My ol’ ball coaches used to say: “be ready for anything”, “we have to make changes on the fly”, “we can’t be one dimensional”. They all could have summed it by saying: “you gotta be flexible”. They all had it exactly right and that has proved to be true in all arenas of competition. In sports or manufacturing, the team that is capable of being flexible is the team that gets the win in the long haul.
The cost to get an idea to market is a key factor in determining whether or not an organization can make its foray into the future. In the manufacturing world the product isn’t the idea, but a tangible good. The cost tied to a product begins to accumulate in the idea stage and continues all the way through to building the product and transporting it to market. Even after the product has reached the market there are costs associated with sales, support, etc. All too often manufacturers are handcuffed to running one product per line…Or should I say, doing that efficiently? RFID has enabled manufacturers and specifically process engineers to perform changes and make alterations in midstream while saving on cost and improving quality. At the same time, the technology creates open lines of communication between operators and personnel on multiple shifts.
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