Can RFID Work Alongside Barcodes?

Can RFID Work Alongside Barcodes?

RFID and barcodes are sometimes used for related functions. Can each the applied sciences co-exist in the identical software? Can you utilize RFID in addition to barcodes to automate your enterprise and make issues manageable?

Many enterprise homeowners discover RFID to be fairly an costly expertise to combine into their enterprise operations in comparison with predecessor applied sciences resembling barcodes. So, whereas shifting in the direction of RFID expertise, firms use barcodes alongside RFID to step by step swap from one expertise to the subsequent.

Although RFID is way more superior than barcodes, each applied sciences can coexist in the identical system concurrently. This text will take you thru a number of cases the place RFID works alongside barcodes and the duo show to be very helpful and environment friendly.

Occasion # 1: When Making the Change Is Not Handy for Everybody

Many departments work collectively to run an organization resembling the provision chain division, engineering division, human useful resource division, and so forth. Generally, whereas making an enormous swap from one expertise to a different, it’s not at all times handy for each division to make the shift concurrently.  As an illustration, the provision chain division is likely to be prepared for switching from barcodes to RFID, whereas then again, the engineering division won’t be prepared for this swap as a result of their very own causes. That is when barcodes and RFID must exist on the identical time. Some departments of the corporate would persist with utilizing barcodes, whereas others would transfer to RFID expertise.

Occasion # 2: When RFID Doesn’t Slot in The Firm Course of

When shifting from barcodes to RFID, a significant hurdle is that every course of inside the corporate is totally different, and never all processes will welcome RFID with open arms. As an illustration, if there’s a warehouse containing solely steel objects, it could be powerful for RFID expertise to work in that warehouse as a result of steel would intervene with the transmission of RF waves within the air. Due to this fact, on this case, it’s higher to make use of barcodes as a substitute of RFID. Nonetheless, aside from the warehouse processes, different firm operations can undertake RFID expertise, resulting in RFID’s coexistence and barcodes in the identical firm.

Occasion # 3: When Corporations Are Switching Step by step

Not all firms have the funds to shift their whole operations to newer expertise. RFID is a comparatively costly expertise as a result of it gives many benefits over different applied sciences; therefore, when firms leap of religion in the direction of RFID expertise, they should make investments a big amount of cash.

Most firms desire switching in the direction of RFID step by step to put money into RFID readers and tags once they have the funds for. They often shift one course of from barcodes to RFID expertise after which work on the others after they’ve earned the capital for it. That is one other instance of when RFID and barcodes coexist.

Occasion # 4: Utilizing Barcodes as a Again-Up Plan

As soon as an organization has absolutely shifted in the direction of RFID expertise, they should have a plan B. In case RFID expertise fails or will get corrupted, the corporate’s operations can be enormously affected. That is once they would shift in the direction of their backup plan, i.e., barcode tags and scanners, and save their day-to-day operations from coming to a halt.

What firms can do is set up barcode tags together with RFID tags on their merchandise. This can enable them to scan their merchandise even when RFID fails as a result of any motive.

RFID is a much better expertise than barcodes; nevertheless, each can coexist when wanted as a result of it helps the corporate earn extra earnings and saves its operations from coming to a halt.