Reg Advice for SAP with RFID..

[Former Member]

Hello Friends,

I am totaly new for RFID concept. now i want to do some project in SAP with RFID. so can u give me some guidance for SAP with RFID and how to go further for that. i mean what is the way for go further in SAP.. and plz tell me some good links wher i can find some material for RFID and its use with SAP.

Thanks in Advance.

Marmik

[Former Member]

Hi Marmik,

Please go through this link. I am sure you'll find everything here. Incase you need some more info, do let me know. The documents are huge files so I may not be able to send it. So do specifically mention what you need and can make a small word document and send it across.

http://help.sap.com/saphelp_autoid40/helpdata/en/index.htm

This online help takes you from the concepts to configuration.

Hope this helps.

Regards,

Sunil

PS: Do reward points for useful answers.

[Former Member]

Hi

You can tryout transactions for RF devices for:

1. Goods Receipt

(Create Material Document -> Create Transfer order )

Inputs: Purchase order, (Material, Storage Bin, Qty)

2. Packing

Inputs: Delivery#, Packing Material

(Material, Serial number(if any),Batch, Qty)

Use VL03n, to create a Handling Unit with above data, Update its Weight and Volume, SAVE.

Hope it will proove a good exercise...

Regards

Raj

[Former Member]

Hi marmik,

I am compiling some of my previous replies to

queries on similar lines probably would help you....

1.RFID-What is it's purpose!

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is a

state-of-the-art technology for extensive

identification of every type of object.

It enables rapid and automatic data acquisition

via radio waves.At its most basic level, Radio Frequency Identification ( RFID ) is a wireless

link to uniquely identify objects or people.

RFID is a means of capturing data about an object without using a human to read the data.

The object of any RFID system is to carry data in suitable transponders, generally known as tags,

and to retrieve data, by machine-readable means,

at a suitable time and place to satisfy particular application needs. Data within a tag may provide identification for an item in manufacture,

goods in transit, a location, the identity of a

vehicle, an animal or individual.

Where it will be used mainly.

RFID is becoming more popular in applications

where other identification technologies, such as barcodes, are no longer sufficient

(e.g. logistics, material management,

industrial automation, services etc.).

POSSIBLE COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS OF THIS SYSTEM

• Electronic Article Surveillance(EAS)

• logistics

• Asset Management

• Waste Management

• Yard Management

• Fare Collection

• Animal Identification

• Luggage Tracking in Airports

• Industrial laundries

• Fugitive Emission Detection

• Totes/Conveyor

• Vehicle Identification

• Automotive Anti-theft

• Employee Identification

The list continues.It can be used in man

Advantages of RFID:

• Contactless identification

• Reads through many materials like cardboard,

wood etc.

• Unlimited reading and writing of the memory

• Identification takes less than a second

• Simultaneous reading of various transponders

• Resistant to harsh environmental conditions,

such as extreme temperature, humidity etc.

• Shape and size of the transponders can be

adapted as desired

• Transponders can be completely integrated

into a product

•High security due to copy and password

protection or encrypted data communication

RFID Adoption (RFID Now)AND Growth Prospects

RFID DEVICES are beginning to replace

magnetic-stripe security cards for unlocking

doors and granting access to secured areas—

especially at facilities with special security

needs, such as military installations.

The most visible use of RFID, though, is

probably the automatic toll payment systems

that rely on readers at toll plazas to scan

tags attached to the windshields of passing

cars. The reader records the tag’s ID and then

deducts money from a prepaid account.

These systems are designed to allow cars to

zip through toll plazas ideally without stopping

or even slowing down very much .Known as

E- ZPass in New York, New Jersey, Delaware and

other states, as FasTrak in California, and by

different names elsewhere, RFID-based automatic

toll systems have been operating for several years.

RFID Growth Prospects(RFID FUTURE)

Why the RFID market is set to expand rapidly

1.Auto-ID Center at MIT produced standards: EPC,

Air-protocol, Savant, ONS.

2.Cost of tags is dropping rapidly

3.The coming RFID tsunami is real and it has

two mega-sized supply buyers written all over it:

Wal-Mart and the DoD.

Walmart, the worlds largest retailer, and the

US Dept of Defense (DOD), are two powerful

entities that have launched initiatives to

implement RFID in their logistics operations,

motivated by their needs to cut costs and

streamline their supply chain in their

organizations.Wal-Mart has mandated that

its top 100 suppliers adopt RFID for palettes

and cases by January 2005.

4.In the coming years, Radio Frequency

Identification (RFID) could have a major

impact on any enterprise involved in the

production, movement, or sale of physical

goods. RFID's unique attributes will enable

new applications and radical changes to business practices. RFID technology is a powerful

Auto ID solution that can significantly

increase efficiency and productivity.

Implementing an RFID solution requires a

thorough understanding of the capabilities and limitations of this emerging technology.

So the future is absolutely very bright

SAP RFID Solution Package

The SAP RFID solution package provides a

complete auto-ID middleware solution connecting

RFID data directly from auto-ID data capture

sources, such as RFID readers and device

controllers, and integrates the data directly

into enterprise applications . It converts

raw RFID data into business process

information by making the associations from

key business rules, master data, and transactions

to raw RFID data .

SAP-RFID

SAP’s RFID solution is packaged as a standalone

solution package built on top of SAP Web

Application Server 6.40, and consists of:

• SAP Auto-ID Infrastructure

• SAP Event Management

• SAP Enterprise Portal

• Backend ERP adapters to SAP R/3 4.6C

and greater

SAP Auto-ID Infrastructure

Auto-ID Infrastructure is compatible with

SAP R/3 4.6C or greater, and it also has

adapters for SAP Warehouse Management, SAP

Business Information Warehouse, SAP Supply

Chain Event Management, SAP Advanced Planning and Optimization, and all SAP NetWeaver components.

Auto-ID Infrastructure is designed to synchronize

EPC and RFID information into your ERP systems by providing a complete, multidimensional data model

of RFID-enabled assets, including:

1.EPC number

2.Asset location

3.Status

4.Last RFID read point

5.Handling unit number

6.Packing hierarchy association

(such as item, item-to-case, or case-to-pallet)

It then maps this data to your SAP R/3 system

via association to handling units (HUs). Handling

unit headers include a standards-based HU number, weight, volume, and dimensions. HU content

includes material number, quantity, unit of

measure, batch number, plant number and location,

and stock category (such as consignment), as well

as serial number and inspection lot data.

These HUs are then associated with EPC numbers

and are integrated into the appropriate transaction

for processes such as production orders, transfer orders, sales orders, delivery (ASNs) and receipt, shipment, picking and packing, and inventory move

and packing operations.

Because it is built on SAP Web

Application Server,

Auto-ID Infrastructure supports multiple

communication interfaces (HTTP, SOAP, WSDL,

SOCKET/ TCPIP), as well as mobile interfaces

to PocketPC 2003 and Mobile Linux (Sharp).

It runs on Windows (XP, 2000, NT), Unix, and

Linux, and supports Oracle, SAP DB, DB2,

and Microsoft SQL Server

Now if you want to have some more technical

information on RFID ,u can refer the below

mentioned sites

1. www.aimglobal.org

2. www.rfidjournal.com

3. www.rfid-handbook.com

4. www.sciam.com

5. www.tagss.com

6. www.dynasis.com

7. www.copytag.com

8. www.ean-int.org.

And if you want to know more about SAP-RFID

you will get lot of information on SDN

as also rightly mentioned by ARUL.

1.http://service.sap.com/scm

2.http://help.sap.com/autoid20/helpdata/en/2d/4ac13f2ad10228e10000000a114084/frameset.htm-this

a help for SAP AII.

Regards,

Pawan P. Khilari

Message was edited by: Pawan Khilari

Message was edited by: Pawan Khilari

[Former Member]

Hi Pawan

Thankyou for your reply and giving a good info regarding RFID.

Now I want to create small application which use RFID and SAP ( i means integration of SAP and RFID) and i have 1.5-2 months for this. so can u suggest me any small application and how can i go further for same.

may i know your mail id??

Thanks in Advance.

Marmik

[Former Member]

Hi Marmik,

RFID scenarios can be catogerised as

1. Standalone

2. Integrated with the SAP R/3

For creating an application its better to start with standalone scenario where you can configure SAP-AII to RFID device. Incase of absence of RFID hardware, AII supports the simulation where various scenarios can be configured.

Configuration guides for various scenarios can be found at www.service.sap.com/scm under rfid section.

Regards,

Ashish

[Former Member]

Hi ashish,

thanks for reply.

Can u tell me more detail abt standalone RFID scenario?

i want to know more detail abt AII and how can go further for that. Did u try for this type of application? if yes then plz tell me in detail.

Marmik

[Former Member]

Hi Marmik,

Actually According to me these are the various implementations of interfacing RFID System with SAP,

<b>1.You can interface the RFID system with SAP AII with XI as the middleware.

2.You can interface the RFID system with SAP R/3 without using SAP AII but can use XI as the middleware.

3.You can also interface the RFID system with SAP R/3 without using both SAP AII and XI AND using only R/3.(i am not sure whether this implementaion is feasible as far as time and cost is concerned,but it is possible technically)</b>

First and foremost you have to choose your choice of implementation.

If you have a choice of SAP-AII then as rightly mentioned by Ashish you have a choice of standalone and integrated with SAP R/3 SCENARIO and if you dont have a RFID device then second option mentioned by ashish seems to be right choce.

In that case you will get lot of help from sdn as lot of things have been discussed in this forum.Even there are lot of configuration guides available on service.sap.com(i have mentioned the link in my earlier reply)

And if you dont have to use SAP-AII then you have to go for the second scenario mentioned by me.

But in this case if you donot have RFID hardware support then you have to assume various things And if you are using RFID hardware then the RFID Implementation depends a lot on the hardware you are using.Here it is important that your RFID IMPLEMENTATION gives you either A XML file or FLAT FILE as a output.Which will be then passed to SAP VIA XI, using XI we can connect it to SAP R/3 using either an IDOC or RFC.

As in case of an idea for a demo application,You can select any of the application mentioned in my earlier reply .And according to the need of the application and time constraints you can design your business scenario.

Here is one good example of an asset tracking scenario on SDN

Check this SDN media

URL:https://media.sdn.sap.com/SDNTV/main.asp?mediaId=114

You can take any of the application mention in my reply and design a business scenario according to your requirement and the time constraints.

For e.g:

It can be simple application of employee detection, Theft detection in a shop or it can be a simple application of warehouse management

1.Here the asset are tagged -(commisioning of tags),

2.moved into warehouse where the are tags read by the reader(reader deamon)and

3.the the tags are removed for making the assets ready for shipment.(Decommissioning of tags)

I suppose this should help you .

Regards,

Pawan P. Khilari,

• close the query if your Problem is solved

Message was edited by: Pawan Khilari

Message was edited by: Pawan Khilari

[Former Member]

hi marmik,

I think you will find lots of such info in the earlier threads. RFID by itself is a different Technology. Here at SAP Auto-Id is a sort of middleware to deal with it. Check the below link..

http://www.rfidjournal.com

http://help.sap.com

regards,

arul.