An Analysis of Data-on-Tag Concepts in Manufacturing

Over time various drivers affecting information technology architecture design have been proposed which favored more centralization or decentralization. The last major shift towards centralization starting in the late 1990s was motivated by standardization, integration, and cost issues. With the advent of ubiquitous computing, the next inflection point heading towards decentralization might arise. This paper aims to improve the understanding of the decentralization debate by investigating the drivers that influence the design decision on whether to store data on tag or not. The manufacturing domain is taken as an example for discussion from which key factors and management implications are derived. These form a model that can guide companies wishing to implement Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) on how to design their application.