Today was the final day of the conference. And just like yesterday there were many interesting presentations.

Many presenters stressed the importance of standards. One of the main initiatives in this field is EPCglobal. They are setting up many standards for various industries, and are also discussing regulations with national authorities. In Italy, for example, there is hardly any legislation for RFID, which makes it difficult to implement. And they also created a RFID Implementation Cookbook. ISO is also setting up RFID standards.

KPN presented the results of their TelliTrace project. They put tags on items and boxes for deliveries from their central warehouse to 2 stores. They concluded (amongst other things) that if you add RFID to your current process, the time benefits are not maximal. You have to be willing to change your processes as well in order to obtain maximum benefits.

Another issue they faced is that if you stick RFID tags on top of the packing of a mobile phone, you won’t reduce your shrinkage in case it’s easy to peel of the label. On the contrary: if you peel of the label and stick it on another package, it will take quite some time before it is discovered, as no eye-inspection is being made anymore, and the tag will be read throughout the supply chain .

AirFrance-KLM showed some interesting insights into RFID within aviation. Not only for tracing luggage, but also for tracing catering trolleys and the big luggage containers. And did you know that RFID is part of IATA’s Simplifying the Business programme? AirFrance-KLM also indicated that RFID data as such is quite useless. But you can use it to create business events. It’s nice to know that 999 bags have arrived at the correct airport. But it’s useful to know that 1 bag was misplaced. The sooner you know it, the sooner you can act on it. Not that it solves the issue, but acting in a pro-active way makes a much better impression on your client.

To conclude these three days: They have been really interesting. This conference taught me more about RFID and has shown not only ‘good news’ about RFID, but the challenges were also presented. It’s good to know what is possible with RFID, and what not. And you’ll always need more time for the physical implementation than planned. You have to make time to play around with the hardware: What is the best spot for a tag? What is the best position to place a box with a tag? If you put two tagged boxes against each other with the tags facing to each other, you won’t ’see’ any of these two tags! Also the position, tuning and firmware of your readers and antennae are important. But also don’t underestimate the amount of data that comes out of RFID, and how you want to deal with it. A significant amount of data is totally useless, as it concerns duplicate reads. And make use of standards - if they’re there already. Only then you can use RFID throughout your international supply chain.

For your information, the next RFID Journal LIVE! sessions are:
November 8-9, 2006: RFID Journal LIVE! Canada (Toronto, Canada)
April 30 - May 2, 2006: RFID Journal LIVE! 2007 (Orlando, USA)
November, 2007: RFID Journal LIVE! Europe 2007 (Amsterdam, Netherlands)

After attending the RFID Journal University Preconference yesterday, today was the first day of the conference, filled with ‘good news’ about RFID, a discussion on privacy and an exhibition hall.

The first presentation showed how METRO Group’s RFID initiatives are developing. They really put a lot of effort in Research & Development. Sometimes, this is the only option to go forward, as there are not (m)any Best Practices yet. So if you want to know what happens when you put an RFID reader on a forklift in a warehouse, you just have to try it.

Only then you will see that after years of complaining that RFID readers don’t read enough tags, now they start reading too many . That’s no joke. Readers are becoming better - in combination with the tags, of course. So before, a major concern was the ‘read rate’. If I put 100 tags in front of my reader (or: antenna), how many does it actually read? Well, these days you get really high percentages, over 99%. But the reader is so good, that it also reads tags that are not in front of the reader (antenna). So it might read 99 tags, plus 2 additional ones - making is 101! This issue was discussed in more presentations today.

And this is tackling one of the important aspects of an RFID architecture: What do you do with all your reading data?

reva systems has developed a device that you put between your network router that is connected to all readers and your middleware. What this device basically does is to only pass through the relevant reading data. So if you read the same tag 10 times in a second, it has to be communicated once only. But it can also identify additional reads that you don’t want, so called ‘false positive reads’.

Another eye catcher was tags in water. In water? Yes, in water. You also thought that reading tags in water was impossible? Not with the latest type of tags: Near Field UHF. Impinj showed that it is possible - see slide 16 of this presentation.

The discussion on privacy concluded that the biggest issue is that the RFID (using) industry has not been able yet to clearly explain what the benefits of RFID are, especially for the consumers. And that most RFID doesn’t even get to the consumers, as item level tagging is hardly used at the moment. And this is where Katherine Albrecht has a point in her crusade against RFID: Consumers should be informed where/when RFID is used.

And to give you some examples of benefits for the consumer (thanks, Mark Roberti!):
- Counterfeit drugs: With RFID it would be possible to trace legitimate drugs and identify drugs to be authentic. Without RFID it might happen that you use fake Viagra and suffer terrible side effects. This is why Pfizer is using RFID on Viagra.
- If your photo equipment has an RFID tag inside, it is easier to be identified after it’s been stolen and recovered. You could also use the RFID tag to prove that you’re still entitled to warranty, without having the original receipt.

One question to finish today: Do you know why Milka is not wrapping their chocolate bars in foil anymore? Well, if you wrap them in plastic instead, you can get a 100% read rate!

Since the end of August my life has revolved around my new role. I transferred my position of CMD to Anja Groenewoud and my activities within SEALA to Jean Marc Ollagnier. The implementation of the new operating model and the building of a new team play a central role in my First 100 Days Plan, a tradition for every new job, and will require the investment of a lot of dynamics and flight hours.

In Paris, I met with my new leadership team for the first time, made up of six old and six new members – including two from Financial Services. Jean Marc Ollagnier, my successor for Europe, is one of these people. Together with him, I completed a round of introduction, visiting Resources teams. In Paris, I also met with William Mzimba, the first black CMD from South Africa. Accenture supports Black Empowerment and William’s appointment has shown that Accenture has yet again led the way.

The trip to Paris was followed by one to Nice, Milan and San Gimignano, after which I ended up back home in Amsterdam with our architect, who showed us the blueprints for our new house. Despite my new position and the geographical expansion of my work area, Amsterdam will remain my home base.

I will also continue to play hockey and have already played in the first games of the season. Though I managed to score a few goals, I am afraid we still lost. Luckily I know that we tend to peak towards the end of the season…

In the meantime I have already attended my first Global Executive Leadership Team (ELT) meeting. This was quite special. I was the first and only Dutchman to sit at the ‘big table’ and my experience was that the discussions take place at a wholly different level of abstraction than I have hitherto been accustomed to in my other jobs.

My new position has once again revealed to me how small the world is. Despite the many hours I spend on an airplane, I meet Accenture colleagues around the world who ascribe to and achieve High Performance Delivered – and the clients who choose us for this reason. High Performance Delivered goes beyond all boundaries.

Accenture goes beyond all boundaries – which we have proven yet again with our new campaign. Consulting, technology and outsourcing are not distinct areas; they complement and enhance each other. I am convinced that the challenges that face Boards around the world can only be solved using an integrated approach. The era in which consultancy, realisation, implementation and management were separate worlds, is definitely of the past.

Today was the ‘preconference day’ of RFID Journal LIVE! Europe, in Amsterdam (well, at the Hotels van Oranje in Noordwijk).

I arrived a bit early, so I had some time for a short walk on the beach - nice to be outside during office hours .

But inside, it was also quite interesting…

Today, I attended the RFID Journal University Preconference. For me, the most interesting parts were about the physics of RFID. How does the technology work? And why does it not always work?

Mark Roberti, founder and editor of RFID Journal, explained all about it in 6 compact sessions, which he enriched with interesting stories, plus a live demo of the effect of the position of an RFID tag and what you stick it on.

These are the most remarkable things I heard or saw today:

A small company, whose business appears to be owning U.S. Patent No. 6,967,563 - “Inventory Control System” - is taking on the world of RFID users. It has brought suit against Wal-Mart, Gillette, Michelin, Home Depot, Target and Pfizer for these companies’ use of those tiny “tags” used for, among other things, inventory control. (source)

If you stick an RFID tag on metal, chances are high that it won’t work. So you can either use a very expensive special tag to put on metal, or you put some ’space’ between the tag and the metal surface, e.g. with polystyrene foam. Usually, half a centimeter will already do the trick. Okay, your tag still needs to be on the outside, as the radio waves won’t go through the metal…

And then the next step is: If you stick an RFID tag on a water holding bottle, chances are high that it won’t work. So you should turn your water issue into a metal issue, and then solve the metal issue (see above).

And for those who have to deal with business cases: Many companies claim they work very efficient, and therefore don’t expect much from RFID. However, real cases show that companies who thought there were efficient, appeared not to be as efficient as they thought they were, as their efficiency went up after implementing RFID. Why? Because, before implementing RFID, they could not measure their efficiency.

Tomorrow, the real conference starts, complete with an exhibition hall. More to follow soon…

We can all talk about the great possibilities of RFID. The potential, the benefits, the fun. But in the real business world, there’s no fuuture for anything if it doesn’t bring the cold hard cash. So if RFID really is the future, then where’s the money?

Now that’s a question raised by many, and discussed by many as well. Most people would comment that the investment in hardware and the tag prices are still too high. Although this is often true, the evolution of the technology looks promising (1, 2, 3). But taking a broader view on RFID investments might improve the business case even sooner.

In fiscal year 2006, Accenture invested more than $650 million in professional development and provided an average of 75 hours of training per employee; more than 1.5 million courses completed. Last summer, I attended one of the best courses Accenture offers to their peopleat the Q-center in St. Charles: the Fulfill Demand school. I can definitively suggest everyone to go. The course about Supply Chain Management was instructed by professors Hau Lee and Jin Whang of Stanford University and professors David F. Pyke and Eric M. Johnson of Tuck School of Business.

Professor M. Eric Johnson

Professor Johnson presented the lecture where RFID in supply chain management was the main topic. Especially, we talked about the business case of RFID and where the costs and benefits could mostly be found. A very interesting lecture indeed. Professor Johnson was so kind to lend us the Woolworths case (PDF) we discussed, for this weblog. He also provided us with the Quad case (PDF) which examines RFID in agribusiness. Both examine the business case for RFID in supply chains.

Recently published commentary on the web about the RFID business case describes briefly what is expected to be the main focus for companies to improve their ROI expectations: “to fully benefit from RFID technology, companies will need to include their partners both upstream and downstream and in every sense, be part of a value chain.”

And this is exactly what we learned during the Fulfill Demand course. Supply chain collaboration is the key for real value creation. RFID can be a driver for this. A tool, a method. RFID investments alone are not enough in most cases. Using RFID to improve supply chain collaboration is where the true value lies.

My advise would be: don’t look at the technology as your goal, look at your business model and the improvements you can achieve. A leaner supply chain, perhaps aided by RFID technology, will probably turn out to be a profitable option.

Last week I wrote an article called ‘Tagging Offenderz’. Professor Van Marle had the idea of tagging all TBS’ers to prevent future crimes.

Today I spoke with Mr Van Marle, and asked him: “How do you envision the technical implementation?”

During a very short phone conversation, Mr Van Marle indicated that the first hurdle to take is the legal one. He has no idea about the technical implementation, because he doesn’t know enough about this in detail (well, I tend to agree with him on that…). It’s up to the technical people to come up with the technical solution, but not before the legal issues would be solved.

Today, professor Hjalmar van Marle (Erasmus University) was quoted in the Algemeen Dagblad saying that some offenders should be chipped/tagged, namely (I had to look this up in the dictionary) those who are detained during Her Majesty’s pleasure (in Dutch: TBS’ers). This, after one of these offenders escaped prison last week and committed many crimes.

“It would be a good idea to tag them before they are going on a leave - just like we tag dogs and cats before they go outside.”

Would this really work?

Well, to start with the comparison with tagging dogs and cats: My cat is tagged, but it doesn’t stop her from chasing birds outside. So how would tagging offenders stop them to show criminal behaviour again?

None of the several articles published today explains how it should work. Van Marle indicates himself that the plan is not realistic because of legal aspects - But how could this work from a technical point of view?

Tagging people is not a problem at all - they even do it at the Baja Beach club in Barcelona (Spain) and Rotterdam (Netherlands).

But these small, passive RFID chips can only be read from a few centimeters. So how would you like to trace people with a chip like this?

And when you wrap your arm in metal (foil), the chip becomes totally undetectable. How would you prevent this?

So from a technical point of view, I don’t see this as a solution for the problem. But if anyone would like to challenge me, you’re more than welcome!

Van Marle also indicates himself that putting GPS-devices around people’s ankles would be more realistic option - as these are fully traceable. But this doesn’t kill my curiosity about his ideas regarding the chips/tags…

When mentioning October in Germany the first thing that comes to mind is Oktoberfest. Oktoberfest is a festival held in Munich during late September and early October (with a lot of beer and food), but there’s more to the month October than meets the eye.

Did you know that the month October has been declared as the ‘breast cancer awareness month’?

About 1 of 9 women will be confronted with breast cancer during their lifetime. Although most people think it’s a women’s disease, it isn’t. Because men have breasts too and can also be affected by it.

You too can contribute to the research on breast cancer and help them win this fight! Click here for more information.

Wear a pink ribbon to raise awareness!

Pink Ribbon On My Laptop Bag

The 15th of the 8th lunar month is also known as the Mid-autumn Festival or some people call it the Chinese Moon Festival. It’s actually one of the most important traditional events for the Chinese. In my family we usually celebrate it by eating Moon Cakes and having dinner together. Unfortunately, this year we didn’t celebrate it with a dinner, cos everyone had other work commitments. And celebrating something after it has occured is not done. Don’t ask me why, I guess you can call it tradition.

But what are we actually celebrating each year? Well, there are a few legends behind this fest. If you’re really interested then click here.

Playing Twister For Charity

A week ago the Moon Festival in The Hague was actually celebrated with a Chinese market. A charity project which I’m involved in also participated in this event (The project is initiated by the LFCV (Landelijke Federatie Chinese Vrouwen)). We tried to raise money for the children in the poor Chinese province Yunnan to buy school material such as books, pens and computers. I know this might sound corny, but I’m grateful to have enjoyed the education that have brought me to where I am today
On the day itself we had workshops, the game twister and home made chinese food to sell. Overall the day was more succesful than we expected it to be and raised over 900 euros for our charity. Well done girls!