September 26, 2005
RFID and the postal services
The Italian Postal Service has taken the lead in utilizing RFID for postal services by using passive and active tags on postal bags. Microsoft introduced its new RFID system at the Taipei 2005 –18th Asian International Stamp Exhibition held in Taiwan. The Chunghwa Post Company in Taiwan is evaluating Microsoft’s RFID package. The Indian Postal Service has also been approached by Microsoft. If implemented, the package will most probably be used for the SpeedPost service.
The RFID tag is as large as a playing card and stores information regarding the content, sender, and receiver. Texas Instruments is working on developing the inlets for the tags. Direkk, UK, which is a consultancy firm, states that up to 9% of online orders are returned and that the returns can be twice as costly as the cost of the item. Intellareturn Corporation and API NetReturn shipping return by FedEx have come together to initiate a project aimed at reducing the expense and manpower required for handling returns. RFID labels are registered in the Intellareturn Smart Return Service database that is connected to a website that initiates a pickup by FedEx. FedEx manages the billing, label creation, and tracking of the parcel. Returns, warranty issues, and product identification are handled by the Smart Return Service database. The project aims to develop a supply chain for returns in which the product is identified by means of the RFID tag on the carton or crate. The RFID tags will facilitate real-time communication between the product and the logistics department via a LAN or the Internet.
Deutsche Post of Germany, which owns the courier company DHL, ships around 27 billion items every year. DHL is planning to tag every one of the 1 billion items that it ships. It has successfully carried out item-level tagging using 13.56 MHz Identec tags. By implementing RFID, DHL aims to reduce costs, improve service, and also theft of parcels. DHL has experimented with both read only and read/write tags.
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