How to Run an RFID Pilot: A 30-Day Test Plan with a Kit

Before you start: write down what success means

Most pilots that end without a decision never defined one. On day 1, write down:

• The job. A weekly stock count, goods in and out through a dock door, files issued and returned, tools checked at a crib.
• The items. Every item type you will tag, including the hard cases: metal parts, bottles, foil packs, dense stacks and very small pieces.
• The working distance and pace. How far the reader will be from the items, and how fast people, trolleys or vehicles move past it.
• The reference count. The stock list or register you will compare the RFID result against.
• The targets. The pass/fail lines in the table below, adjusted to your job, and who signs them off.

Laboratories have a formal version of this. ISO/IEC 18046-3:2020 defines test methods for the performance of RFID tags used for item management, and the summary of its test reports forms a unified tag datasheet. Those lab results help you shortlist tags; they do not replace a test on your own items, which is what this plan is for.

What you need

• An evaluation kit: an Identium reader, a sample kit of UHF tags and labels (the sample mix is confirmed with your order) and the reader's software, which is free (no licence fee) on every reader kit. Readers are not sent as samples, so the kit is how you get one for the trial.
• Your stock list as an Excel or CSV file, a tape measure, and a results sheet with one row per test and tag type.
• A test URL if you plan to send reads to your own system over HTTP.
• Extra tag types if the kit's mix does not cover an item: use request RFID samples, and shortlist candidates with the RFID tag finder and the tag size guide.

The software that records your results comes with each kit. As listed on the kit pages:

• Inventory kit (CX1500N): CX Flow Pro, pre-installed; no licence fee.
• Handheld kit (CX1000): CX Flow Pro, Identium's RFID data-capture app; no licence fee (provided free with the kit).
• Fixed reader kit (IF9A): ReaderSense for Windows (installer) and macOS; no licence fee.
• Bluetooth reader kit (MUBR01): MUBR01 Android app; no licence fee.
• Desktop reader kit (103): Identium DesktopReader for Windows (installer or portable); no licence fee.
• Starter kit (UCR10): UCR10 Flow for Android; no licence fee.
• Module kit (RM26): no Identium app; it works with ID Tech and ZKRFID software, and the module has an SDK.

The twelve tests

Run each test three times and record every result, not just the best one. "Working distance" means the distance you wrote down on day 1.

The kit software covers most of these directly. The CX1500N, CX1000 and UCR10 kits load a stock list and show found and missing items (test 5) and have a single-tag finder for tracking down a missing piece. On the CX1500N, IF9A, MUBR01, 103 and RM26 kits you can change the reader power (test 7).

For test 10, the 103 kit's DesktopReader batch-writes an auto-increment serial or a list from Excel and verifies after each write; our GS1 and EPC encoding guide explains SGTIN-96 if your buyers ask for GS1 numbers. For test 11, every reader kit exports to Excel; the CX1500N, CX1000 and IF9A also send reads by HTTP POST, the 103 sends JSON over HTTP, and on the RM26 module kit you check the output on the interface you will use in production.

The 30-day plan, week by week

1. Week 1 (days 1–7): targets and bench tests. Write down the job, items, distances and targets. Unpack the kit, install or open the software, and run tests 1 to 4 with the sample mix on a table and on single items. Use the read range calculator to sanity-check the distances you see.
2. Week 2 (days 8–14): on the floor. Move to the real shelves, racks, counters or doorways and run tests 5 to 9 during normal working hours. Shortlist one tag per item type.
3. Weeks 3 and 4 (days 15–28): one batch in daily use. Order one 500-piece batch of the shortlisted tag, which is the minimum order for tags and labels. Encode it (test 10), tag a real slice of stock, and use RFID in the daily job for two weeks alongside your current method. Run test 11 every few days and test 12 at the end.
4. Days 29 and 30: decide. Put the results sheet in front of the people who own the job and the budget, and decide go, fix and re-test, or stop.

Reading the results: go, fix or stop

• Go. All twelve tests pass. Your results sheet already says which tag goes on which item, how many read points or handhelds you need and how the data reaches your system. Send that requirement through bulk RFID pricing for a quote.
• Fix and re-test. One or two tests fail. Typical fixes are a different tag (on-metal or anti-liquid), a different tag position, a power change, an extra antenna or a different reader type. Our troubleshooting guide, the antenna and read-zone guide and the page on fixed vs handheld readers cover the usual causes. Re-run only the failed tests.
• Stop or change technology. If the job turns out to need a continuous position rather than reads at points, passive RFID is the wrong tool; compare the options in RFID vs BLE vs UWB vs GPS.

Mistakes that spoil a pilot

• Testing only in open air. The open-air number is the best case. Always test on the item.
• Testing one tag. Compare at least two candidate tags on the hard items; the sample mix exists for that.
• Treating the ceiling as a promise. The RAIN Alliance says RAIN RFID can identify up to 1,000 items per second; your read rate is set by your items and your pace, which is what test 6 measures.
• Skipping the data path. A perfect read that never reaches your stock system is a failed pilot. Run test 11 early, not on day 30.
• Testing on the wrong band. Keep the reader on India's 865–868 MHz setting. For the CX1000 and 103 kits, confirm the India band when you order.

If you are still choosing the reader itself, start with RFID machine or scanner: which reader you need; if the data must go to a controller, see our guide to RFID reader interfaces.