How many of you out there have received shipments where the box that was 4 inches think is now the thickness of a credit card with a size 13 boot mark across it? A British company, Cambridge Consultants, may have developed a device that will make your delivery company employee think twice before trying to score that extra point with your new iPad. The device is a Bluetooth-based RFID sensor tag that identifies when a package has been dropped or whatever fate it may have been dealt. The chip will allow someone with a smartphone to read the status of the tag, and hence the package. This application is especially useful for companies who have to ship very fragile components or finished goods that need to arrive at the customer intact. The price of the RFID tag, which is estimated to be around $3 will preclude it from being used on every package that is carried by a major carrier, but is the right price that it could be used with items that must arrived intact. If the tag can be used multiple times, then this could reduce the cost and expand its use to other packages, such as that new iPad you are expecting.
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Sounds like a great idea but the cost seems as though it won’t be on any package I receive anytime soon. It will be good on packages that contain new PC’s or delicate electronics.
The RFID tag appears to be a great solution for companies that have items shipped that are very prone to damage. I can;t see the shippers being very pleased as they will get hundreds of claims when the customer finds that the package has been dropped.
Love the idea about the RFID for shipments. I do think that it will be many years before this is available as part of a regular shipment, but a good idea for fragile items that need to be sent.
As a logistics manager I am always concerned about our packages that are sent thru FedEx and UPS. Many times I have been sent photographs from customers where the product has arrived damaged due to crushed and destroyed packaging. We increased the packaging for some items and it helped but some of our packages have arrived soaking wet, and an RFID tag won’t help with that.