i) Bar Code

It uses unique bar pattern to represent various alphanumeric characters. A bar code label is attached to each item in the warehouse for tracking and identification purposes. A bar code system consists of a bar code label, bar code scanner and bar code printer.




















ii) Radio Frequency (RF) Tag

Data is stored in the microchip in the RF tag. An antenna will transmit RF signal to read from the tag. The RF tag enters the field of view of the RF magnetic wave. The tag will be activated and will send signal containing the data in the tag to a reader. The antenna will capture the data and the reader will read and decode the data. The decoded data will then be passed to an attached host computer for processing.
The use of RF tag is similar to use of bar code system. It is used for tracking and identification of items in the warehouse. However, RF tags can store more data than bar code labels and the reader can read faster than bar code technology. Hence, the cost of implementing RF technology is higher then bar code system.


























iii) Electronic Data Interchange (EDI)/Internet
Electronic data interchange (EDI) provides standards for inter-corporate transfer of purchase orders, invoices, shipping notices, and other frequently used business documents. Prior to the Internet, EDI required expensive dedicated value added networks (VANs). EDI is critical for implementing JIT manufacturing. 2007_24 0 comments