By Staff
Thursday, March 03 2005 03:27 PM
URL: http://www.zdnetasia.com/news/communications/0,39044192,39220005,00.htm

Philips Semiconductors has deployed RFID in its supply chain in Asia, seeking to improve the efficiency of its operations, the company announced Wednesday.

The project will allow the Dutch electronics company, which itself makes RFID (radio frequency identification) equipment, to better trace the flow of cases and cartons of silicon wafer between its manufacturing facility in Taiwan and its regional distribution center in Hong Kong.

In a press statement, the company said the implementation has resulted in various benefits, such as enhanced delivery reliability and warehouse efficiency, as well as improved customer service.

"Our decision to use RFID is based on evidence that the technology generates a positive business case for our supply chain," said Mathieu Clerkx, CIO and senior vice president, Supply Chain Management, Philips Semiconductors.

It is now considering implementing the solution, developed in collaboration with IBM, throughout its worldwide semiconductor operations.

RFID is being adopted by a growing number of companies globally, including supermarket giants Wal-Mart and Tesco, as well as Singapore-based distributor ECS Holdings.

However, the technology remains dogged by interoperability and privacy issues. At a recent conference in Singapore, experts said countries are assigning different frequency bands for the technology, which may result in data degradation when reading tags originating overseas.