Entities that have to maintain large inventories have found the RFID assisted inventory management systems extremely useful. For example, the Auto ID labs system which uses the RFID to implement is an extremely useful innovation in the field of inventory management. The RFID device technology helps provide an accurate picture of the state of an inventory at any given point of time. This helps determine flow of goods in and out of the inventory, and gives an accurate idea of time lines in which an inventory should be re-supplied to maintain an adequate quota of goods and products.
Wal Mart has been at the forefront of implementing the RDIF technology in inventory management, as well as in academic study of the effects of this technology. One such study shows how products selling up to 15 units a day had a 30 percent reduction in out of stock situations. Various studies have also demonstrated the way RFID can actually reduce the amount of labor required in a job, thereby reducing cost of labor. RFID also makes business and industrial processes simpler, and accurately portrays mismanagement or inaccuracies in inventories.
One prime example of the reduction in costs effected by RFID technology is in the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, one of the largest man-made objects ever to have flown in the sky. In 2004, it was realized that lack of tracking, coupled with high costs of parts, was costing Boeing thousands of extra dollars a day. Boeing decided to implement RFID to track its inventory, and within six months it was saving thousands of dollars not only in inventory management, but also in associated labor costs as well.
Other areas where implementations similar to inventory management have occurred are in libraries and large book shops. Books and magazines are sourced with a high frequency RFID – also know as a HighFID – so that their shelf life, sale figures etc can be tracked, and the most popular books restocked.