The Power of

Custom RFID
Software

A Complete Solution to RFID

Asset Tracking Software
Development

By ARK Business Systems

 ARK BUSINESS SYSTEMS

Fixed Asset Management software comes in all shapes in sizes. Is there truly a “One Size Fits All” system out there
to help manage and track your fixed assets? “Out of the digital box” is a term commonly used in software
development meaning that the product developed will work for all industries, every customer, and every business.

But is this truly the case? Even “out of the digital box” solutions often need tweaks and adjustments for you to
really be able to use them. Over time these tweaks and other adjustments can really add up – either expense-wise
or time-wise as you come up with workarounds to get it to work like you need. Wouldn’t it be better if you could
tailor the workflows and verbiage of the software to mimic your business?

Many businesses are turning to custom asset tracking and management software solutions. These solutions are
designed to meet the specific requirements of the business to ensure every asset or item is inventoried and
accounted for.

When it comes to asset management and tracking, no piece of technology is more critical than the software. Auto-
ID technology helps you manage your assets like never before with benefits including:

Benefits of Asset Management Software include:

Efficiency in managing your assets or inventory

Improved Productivity
Reduction in lost and duplicate purchases
Chain of custody and accountability
Big Data Decisions on Assets

Companies wanting to maximize their asset purchases, increase visibility of assets, improve employee
accountability, and make better decisions with data should start considering asset management software that fits
their needs.

INSIDE THIS WHITE PAPER

Determining Needs for Custom

RFID Software
Building Blocks for Mobile RFID
Project
Benefits of Custom Software
Customizing not Custom - White
Label Solutions
The ARK Advantage
 PAGE 02

That is when you need to look at customization vs. customizing….

This white paper will help you determine if custom software is what you need, describe the building blocks of
your custom mobile RFID project, and explain the benefits of custom software.

Determining your Need for Custom RFID Software

Ask yourself one question: Will an “off the shelf”/”out of the digital box” product work for you needs?

Most likely there is software on the marketplace that can help with your asset tracking project, however,
understand there are both advantages and disadvantages that come with off the shelf software.

Advantages:
Economical
Ready to launch immediately
Already proven by other users of the product, ie. fewer or no bugs

Disadvantages:
Challenging to get new features, specifically for your business
Too many “bells and whistles” that don’t pertain to your business
Workflows don’t meet your needs and cause confusion

Custom software is often the best choice for a complex project because it provides the flexibility to add every
key feature you need both now and in the future.

Whereas, an out-of-the-box solution might make the most sense for a more simple RFID project with only a
couple thousands assets to track because it allows you to get software in place faster and get your business
the quickest ROI.

www.greytrunkrfid.com

Building Blocks for your Custom Mobile RFID
Project
There are 3 major components to start building
your Custom Mobile RFID project:
1)Software – Mobile and Web Based Applications
2)Hardware – Reader
3)RFID Tags
Software
The software component is the most vital piece of
the entire RFID solution. It allows you to display
the data you collected in a meaningful and
organized way.
Many out of the digital box solutions do not allow
for modifications to the software for one specific
customer because any change to the software will
cause that same change for their entire user
base. Asset tracking management is widespread
across many different industries, so it is very
challenging to find a one-size-fits-all solution for
every industry.
www.greytrunkrfid.com
PAGE 03
Custom software allows you to build unique
workflows that suit your business and industry.
Once you collect the data, your custom software
will give you the ability to manipulate and display
the data in a way that makes sense for your
business, saving you time and giving you better
visibility of the assets that are most important to
your business.
For example, one recent customer came to ARK
Business Systems specifically looking for a simple
and easy to use system where they could use
their mobile device, a mobile app, and a handheld
RFID reader to easily locate items throughout a
medical system.
They had one specific objective for the software
to complete – tell the user when they are close to
the asset or piece of equipment that they are
looking for.
Because this was a medical facility, the ability to
locate very important pieces of equipment quickly
can literally be the difference between life and
death. A simple software solution with streamlined
workflows helped the customer immensely in this
scenario.
 PAGE 04
RFID Tags

Every asset you are wanting to track and manage needs to have a unique identifier on it. This is done by
applying an RFID tag to the asset.The RFID tag acts as a license plate for the asset. When that unique
number is captured and entered into the software, it will have all the records, history, and fields associated
to that unique number.

RFID tags come in many shapes and sizes. For this specific white paper, we will be speaking about
Passive UHF RFID tags.These RFID tags are widely used for asset management applications because
they do not need a battery to power the tag. Instead, the tags are powered by an external piece of
hardware or antenna. Since the tags do not need a battery, they are far more economical and allow for a
better return on your asset tracking investment.

You can determine the proper RFID tag for your project by answering the following questions:
What are you applying the tag to?
Is there a metal surface?
Do you have a size restriction?
What kind of exposure will the tags have? Chemicals, outdoor weather, UV, abrasion, etc..
Is the application surface flat or curved?

Remember, when choosing a Passive UHF RFID tag, the two main objectives are:

1)Maximizing read range

2)Ensuring tag survives the life of the asset

The last thing you want to have happen is a tag to fall off, be destroyed, or applied to a wrong surface
because you did not order the proper material, adhesive, or type of tag.

Hardware

The final piece of your RFID project is the hardware. For this white paper, we are focusing on mobile RFID
handheld readers. These devices allow you to connect to your mobile device via Bluetooth and an RFID
application (could be custom) which then allows you to collect the encoded data from the RFID tag.

The handheld acts as both the antenna and reader which powers the RFID tag when it is within range of the
tag. Once it collects the data, it transfers the data over to the mobile app (software) so it can begin
interpreting the data and displaying it for the user.

www.greytrunkrfid.com
 PAGE 05
Benefits of Custom Software
As we have previously stated, it is very difficult to find a one size fits all solution. To ensure your asset
tracking software fits your specific business, a custom approach might be the best solution. The design of
your software is extremely important to your asset tracking project.

Benefits of custom software include:

Streamlined workflow developed for your business processes
Integration to other software your business is running on
Easily add new or enhance existing features

Streamlined Workflows
Developing an asset or inventory tracking system specifically for your company ensures it meets your
needs. By streamlining your workflows, you may find several opportunities to optimize your current
processes, ultimately resulting in higher productivity and faster ROI.

Because a custom software solution is tailored to your business’s needs, you can strip out features that
out of the box software might have that would have no effect on your business, thus resulting in an easy-
to-use and efficient process for every employee using the software.

Integration
Off-the-shelf software can limit the number of integrations it has with other software programs.
Consequently, it may not have an integration for an important piece of software that is critical to your
business.
Custom asset tracking software gives you the ability to scale and offers you flexibility to ensure it can
integrate with the software your business is currently running.

Adding New or Enhancing Features

With a custom software solution, the software developed is built specifically for your organization.
Requesting a feature modification or addition will only affect your business compared to an out of the box
software where a change to the product will affect the entire user base of the product.

Often, it is very difficult and requires a lot of time for an out of the box product to push new releases. The
software company must consider many things, such as:

How will this affect our entire user base?

Is this feature improving the product for every user?

Also, do not forget that every software company should as for feedback from their users before they make
any changes to the product to get their thoughts and opinions. This will require a lot of time, thus delaying
any feature enhancements.

With custom software, feature requests and enhancements can be moved quickly through development
because they are only affecting your business. There are fewer hoops to jump through since it is your
company’s software.

www.greytrunkrfid.com
 PAGE 07
Customizing not Custom – White Label Solutions
Sometimes building a custom software solution from the ground up is not the best option for your business.
Often you can customize a proven software system by using the already built pieces and transforming it into
your own software. This process is called White Labeling.

White Labeling involves taking an already existing software product and branding it as your own. This limits the
amount of customization that can be done, but it does allow you to modify some aspects of the software
(depending on the developers).

Benefits of White Label software:

Quick launch and implementation
Low development costs
Trusted software
Less risk

Here are some use cases for a White Label software:

Internal use – easy for your employees to recognize
Externally use for your customers as a value add service
Resale opportunity to end users / customers for profit

Ultimately you need to decide the best option for your company based upon your project objectives. Regardless
of which option you choose - off the shelf, customized, custom or white label - asset management software can
be a game changer for your company.

The ARK Advantage

Here at ARK Business Systems, we pride ourselves in offering a complete solution to your Asset Management
and Tracking needs.

With our software development expertise, specifically around RFID and barcode data collection, we are
confident we will be able to provide a solution that meets your needs, from minor customization or a
completely custom software solution. Our team has years of asset management experience and have worked
with a wide variety of industries, so we have seen or heard it all!

Here is what you can expect with ARK Business Systems:

1)Experienced RFID Software Development Team

2)Project Management Team
3)Service / Support

No matter what your project consists of, we are here to have a conversation to see what we can make
possible to meet your needs. Software can make your business more efficient, so now is the time to consider
an investment into a system that can be the backbone of your asset tracking and management needs.

Experience for yourself The ARK Advantage.

ARK Business Systems email: support@greytrunkrfid.com

Phone: 833-338-5243 website: www.greytrunkrfid.com

www.greytrunkrfid.com