Fuzzy rule-based system for the economic analysis of RFID investments

Radio frequency identification (RFID) technology introduces the opportunity for increased visibility by facilitating easy tracking and identifying of goods, assets and even living things. The number of RFID applications and users in various fields are growing. However, high investment cost and inadequate technical capability still remain as challenges for RFID system implementations. That being the case, fair evaluation of savings associated with increasing performance and investment costs has a great role in the success of RFID projects. In this study, a systematic framework for the economic analysis for RFID investment is proposed. In this method, the elements of cost and benefits are determined in order to measure the value of an RFID investment. The expected increase of customer order is determined in terms of delivery accuracy and delivery time via a fuzzy rule-based system. The Monte-Carlo simulation method is used to determine the expected net present value (NPV) of RFID investment. A case study is constructed on the basis of expert conception to illustrate the proposed method. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.