For companies interested in making the switch to radio-frequency identification (RFID) in their operations, simulation can now help make the choice a little clearer.

According to RFID Journal, SMART Technology Group, a Swiss/Polish high-tech company that specializes in RFID solutions, has developed a benefits-oriented simulation service in conjunction with Cempel Consulting, FlexSim’s partner in Poland.

The model, developed by Cempel Consulting, allows companies to compare how RFID stacks up against other methods of labeling used in their operations. It shows the benefits of switching to RFID within a realistic, visually compelling simulation.

RFID Journal summarized the model’s main function:

Based on discrete event manufacturing simulation software supplied by FlexSim Software Products, the tool can easily compare how much time and how many warehouse employees, for example, are required to perform a full inventory or complete shipping processes.

In an article published in RFID Journal last year, Mark Roberti summed up one barrier to entry for companies considering RFID in their operations: “The technology might not work as advertised, and that could cost the company time and money and ruin the project manager’s reputation.”

We hear variations of this feeling across the dozens of industries we’ve worked with over the years. The technology each company is investigating is different, but the goal of a simulation in these circumstances is the same—using real data in order to get a sense of what might happen before a company invests in the solution.

SMART Technology Group CEO Karolina Kozlowska sees similar potential, stating in RFID Journal that “our newest offer [the simulation model] has indisputable potential to be the final and most convincing case for introducing RFID.”