Glossary

With radio frequency identification (RFID), the so-called transponder tags can be read automatically and without touching. The reader uses electromagnetic waves to activate the tags; thus, no source of energy is required in the transponder. Read-only tags answer with their unique ident code. There even exist transponders, where data can be written on. 

What sets transponders in production apart from other code supports, is their insensitivity to environmental influences (temperature, humidity, etc.). They are mainly used to identify consistently reused exchangeable or transport containers and clearly assign and document the corresponding production step (filling with raw material / semi-product / finished product / storage allocation / discharging / cleaning / etc.).