Date: Thu, 12 Jan 2006 18:43:12 +0100
From: "Thorsten Blecker" <blecker@ieee.org>
Subject: CFP: Handbook of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)

CALL FOR CHAPTERS

Handbook of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Technologies
in Operations and Supply Chain Management: Research and Applications

A book edited by

Dr. Thorsten Blecker
Full Professor, Department of Business Logistics
  and General Management (5-11),
Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH), Germany
email: blecker@ieee.org

Dr. George Huang
Associate Professor, Department of Industrial
  and Manufacturing Systems Engineering,
The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
email: gqhuang@hku.hk

Call for Papers: http://www.manufacturing.de/calls/rfid.htm

Important dates
Proposals Submission: January 30, 2006 to May 15, 2006
Full Chapters Due: June 15, 2006

Submissions via email to one of the editors

Introduction

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is an emerging technology, which
has gained increasing attention from academia and practitioners. This
technology enables an automatic acquisition of data about an object
without necessitating a straight line of sight of transponders and
readers. Many researchers and practitioners believe that over the next
years, the technology will experience wide implementation as bar coding
is used today. This is mainly due to the fact that RFID technology has
a great potential to streamline the supply chain by improving
efficiency and effectiveness. RFID can have many successful
applications in the supply chain such as the rationalization of
inventory management, optimization of transportation within logistics
networks, efficient monitoring of production and assembly processes,
etc. However, in spite of potential benefits, many companies are still
reluctant to adopt this promising technology. Before embarking on RFID,
these companies prefer to wait, while attentively observing the first
movers in this field. In fact, like each new technology coming to the
market, there are usually pros and cons as well as benefits and risks,
which should be well explored and analyzed. Unfortunately, very few
reference books are available dealing with these issues in a systematic
and comprehensive manner.

The Overall Objective of the Book

This handbook is aimed at serving the scientific community and
professionals by highlighting research issues and providing guidelines
concerning the use of RFID technology throughout the supply chain. The
book should embrace the current developments and advances, and present
the state-of-the-art, innovative theoretical concept, advanced and
successful implementations as well as empirical research findings. It
should provide a coherent framework for researchers which are
interested in this technology and for practitioners who are willing to
put successfully this technology in practice.

The Target Audience

The target audience consists of professionals and scientists working in
the fields of logistics, supply chain management and operations
management. In addition, industrial engineers and researchers in
information technology with a special focus on this topic will find
this book as an adequate reference that describes current research and
suggests directions for future research. Graduate students in the
mentioned areas will also benefit from the topics discussed throughout
the book chapters.

Recommended topics include, but are not limited to:

In order to serve the different groups of audiences, the chapters will
be grouped under the different parts with the following tentative
headings. Chapters are sought under, but not limited to, these topics.
Review and position chapters dealing with recent advances, limitations
and challenges are particularly welcome in all areas.

PART I – RADIO FREQUENCY IDENTIFICATION (RFID) TECHNOLOGIES
* Wireless devices (Readers, transponders, etc)
* Information network infrastructure
* Authentication and security
* Standardization (at different levels e.g. data, business process,
  message exchanging, event handling, etc.)
* "Plug and play" operating middleware
* System reconfiguration and scaling
* Interfaces with enterprise application systems and other
  technologies
  e.g. Global Positioning System, wireless communications, etc.)
* Information service, discovery and synchronization
* …

PART II – LOGISTICS AND SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT
* Trace and track of materials or assets
* Inventory management
* Distribution center and warehouse management
* Order management: fulfillment, taking, picking, dispatching, etc.
* Decision supports with RFID real-time information visibility and
  traceability (e.g. supply chain planning, scheduling, control, etc.)
* Autonomous and self-organizing systems in logistics
* Transportation networks
* Potential improvements in customer relationship management through
  RFID
* Smart devices and equipment for logistics and material handling
  (could be allocated to PART I)
* Reverse Logistics
* …

PART III – PRODUCT DESIGN AND MANUFACTURING
* Reconfigurable manufacturing
* Mass customization
* Product configuration
* Assembly lines
* Part fabrication cells and lines
* Just In Time manufacturing
* Work in Progress (WIP) management
* Smart tools and devices (could be allocated to PART I)
* Process and production planning, scheduling and control
* Quality assurance
* Product and component counterfeiting
* Component marking
* Recycling
* …

PART IV – IMPLEMENTATION AND ADOPTION
* Implementation and adoption framework
* Cost and benefit analysis
* Technology investment appraisal and evaluation
* Impacts of the technologies on operations, human factors, etc.
* Business process and information analysis
* Business intelligence and knowledge management
* Technology selection and vendor selection
* Successful implementations and best practices
* Lessons learned from failed implementations
* Legal aspects and regulations
* Privacy
* .

PART V – CASE STUDIES
* Research prototypes, industrial demos and pilots are all welcome.
* Cases need not be comprehensive, nor real-life. They could focus on
  one specific application area. Preliminary implementation cases are
  equally welcome.
* The emphasis should be placed upon the sharing of the experiences and
  insights gained from these case studies.

Submission procedure

Researchers and practitioners are invited to submit 2-3 page chapter
proposals explaining the missions and concerns. The editors will start
assessing and advising on the suitability of proposals between January
30, 2006 and May 15, 2006 until relevant topics are adequately covered.
Full chapters (20-25 pages) are expected to be submitted by June 15,
2006.

The book is scheduled to be published by Erich Schmidt Verlag in the
series  on Operations and Technology Management edited by Prof.
Thorsten Blecker, Hamburg University of Technology (Editor in Chief),
Ass.Prof. Dr. George Q. Huang, University of Hong Kong (Co-editor) and
Prof. Fabrizio Salvador, Instituto de Empresa (Co-editor).