Immutable asset tracking is a key tool for preventing evidence tampering, but the question is how to implement it effectively and why it would be a good move. Companies around the globe struggle with asset management in some way or form everyday, and the truth is that traditional systems are prone to error. 

There are many issues with asset-tracking to be concerned about – risk minimization, safety compliance and cost-effectiveness are just a few of the things companies need to worry about. They need to be able to offer all of the above, while keeping to the customer’s expectations of great service and on-time delivery.

The solution? 

RFID integration for assets. 

RFID Integration for Assets

One of the few ways available to radically improve asset management and handling, RFID holds the potential to do away with traditional serial number tracking systems and the level of manual labor needed to maintain them. This technology is facilitating an opportunity for companies to move their asset-tracking methods into the future.

RFID is a technology that allows companies to track assets through data encoded into RFID tags that are in turn monitored by a reader using radio waves. Why is this so powerful? The answer is area. 

In a typical warehouse, for example, manually finding and scanning an item’s serial number is a time-consuming process. With RFID integration, this item could be located anywhere in the warehouse through radio frequency identification, saving warehouse workers time and effort and speeding up delivery. This tag will also record any tampering attempts, and instantly send a notification to the reader.

The RFID Success Story

Some of the world’s biggest companies have used RFID integration to implement immutable asset tracking. One of the best examples of success in RFID usage comes from brands like Zara, a fashion retailer.

Inventory tracking is a key issue in the fashion industry, which is why Zara have implemented RFID integration into their asset management systems. RFID tags allow them to keep track of stock location, supply, and more and is already being used in hundreds of Zara stores today.

Zara used RFID to change how customers experience asset tracking and delivery. Through their offerings, RFID has been used to manage their inventory and save on costs while doing so. RFID even helped Zara monitor the frequency of merchandise movement in and out of the fitting rooms, helping them understand their customers.

Why It Is Important to Prevent Tampering of Evidence

RFID doesn’t just have the potential to improve tagging and tracking, but also monitoring. Evidence tampering or asset management fraud are both problems affecting supply chains and warehouses today, especially for pharmaceuticals. 

It’s hard to imagine the damage tampering can inflict when thinking of items like clothing or household goods, but think of what one disgruntled warehouse employee can do when dealing with the supply of pharmaceuticals or food products.

For these supply chains that need to be tamper-proof, RFID is a game-changer. How, you ask? By adding the technology directly to the packaging. Companies like Pilant Corp. have manufactured plastic films and other packaging materials that are RFID enabled, meaning they’ll alert the RFID portal system as soon as they’re opened or damaged. This technology, implemented on a wider scale, will improve safety and transparency from warehouse all the way to the consumer-level.

Blockchain’s Benefits for RFID Integration: Immutable Asset Tracking

Another way that RFID is surpassing other asset-management options is by working in collaboration with other technologies like blockchain. Combining RFID with blockchain has multiple benefits: 

• Improved automated administrative processes
• Increased transparency 
• Increased security are a few of the main ones

Because blockchain is essentially distributed ledger technology, the network is not owned or managed by any single or centralized entity. With blockchain, each transaction or data entry is immutable and cannot be deleted or changed – all transactions are, after all, viewable by all peers on the same blockchain. 

Think about counterfeiting, a common issue affecting retailers today. The complexity of traditional supply chains makes it difficult to catch counterfeit products before they’re out the door. With blockchain, the record of that product will be immutable and make it more difficult for fraudsters to put forward the product as real.

Applying Immutable Asset Tracking to Preserving Evidence

When it comes to evidence-tampering, companies face enormous risk. Depending on the asset that has been affected, having it end up in the hands of a customer can pose danger to the company’s reputation. With RFID integration and the use of blockchain, the logging of incidents becomes easier, and identifying potential risks becomes faster.

The immutable asset tracking options provided by RFID and blockchain make the chances of a customer opening or sneakily swapping an item in-store a problem of the past. With RFID tracking built into each item, and a fraud-proof log of it’s every movement, issues regarding tampering are quickly resolvable.

Key Takeaways

The advantages of introducing RFID integration with additional blockchain capabilities far outweigh the potential disadvantages. In asset-tracking, these technologies are already drastically changing how some of the biggest retailers in the world approach item tracking, tamper-proofing and product safety.

The key with these technologies is that they need to be supported by experts if they are truly to reach the goal of removing constraints and scaling faster. At Opsumo, we make it easier than ever to bring solutions to market faster, deliver superior customer experiences, and manage cloud platforms as configurable and versioned code. With cloud-native architecture, we help you streamline operational processes while minimizing overhead costs – get started with one of our experts by clicking here.