BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) and RFID technology, both offer many benefits for small businesses in terms of asset tracking and inventory management. For businesses that are struggling with inventory visibility, facing stockouts, inaccurate inventory and order fulfilment issues, both BLE and RFID technologies offer an automated solution in the form of item-level tagging. Both these technologies have their own advantages and disadvantages, and the choice between them will depend on the specific use case.
Let’s see in detail whether BLE or RFID is the best solution for small businesses.
A cost-benefit analysis of BLE and RFID
A cost-benefit analysis can be helpful in determining whether BLE or RFID is the better choice for a small business. Once we analyze the cost of implementation of BLE and RFID and the benefits of these technologies in a small business setting, we can easily determine which technology to consider.
Some factors to consider in such an analysis include:
Cost of BLE and RFID Tags
BLE technology is generally considered to be more expensive than RFID technology when it comes to asset tagging. BLE tags are typically more expensive than RFID tags as these are active BLE beacons and come with batteries, as a power source. RFID tags, on the other hand, can be passive and active, both. A UHF passive RFID tag costs only INR 3-4 per tag in comparison to a BLE beacon (say Moco M2 BLE Beacon for asset tracking) which costs around INR2000 and more at retail prices in India.
Coming to BLE and RFID Readers, a BLE beacon can be read with any BLE-capable smartphone and many smartphones nowadays support BLE. However, the cost of implementation of RFID is higher due to the high cost of RFID readers, RFID antennas, and RFID software. The cost of implementation of both, the BLE and RFID, will also depend on the specific needs of the business and the scale of the project.
Range of BLE and RFID
BLE technology has a longer range than RFID technology. BLE tags typically have a range of around 100-160 meters, whereas RFID tags can have a range of up to 15 meters for passive tags and 100m+ for active tags. This means that BLE technology may be more suitable for larger facilities or for tracking assets over greater distances. However, BLE is more of an indoor tracking technology offering RTLS and advertising services. Passive RFID tags, even with a short read range, are perfect for covering a large warehouse with strategic placement of RFID readers and antennas. Many businesses prefer RFID over Bluetooth low energy due to the low cost of RFID tags for assets.
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Battery life Comparison of BLE and RFID
BLE tags typically have a longer battery life than RFID tags which do not have a battery in the case of passive RFID tags. BLE beacons are considered active RFID themselves. BLE tags can last for up to two years on a single battery. This can make BLE technology more suitable for tracking assets that are not frequently accessed. However, passive RFID tags don’t require a battery and use the energy from the RF signal emitted from the RFID reader and share the data wirelessly. The only drawback is the short read range, which is overcome by bringing the RFID handheld reader closer to the RFID-tagged asset.
Security Features in BLE and RFID Technologies
BLE has built-in security features compared to RFID which can be more vulnerable to hacking. BLE uses AES-128 encryption which can be more secure than RFID.
Applications of BLE and RFID in Small Businesses
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1. BLE technology is more suitable for tracking and monitoring devices and assets in close proximity, indoors. It is perfect for indoor navigation and broadcasting advertising signals.
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2. RFID technology is more suitable for tracking and monitoring assets indoors and outdoors with the help of handheld RFID readers and fixed and integrated RFID readers.
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3. RFID antennas can be set up at dock doors, assembly lines, warehouse entry and exit gates, etc. RFID tags can be attached to assets, pallets, containers, and RTIs.
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4. BLE beacons come with PAwR (Periodic Advertisement with Response) and offer bidirectional communication. These BLE beacons, with the help of BLE gateways, can advertise signals up to 100-160 meters and are used in retail for advertising discounts and sales offers.
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5. At airports, these beacons can offer indoor navigation and help passengers with onboarding, de-boarding, and finding their luggage.
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6. RFID technology has revolutionized retail, supply chain manufacturing, and logistics by ensuring a high degree of accuracy in tracking tagged assets throughout the supply chain and removing bottlenecks.
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7. With RFID, it is easier to audit inventory, manage the right amount of stock, ensure access control and security, streamline ticketing at events, etc.
Limitations of RFID technology
One of the main limitations of RFID technology is its cost. RFID tags and readers can be expensive, especially for small businesses. While the cost of RFID tags in India is less when purchased in bulk, the cost of RFID handheld and fixed readers is still high. For example, the Zebra RFD40 handheld reader costs around 56,000 INR while the Zebra FX9600 Fixed Reader costs around 64,000 INR.
Additionally, RFID technology in high-volume environments has interference issues which can make it difficult to use around metal or liquid-filled containers.
Limitations of BLE
The limitations of BLE technology are the high cost of BLE beacons and high deployment costs. Though BLE can be used by existing smartphones of the user (most smartphones support BLE), the cost of BLE gateways and beacons limit its uses as a full-fledged asset tracking technology.
To summarize, both BLE and RFID have their own advantages and disadvantages, and the choice between them will depend on the specific needs of the business and the use case. From the above analysis, it is clear that RFID is the perfect solution for small businesses when it comes to asset tracking and inventory management applications as various retail and healthcare businesses are already using it at the enterprise scale while BLE is most suitable for indoor navigation and marketing and advertising field. In healthcare, it can be used for remote patient monitoring and sending messages over long-range, bi-directionally.
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