Reg Advice for SAP with RFID..

Question

Hello Friends,
I am totaly new for RFID concept. now i want to do some project in SAP with RFID. so can u give me some guidance for SAP with RFID and how to go further for that. i mean what is the way for go further in SAP.. and plz tell me some good links wher i can find some material for RFID and its use with SAP.
Thanks in Advance.
Marmik

Answer 1

Hi marmik,
I am compiling some of my previous replies to
queries on similar lines probably would help you....
1.RFID-What is it's purpose!
Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is a
state-of-the-art technology for extensive
identification of every type of object.
It enables rapid and automatic data acquisition
via radio waves.At its most basic level, Radio Frequency Identification ( RFID ) is a wireless
link to uniquely identify objects or people.
RFID is a means of capturing data about an object without using a human to read the data.
The object of any RFID system is to carry data in suitable transponders, generally known as tags,
and to retrieve data, by machine-readable means,
at a suitable time and place to satisfy particular application needs. Data within a tag may provide identification for an item in manufacture,
goods in transit, a location, the identity of a
vehicle, an animal or individual.
Where it will be used mainly.
RFID is becoming more popular in applications
where other identification technologies, such as barcodes, are no longer sufficient
(e.g. logistics, material management,
industrial automation, services etc.).
POSSIBLE COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS OF THIS SYSTEM
• Electronic Article Surveillance(EAS)
• logistics
• Asset Management
• Waste Management
• Yard Management
• Fare Collection
• Animal Identification
• Luggage Tracking in Airports
• Industrial laundries
• Fugitive Emission Detection
• Totes/Conveyor
• Vehicle Identification
• Automotive Anti-theft
• Employee Identification
The list continues.It can be used in man
Advantages of RFID:
• Contactless identification
• Reads through many materials like cardboard,
wood etc.
• Unlimited reading and writing of the memory
• Identification takes less than a second
• Simultaneous reading of various transponders
• Resistant to harsh environmental conditions,
such as extreme temperature, humidity etc.
• Shape and size of the transponders can be
adapted as desired
• Transponders can be completely integrated
into a product
•High security due to copy and password
protection or encrypted data communication
RFID Adoption (RFID Now)AND Growth Prospects
RFID DEVICES are beginning to replace
magnetic-stripe security cards for unlocking
doors and granting access to secured areas—
especially at facilities with special security
needs, such as military installations.
The most visible use of RFID, though, is
probably the automatic toll payment systems
that rely on readers at toll plazas to scan
tags attached to the windshields of passing
cars. The reader records the tag’s ID and then
deducts money from a prepaid account.
These systems are designed to allow cars to
zip through toll plazas ideally without stopping
or even slowing down very much .Known as
E- ZPass in New York, New Jersey, Delaware and
other states, as FasTrak in California, and by
different names elsewhere, RFID-based automatic
toll systems have been operating for several years.
RFID Growth Prospects(RFID FUTURE)
Why the RFID market is set to expand rapidly
1.Auto-ID Center at MIT produced standards: EPC,
Air-protocol, Savant, ONS.
2.Cost of tags is dropping rapidly
3.The coming RFID tsunami is real and it has
two mega-sized supply buyers written all over it:
Wal-Mart and the DoD.
Walmart, the worlds largest retailer, and the
US Dept of Defense (DOD), are two powerful
entities that have launched initiatives to
implement RFID in their logistics operations,
motivated by their needs to cut costs and
streamline their supply chain in their
organizations.Wal-Mart has mandated that
its top 100 suppliers adopt RFID for palettes
and cases by January 2005.
4.In the coming years, Radio Frequency
Identification (RFID) could have a major
impact on any enterprise involved in the
production, movement, or sale of physical
goods. RFID's unique attributes will enable
new applications and radical changes to business practices. RFID technology is a powerful
Auto ID solution that can significantly
increase efficiency and productivity.
Implementing an RFID solution requires a
thorough understanding of the capabilities and limitations of this emerging technology.
So the future is absolutely very bright
SAP RFID Solution Package
The SAP RFID solution package provides a
complete auto-ID middleware solution connecting
RFID data directly from auto-ID data capture
sources, such as RFID readers and device
controllers, and integrates the data directly
into enterprise applications . It converts
raw RFID data into  business process
information by making the associations from
key business rules, master data, and transactions
to raw RFID data .
SAP-RFID
SAP’s RFID solution is packaged as a standalone
solution package built on top of SAP Web
Application Server 6.40, and consists of:
• SAP Auto-ID Infrastructure
• SAP Event Management
• SAP Enterprise Portal
• Backend ERP adapters to SAP R/3 4.6C
and greater
SAP Auto-ID Infrastructure
Auto-ID Infrastructure is compatible with
SAP R/3 4.6C or greater, and it also has
adapters for SAP Warehouse Management, SAP
Business Information Warehouse, SAP Supply
Chain Event Management, SAP Advanced Planning and Optimization, and all SAP NetWeaver components.
Auto-ID Infrastructure is designed to synchronize
EPC and RFID information into your ERP systems by providing a complete, multidimensional data model
of RFID-enabled assets, including:
1.EPC number
2.Asset location
3.Status
4.Last RFID read point
5.Handling unit number
6.Packing hierarchy association
(such as item, item-to-case, or case-to-pallet)
It then maps this data to your SAP R/3 system
via association to handling units (HUs). Handling
unit headers include a standards-based HU number, weight, volume, and dimensions. HU content
includes material number, quantity, unit of
measure, batch number, plant number and location,
and stock category (such as consignment), as well
as serial number and inspection lot data.
These HUs are then associated with EPC numbers
and are integrated into the appropriate transaction
for processes such as production orders, transfer orders, sales orders, delivery (ASNs) and receipt, shipment, picking and packing, and inventory move
and packing operations.
Because it is built on SAP Web
Application Server,
Auto-ID Infrastructure supports multiple
communication interfaces (HTTP, SOAP, WSDL,
SOCKET/ TCPIP), as well as mobile interfaces
to PocketPC 2003 and Mobile Linux (Sharp).
It runs on Windows (XP, 2000, NT), Unix, and
Linux, and supports Oracle, SAP DB, DB2,
and Microsoft SQL Server
Now if you want to have some more technical
information on RFID ,u can refer the below
mentioned sites
1.     www.aimglobal.org
2.     www.rfidjournal.com
3.     www.rfid-handbook.com
4.     www.sciam.com
5.     www.tagss.com
6.     www.dynasis.com
7.     www.copytag.com
8.     www.ean-int.org.
And if you want to know more about SAP-RFID
you will get lot of information on SDN
as also rightly mentioned by ARUL.
1.http://service.sap.com/scm
2.http://help.sap.com/autoid20/helpdata/en/2d/4ac13f2ad10228e10000000a114084/frameset.htm-this
a help for SAP AII.
Regards,
Pawan P. Khilari
Message was edited by: Pawan Khilari
Message was edited by: Pawan Khilari