RFID promises to read every item in a tote in a single sweep. Tempting � but expensive. Here's the honest comparison.
Where RFID wins
- High-value, low-volume items (apparel, electronics, jewellery).
- Use cases where line-of-sight scanning is impossible.
- Tagged returnable assets (pallets, totes, gas bottles).
Where barcodes still win
- Mixed packaging where a tag would fall off or be destroyed.
- Cost-sensitive SKUs � tags are still 20�100 cents each.
- Operations that already run efficiently with scan-pick.
Hybrid is fine
Most operations end up using both. RFID at the gates, barcodes on the SKUs. Your WMS should not care which is used � VasKem supports both.