RFID Drives Supply Chain Efficiency

February 14th, 2007: RFID technology is rapidly dropping in price, allowing companies to take advantage of the benefits its proponents have been promising for years. One of these company’s Mikoh, believes its RFID solution can improve supply chain efficiency and security drastically.

Mikoh Corporation claims to be the only company providing physical security for RFID tags and has announced the release of SecureContainer, a container that uses a single pressure-sensitive seal to protect its contents from security compromises and commercial loss as it moves through the supply chain.

Boxes hardly make exciting subject matter, however, Mikoh’s solution could prove quite interesting to any company wishing to reduce the loss of its stock during transport, increase security and speed up processing.

Disposable containers, such as cardboard boxes, are widely used to distribute products, however, these containers are easily penetrated and have little protection against tampering, theft or counterfeiting.

Mikoh says its SecureContainer is a durable, reusable container that features a unique closing system to reduce the risk of tampering by providing a single, protected point of entry. It uses disposable plastic inserts that slide into the container doors and are secured to each other using a tamper-resistant seal. If the container is opened, the pressure-sensitive seal becomes damaged, alerting the tracking system of potential product tampering.

“Protecting against product theft, substitution, contamination and the introduction of counterfeit items is serious business,” says Dr. Peter Atherton, CTO of MIKOH Corporation. “Pharmaceutical companies, government agencies and any organisation that transports high-value, sensitive materials must deal with the threats and ensure greater security throughout the supply chain.”

The company offers what it calls Smart&Secure technology alongside the container to manage the security enhancements and increase supply chain efficiency. Smart&Secure maintains the physical security of an RFID tag by alerting an RFID reader or disables the RFID tag if the tag is tampered with or moved.

“If the physical security of the container and RFID tag is not maintained, companies have little or no way to ensure that the product has not been compromised during the distribution process,” Dr. Atherton said. “With tough, durable packaging and tamper-proof RFID technology, SecureContainer ensures that a product arrives in its intended state while maintaining or improving supply chain efficiency.”

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