Louis Sirico at the RFID Operations newsletter has a very interesting article outlining the costs of doing a "simple" slap and ship implementation.

Sirico says you can expect to spend $100,000 on external costs:

Some of the common external costs a company can expect with a very simple slap and ship solution such as this one, look like this:

Description Total

One Thermal RFID Printer/encoder $5,000

Two Dock Door Read Points, includes

3 x EPC compliant, multi-protocol reader
8 x Bi-static 915MHz Antennas
4 x Industrial Strength Enclosure for Dock Doors
Cables, UPS, Lights, Mounting Hardware, Ballards
$15,000

Hardware Total: $20,000
RFID Middleware (varies by vendor): $30,000
External Services: $50,000
Total: $100,000

As for consumables, the 4 inch by 6 inch RFID Labels tend to cost around $0.40 a piece for quantities of 100,000 or less. Thermal printer ribbons are most likely part of the current budget.

Sirico goes on to say that when you factor in the internal costs -- primarily labor -- the price tag rises to $500,000 - $750,000.

Remember also that a slap and ship implementation probably is not nearly as complex or expensive as a full integrated implementation of RFID into a company's supply chain. "Slap and ship" means affixing tags to cases or pallets in order to meet a mandate from Wal-Mart or some other organization. Costs for a broader solution would be significantly higher.

Hat tip to CMS Consultants Buzz, where I found the link.

Tags: RFID; business; supply chain