Application of a business process model (BPM) method for a warehouse RFID system implementation

In recent years, the importance of the RFID technology within the operations management environment has become more evident. In particular, the RFID technology is recognised as an accelerator of the change towards a more efficient way to manage operations in an industrial context. The aim of this paper is to present a case study for the application of a pre-existing model (based on the Business Process Modelling method) for the technical, economic and financial evaluation of an RFID technology application in the area of industrial logistics for a bike manufacturer. The paper will face this issue preliminarily analysing the RFID utilization in the industrial context, afterwards analysing the existing literature on the BPM use for the evaluation of the applicability of RFID to the industrial context and lastly illustrating the case study and the results of the application of the BPM to the specific firm. The results demonstrate the improvement that it is possible to achieve in terms of financial returns and in terms of bikes worked in the warehouse per year.