Ford Motor company announced an interesting strategy at the Chicago Auto Show to help customers keep tabs (literally speaking) on their precious cargo using RFID tags.

RFID (radio frequency identification) is a method of tagging and storing information about pretty much anything you can think of. Farmers use RFID to track livestock, in fact you probably have an RFID tag in a credit card, and big name retailers use it to track inventory (Wal-Mart for example). An RFID tag is embedded with information and attached to whatever you would like to track, and the information is interpreted by a “reader”.

While keeping track of inventory is certainly not a new concept (see above), Ford has done something interesting here, they’ve created a larger market for RFID, not because they are tracking inventory/cargo, but because they are an auto company and that market is huge. This could pave the way for new business opportunities to emerge.

The concept is simple… you tag your equipment and a small little receiver let’s you know where it is. While may seem simple it gets customers involved in RFID technology, word spreads like wildfire and new opportunities arise.