is time to start examining key issues -- cherry picking the data you want and leaving the rest.

1. What processes do you hope to improve by using RFID?

Start making a list. Is there any data, for instance, that can reduce the inventory you carry? Wal-Mart, for example, is using RFID to figure out how quickly its products move off the shelves and need to be restocked – so customers are less likely to be disappointed because a product isn’t on the showroom floor. Can certain data make your assembly lines move more quickly or produce fewer errors or waste fewer raw materials?

A number of grocery store executives are excited by the fact that RFID may allow them to reduce date-sensitive inventory, such as fruit or milk – an inevitable problem, when fruit that expires sooner is shunned for the freshest produce. Bar codes could not do that. Knowing the data you want to obtain will help you choose an appropriate RFID system to capture it.

2. What systems will support the new processes? How will the new system fit in with your existing back-end systems?

Your company’s back-end system is a matrix of wires and machines – the systems that are in place that handle the day-to-day business operations. Perhaps yours consists of a warehouse management system, an enterprise resource planning system and a manufacturing execution system. So when you implement RFID, you need to consider the processes your current systems define, and ask yourself: what process is RFID going to add or change? By thinking ahead about what data you want to capture and how you intend to use it, you are primed to make the proper decisions on software.

If your company uses multiple system platforms, you may need a more sophisticated middleware system than your next-door neighbor to sort and redirect that data. Middleware that directs incoming RFID-generated data to the appropriate system could end up being a hefty investment, so you need to consider whether it truly improves anything.

If, for example, you want a forklift operator to be alerted when he picks up the wrong pallet, you will need a system that supports that application. Because RFID gives you more data about that forklift more often, you’ve got a real-time challenge on your hand – you need some kind of software to tell your manufacturing execution system, “I’ve put Pallet X in the Outbound Area Q.” Because such a transaction (middleware directing the data from the front end to the back end) may not have existed before, you may have to purchase an intermediary middleware system (which can direct your data to the back-end computers) and achieve the same process. You may need new hardware (servers, network connectors) or software (applications you can install into existing systems) to support brand-new processes. To figure this out, ask yourself, ultimately, what you hope to accomplish with RFID. Keep in mind that should day-to-day processes change, you may need to revamp multiple systems or purchase additional software/hardware to help the old and new work together.

3. What data do you want from suppliers? What data do you want to give to customers?

Perhaps the trickiest part of upgrading to RFID is that you cannot just consider your company’s own data needs when choosing a management system. Your business and trading partners, and your supply chain vendors (i.e. your truckers or 3PL’s) may have their own agenda or contracts with RFID equipment providers. And it may not be compatible with yours. Ask your partners about their goals, and how each party can serve the other. You’ll need to figure out:

• What information you are going to share
• How often you’ll share it
• The security system (and level) you’ll use to leverage that information.

If you are working with Wal-Mart and other customers in advanced stages of RFID use, you may be lucky enough to know, in advance, what they are looking for – and what data to expect in return.

It is important to keep your current suppliers and customers aware of your changing needs and how RFID fits into those needs. As your processes will change because of RFID, your entire network of partners could change dramatically.

Answering these key issues will help you determine what equipment to purchase, and give you a more concrete dollar figure. It is prudent to explore every option (even other business partners) and evaluate your existing contracts. You may want to explore working with competitive vendors that can give you the same Warehouse Management System (WMS) support on a less expensive system than your current provider. Or, you may need to explore purchasing a middleware or other intermediary RFID system to pump information where it needs to go.