A man scanning the RFID of boxes in a warehouse

A Quick Guide to Choosing a Suitable RFID Tag For Your Assets

Published on : December 4, 2019

How can you obtain a suitable RFID tag for your business?

  1. Learn about RFID Reader Frequency Types
  2. Determine Your Purpose
  3. Cost Feasibility
  4. Consider the Environmental Factors

 

More than shopping malls or grocery stores, hotels are vulnerable to losing plenty of revenue due to a loss of assets. Even the smallest assets like bathrobes, towels, and in-room flat irons occupy a large percentage of expenses. Imagine having to replace tens and hundreds of towels a month due to lost items.

The consolidated expenses could amount to new furniture, lobby decor, or a comprehensive asset tracking system. With this, RFID tags remain the best solution for tracking the inventory of linen. It is the fastest and most reliable tracking system to prevent theft in hotel rooms or the hotel’s laundering facilities.

Learn about RFID Reader Frequency Types

By learning how each type is created, you will be able to determine which is the best for your business. Here are the different benefits and limitations of the three basic types of RFID.

  • Low Frequency

This type of RFID has the shortest reading range. It can only detect items tagged with RFID around an inch or 2 inches away from its reader. It requires a handheld reader to capture the data and take it into inventory. Low-frequency tags are also typically used to read IDs and other fob applications such as parking access, attendance management, ticketing, and card payments. They are not advisable to be used for product tracking in grocery or retail stores, shopping centers, and hotels.

  • High Frequency

Unlike the low-frequency RFID, a high-frequency can read tags from at least 5 inches away. Specialized high-frequency readers combined with the use of larger tags can capture data from tagged assets that are 3 feet away. Compared to ultra-high frequency RFID, the high-frequency experience lesser interference in capturing data. With that, it is an ideal solution for small asset tagging.

  • Ultra-High Frequency

This type of RFID is perfect for item or container tagging. It is especially useful for cargo deliveries that enter hotels. It can capture data from even 10 feet away. UHF RFID has become the solution for ID applications and is used for delivery purposes. It eliminates the need for inspecting trucks at all entry points.

Determine Your Purpose

RFID hard tag attached to blue jeans

Similar to any device, RFID has its own limitations. From environmental constraints, reading range capacity, and material composition, there are plenty of factors that you must take note of. This will help you carefully examine the feasibility of installing RFID in your business.

Pay attention to the application feasibility of an asset tracking system for the nature of your business. Take a look at your inventory and determine which expenses are starting to break the bank. Determining your purpose will ensure the right installment of RFID tags on assets and the proper implementation of the most suitable system to capture data.

Cost Feasibility

Before you consider purchasing an asset tracking system, determine whether it will render a significant amount of ROI or at least allow your business to achieve break-even. Work with current and prospective numbers to determine an estimated timeline for a return on investment. RFID readers and tags, as well as middleware, can be quite costly, especially for smaller businesses. Yet for larger ones, like a 30-story hotel, obtaining ROI can be achieved in less than a year.

Take note, there is plenty of capital that must be invested in acquiring an asset tracking system. For initial testing to roll out of the system, be ready to leak the budget. Despite the cost of investment, you can expect outstanding results. Just go back to your list of lost assets. This is the amount you can save with an asset tracking system in place.

Consider the Environmental Factors

Rolls of hotel towels on baskets

RFID tags are created for many purposes. For hotels, tags used for linen like bed covers, towels, and rugs are water-resistant as well as temperature and chemical-resistant. They are manufactured to resist environmental factors like water, temperature, and chemicals for cleaning purposes. Since hotel linens are reusable assets, they must be deep cleaned after every use. With this, tracking tags must be able to withstand or at least resist damage that may occur during washing.

For other types of assets like hotel room decor, there are tags specifically made to resist chipping. Namely, metal and glass-mount tags. These tags are used for in-room safe boxes, flat iron, ironing stands, as well as paintings and books. If your hotel has been losing liquid-filled items, RFID tags especially made for bottles are deemed the most suitable.

Key Takeaway

Before you overwhelm yourself with the price tag of an asset tracking system, check your balance sheet report to look at the bigger picture of your assets and liabilities. Moreover, examine your daily, monthly, and yearly inventory. If you notice any fluctuation or decline in the linen count, then there must be some faults.

Regardless of whether it is human error or theft, having an asset tracking system in place will eliminate revenue loss due to asset replacement. Take note, lost assets are like a hole in a gas tank. The more fuel you leak, the more dangerous the situation gets. In a business setting, your business will continue to hurt if you continue to allow a loss of assets.