Today the Department of Defense (DoD) began requiring suppliers to affix radio frequency identification (RFID) tags to cases and pallets shipped to its Defense Distribution depots in Susquehanna, Pa. and San Joaquin, Calif. Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement regarding Radio Frequency Identification (DFARS 2004-D011) requires the use of RFID technology for all new contracts for operational rations, clothing, individual equipment, tools, personal demand items and weapon system repair parts.
A new report, RFID: The Right Frequency for Government, by David Wyld, a professor of management at Southeastern Louisiana Univ., offers a comprehensive history of automatic identification technology and use, beginning with the bar code, and the current and potential government applications for RFID. The 100-plus page publication, sponsored by The IBM Center for The Business of Government, covers RFID tags and readers, and the challenges of making the technology work correctly. It then explores the use of RFID to integrate the DoD supply chain, to improve control of the country’s drug supply and to track livestock.
