How would your business or hospital handle a large recall?

As you probably already know, a recent recall of ground turkey, tainted with a super salmonella strain (resistant to bacteria) has been in effect nationwide. Think of the scrambling grocery store employees, rushing to ensure that their ground turkey supply is not on the list of recalled products, trying to ensure none of it has left through the store doors.

Does this sound familiar? Do recalls happen more often than you would like? Did you know these problems could be averted with an RFID retail or surgical inventory system? RFID allows for many benefits (for a full listing watch this simple YouTube video What is RFID Inventory Management), but one of the greatest is the ability to track items at the item level. You can know exactly where each item is located at any time. In addition, if a recalled product was already bought (and you had the correct software in place) you could know who had purchased the product and inform them to not use the item.

Think of the costs this would save. First, people would not get hurt, which not only relieves your conscience but also frees your wallet from preventable lawsuits. Second, the recall process would be simpler. Sure, a recall is not too difficult for a grocery store, but imagine searching through an entire hospital for a certain product which is found to be dangerous. That requires significant time and effort. In addition, all of the time spent searching for the product could be just enough time to allow the product to slip through the system and into the hands (or body) of a patient.

To say the least, recalled products are a problem that every industry has experienced at one point or another. Some companies handle it well (Johnson and Johnson pulling their entire Tylenol supply during the cyanide scare many years ago) and some do not (Toyota’s recent recalls might have been handled a bit better). Either way, in this age of technology and innovation, this problem should be dealt with more efficiently.

The solution is here and it is RFID technology. The prices of implementing a RFID system are dropping precipitously, with individual tags as inexpensive as 7 – 15 cents when purchased in bulk. Handheld as well as stationary readers are becoming more and more adaptable and user-friendly. All in all, now is the time to invest in a RFID retail or surgical inventory management system. The healthcare and retail industries were the first to conform, shouldn't you?

If you would like to talk to an RFID expert, contact Ron Pulvermacher at 608-834-1661. With 20+ years in the RFID industry, Ron and his team at Matrix Product Development have ample experience to assist with your particular needs. Matrix Product Development already has a surgical inventory management system developed and ready for use called Wyze Scan. In addition, they work with companies to provide customized RFID solutions for any situation. So please, take the first step in preventing needless customer harm and company ill-will.