Advantages

RFID technology enables businesses to place a lot of information on a small chip, so they can tell where that particular product is going, as well as getting other information on individual products while they are in transition.

For instance, Metro Group AG (a German grocery store company) already is using RFID Technology to gain a virtual view of inventory from 20 suppliers that are tagging pallets and cases shipped to Metro's distribution centers. Another 80 suppliers are scheduled to use the same RFID procedures later this year. The German retailer's goal is to eliminate inventory errors and improve customer satisfaction by making sure products are on the shelf when needed (Tech Advances Index, 2010).

Furthermore, RFID technology can also be used for security reasons. For example, the U.S. National Institute of Science and Technology (NIST) has shown that RFIDs to be used in U.S. passports can be read from as far away as 30 feet. This would make it easy to spot people carrying U.S. passports and capture information about them, and maybe even the passport holders themselves (Tech Advances Index, 2010). In addition, RFID tags can be implanted into animals and be used for tracking and linking the animal to food and location (rfidXchange, 2010).