October 11, 2006
Tagging Books With RFID
Libraries are already tagging books and other inventory with RFID, so it's not surprising that some large bookstores, such as the Dutch BGN [via Silicon] chain, are also chipping books. The book applications of RFID are essentially the same with in both environments, with the exception that one is selling the inventory. But when big book chains first started up and the trend caught on, they slashed the profit margins to themselves, publishers and authors. Obviously, this is an application where item-level tagging is essential.
Given the cost of item-level tags compared to case- and pallet-level, you'd think bookstores would be reluctant to reduce their margins even further. On the other hand, since using RFID means reducing the chances that a book doesn't get sold because it was mis-shelved, the ROI (return on investment) may be worth the 14-month wait they are expecting. While BGN is claiming that it's easier to track out of stock and popular books, it's really nothing that barcodes cannot do. However, one great advantage of item-level RFID is that inventory can be done without shutting up shop and having the entire staff document everything. And that kind of ROI is very measurable.
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