Event to address technology now mandated by U.S. Department of Defense, Wal-Mart
Irvine, CA — November 2, 2005 — UC Irvine Extension is offering a special seminar and workshop on radio frequency identification devices (RFID). The event will coincide with the introduction of the school's new certificate program, which explores RFID technology and its various business applications.
Because the use of this technology is relatively new, few universities or education providers offer courses on the topic, said Stefano Stefan, assistant director of Business, Management, Legal and IT Programs for UC Irvine Extension. Our program is the first and only one in the country dedicated to the business benefits of this emerging technology. This event is designed for [chief information officers], directors, supervisors, managers and logistics personnel needing to understand the business processes and implications of RFID technology.
Stefan said the seminar is designed to demystify RFID and will feature a panel of experts who will introduce RFID concepts and discuss how this emerging technology can be utilized across a wide range of businesses. They will also illustrate RFID's benefit to businesses, including its ability to track and identify products, packages and pallets through a supply chain.
With organizations like the U.S. Department of Defense and Wal-Mart now mandating that their suppliers use RFID tags on their products, it's clear that this technology is valuable and will become an important factor in the long-term success of anyone doing business at these levels, commented Howard Shen, information technology manager for Hampton Products International, a manufacturer of security hardware that was one of the first 37 volunteers to participate in Wal-Mart's initial RFID initiative in 2004 and one of the few manufacturers to RFID-tag all stock-keeping units.
The seminar will include remarks from both RFID device manufacturers and RFID users who have implemented the technology. Current real-world applications of RFID include point-of-sale transactions (Mobil SpeedPass), toll road metering (FasTrak), smart ID cards and luggage handling systems for airports. The panel will include representatives companies such as Click Commerce, Printronix, SAMSys Technologies Inc., HID Corp. and Hampton Products International.
The free informational event will be held on Thursday, November 10, 2005, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., at UC Irvine Extension Building A, Room 101-102, located on the UC Irvine campus in Irvine, Calif.
For more information on trends relating to radio frequency identification, follow this link for an extensive listing of SDCExec.com articles, featuring the latest research findings on the RFID, including adoption, return on investment and barriers to implementation.
