Hosted offerings allow companies to quickly set up "slap-and-ship" RFID labeling for cartons and pallets. The offerings from SEEBURGER and IBM are ideal for manufacturers struggling with RFID mandates from key customers like Wal-Mart. They do not, however, offer the advanced analytics that help companies leverage RFID investments into supply chain efficiencies.

How It Works

Hosted RFID is all about data conversion. Organizations must still perform the manual tasks of scanning bar codes and pasting labels. The "heavy lifting" of converting internal tracking numbers to standard EPCglobal RFID codes is done by the hosted RFID service provider.

The Pros and Cons of Hosted RFID

Hosted RFID is primarily intended for companies that need to quickly meet the RFID mandates of large customers. The benefits over full in-house RFID implementations include:

• Rapid compliance due to quick deployment.
• Low start-up costs.
• Scalable applications with service levels mandated by contract terms.

The nature...