Bridging the gap between RFID/EPC concepts, technological requirements and supply chain e-business processes

Supply chain pressures have caused some firms to reexamine their processes. In doing so, firms are exploring emerging technology such as RFID to enable seamless exchange of information within their supply chain. While RFID promised to “revolutionize” the way business processes are managed today, the impact and benefits of the technology are still unclear and ambiguous concepts such as “intelligent products”, “smart supply chains” or “the internet of things” are still creating confusion within potential adopters. In this paper an attempt is made to (i) clarify the ambiguity surrounding RFID vs. other AIDC and IOS technologies such as the EPC Network (ii) specify the technology readiness & IT related requirements of actual and emerging applications, and (iii) propose a framework to highlight how the technology can be used to support RFID/EPC enabled ecommerce processes and support practitioners and academicians in assessing the impact of RFID on electronic supply chain business processes.