Manufacturers can use RFID tags to keep track of Work-In-Process (WIP) inventory by affixing inexpensive passive RFID tags directly to the products being manufactured, or to bins that hold the products. Tags can contain only ‘license plate’ information used to uniquely identify each product, or they can contain a complete manufacturing history of the product which is updated at every step of manufacture – this would be beneficial if reliable access to the corporate network is not available at all stages of the production process.
Specialized RFID tags exist that can withstand harsh manufacturing conditions, including extreme heat, corrosive liquids, and vibration.
Some specialized Low Frequency (LF) tags can even be embedded within metal.
