Radio Frequency Identification tags come in a variety of configurations. One such type is the hard tags. These tags have a hard protective covering that protects the chip from tampering & damage. In recent years, hard tags have become popular in the jewellery industry for security purposes.
Today, we will discuss in brief RFID hard tags & their viability as a security system for jewellery businesses.
What are the Types of Hard RFID Tags Used with Jewellery?
Jewellery come in all shapes and sizes, it can be as small as an ear stud or as big as a necklace. Therefore, to accommodate different items, RFID manufacturers make tags of different sizes with different attachment methods.
Mini Hard RFID Tags for Jewellery can be both active & passive. Generally, for high-end items, people will most probably choose an active RFID tag. The tags may also have different mounting methods like fasteners, hoops, hooks, etc. Usually, manufacturers avoid adhesive mounts, as they run the risk of damaging the surface of the jewellery.
Benefits of an RFID Jewellery Management System
Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) systems manage to work by communicating information wirelessly via radio signals. An RFID tag can provide your system with the model number, name & group type of any item within the range of the reader. There are a lot of benefits to implementing an RFID Jewellery Management System inside your business premises.
Realtime Item Tracking
Whenever an RFID tag enters the readable range of an RFID scanner, it starts to broadcast its signal. The RFID reader will then receive it and update the system with the time & the location of the tag. This feature gives you the live location of every item inside the premises of your establishment. Asset tracking enables you to easily retrieve any item you need, without needing to search for it.
Streamlines Inventory Management
A very important business practice that every entrepreneur follows is stock management. Everyone has their version of an inventory management system for their business. However, for businesses involving valuable items or a high volume of items, manual inventory management is very difficult. In addition to that, it is also time-consuming, which means that it inherently incurs a cost to the business. So, a good solution for this problem is to implement RFID & automate the entire process of inventory control.
In addition to keeping a record of every item in your inventory, RFID also alerts you whenever you are running out of any certain item. This also helps in replenishing the inventory at the right time.
Deters Theft & Reduces Stock Shrinkage
By enabling live tracking with the use of RFID readers at exit points, inventory & display cases, you can use RFID as a security measure. In short, a system like this will inform you whenever an item is removed from its place & when someone is trying to take it out of your store or warehouse without permission.
Also, in case they do manage to sneak an item out, the system will keep a record of the exact time and date the item left the premises. This can further increase the chance of you recovering your items.
Speeds-Up Billing
Lastly, you can program an RFID tag to store information/data regarding the item it is put on. Then, during billing, the reader at the counter can just scan the tags & put the information in the system. This can automate the entire billing process, saving the customer a lot of time & prevents billing errors. In fact, many high-end retail outlets already employ such a system.
Conclusion
Hard tags are very beneficial for tracking items & deterring threats. This is due to the inherent nature of how RFID works and provides you with real-time tracking capabilities. Also, Hard tags are extremely difficult to remove or break, as they are resistant to tampering & damage.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. Is RFID used for anti theft?
Ans: Yes, RFID systems can be used to prevent theft. Due to their ability to track items in real-time, RFID tags can alert the owners of possible theft in the process.
Q2. Which is expensive RFID or barcode?
Ans: RFID tends to be more expensive than a barcode, due to the materials that go into them. However, it makes up for it by providing a better range, real-time tracking, read or write capabilities, etc.
Q3. Is RFID blocking real?
Ans: Yes, RFID communicates/works by using radio signals (a form of electromagnetic radiation). RFID blocking materials or layers uses a mesh of conducting wire to create a faraday cage around the RFID chip, preventing any signals from reaching it.
Q4. Can RFID tags be deactivated?
Ans: In a way, yes, at the billing counter after the item’s data has been fed into the system, the reader sends a “kill” command to the tag. After this, when the tag goes through a security gate, it doesn’t broadcast a signal back.
Q5. What is the risk of RFID?
Ans: Like any wireless device, RFID is vulnerable to signal disruptions. For RFID tags, metal surfaces & liquids causes detuning & disruptions.
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