Thursday 30th of May at the annual event SPS, the editor logisticamente.it hosted a conference dedicated to technology, automation, and digitalization of the supply chain. Invited as speaker, Prof. Antonio Rizzi took the delegates on a journey into the exiting RFID space explaining how the fourth industrial revolution is radically changing the management of Supply Chains.
A new industrial revolution is underway, Prof. Rizzi stressed during his speech, the most powerful seen so far. Machines and products are becoming “intelligent” and “connected” taking on human characteristics. Just like us, the machines become capable of perceiving, processing, and generating outputs. Just like us, the products become alive, unique, and capable of communicating with one another via the Internet.
Automatic identification technologies, such as RFID, enables this 4.0 scenario connecting components, processes and machines and providing automated identification of the objects linking the physical article to its “Digital Twin”.
By tagging the objects with an RFID label, each product acquires a digital identity that allows it to communicate its history, its supply chain origin, status, and position automatically and in real time, as well as interact with the customer in a direct and increasingly interconnected way.
In 2023, 45 billion 4.0 products were connected via RFID to the Internet of Things. During his speech, Prof. Rizzi illustrated case studies from the food, healthcare and retail industry, explaining how important companies already changed their supply chains thanks to 4.0 technologies. He also thoroughly showed the infinite opportunities offered by this fast-evolving scenario and the impact it has and will have on supply chain management.