Roadmap for SMB Manufacturers

Filed in archive Implementation on October 24, 2005

Small businesses have a reputation for being risk averse when it comes to new uses of technology. That reputation is well-deserved -- and not because they are a bunch of wimps.

Small businesses can't afford to take chances (unless they are under a mandate from Wal-Mart or some other giant and have no choice). Technologies have to be tried and true solutions with a clear ROI to attract the attention of most small businesses.

It's not just money. People can be a big issue, too. Any kind of technology implementation tends to be more disruptive on the day-to-day operations of a small business versus a larger business.

When a corporation with 20,000 employees assigns 6 people to a team to work on an RFID implementation, the assignment can be readily absorbed. In a small business of 100 employees, assigning a team of six would mean 6% of the workforce is suddenly working on a special project -- a huge hit on a small business. Even assigning 1 or 2 people is problematic.

Well now Marlo Brooke of Avatar Partners writes a guest column at IndustryWeek laying out a roadmap for small and midsize businesses (SMBs):

"RFID is coming, to small and large manufacturers alike, in the majority of industries that exist today. It is wise to put first things first, and prepare internal systems and processes for RFID, so that yet one more standard does not become a separate cost center. That way, all parties involved can realize the full benefits of RFID."

Read the whole thing at IndustryWeek.