A tender asking for “supply, installation and commissioning of an RFID system at the main gate” will attract bids. It will not attract comparable ones. One bidder quotes a two-antenna lane; another quotes four antennas, an outdoor enclosure and three years of maintenance; a third quotes a different band. The committee then spends weeks normalising offers that were never for the same scope.
An RFID tender specification in India rarely fails because the technology is exotic. It fails because the BOQ is written as a wish rather than a bill of quantities. Whether the requirement goes out as a GeM bid or a departmental tender, the discipline is the same: the document has to describe what is being bought precisely enough that two honest bidders arrive at comparable numbers.
Live RFID-related tenders in India come out steadily from ports, railways, defence establishments, state transport bodies, municipal corporations, universities and libraries, alongside larger reported programmes in tolling and railway safety. Most of these documents are drafted by people who buy RFID once every few years — which is exactly why the same avoidable clauses keep recurring.
This is drafting guidance from a manufacturer’s side of the table, not legal or procurement advice — and for any live procurement, the document on the issuing portal is the only authority on scope, value, earnest money and dates.
Why bids come back incomparable
Scope stated as an outcome, not a bill of quantities. “RFID system for four gates” leaves every quantity to the bidder’s imagination, and the cheapest imagination wins.
A copy-pasted model number. One vendor’s part number either makes the tender effectively single-source, or forces everyone else to file a “deviation” — and deviations cannot be scored against each other. The same thing happens with no model name anywhere in the document, when the annexure is assembled out of one vendor’s exact datasheet figures: only that vendor can tick every row, and the tender comes back single-bid.
No measurable acceptance criterion. If the document never defines what “working” means, nothing is enforceable at commissioning.
Split the BOQ properly
There is no single mandated RFID BOQ format, but a workable one gives each head its own quantity, unit and rate columns:
- Tags and consumables — by type and substrate, not “RFID tags — 5,000 nos.”
- Readers — fixed, handheld, desktop or integrated, with port count per unit (specimen parameter rows for the handheld, four-port fixed and gate classes are further down)
- Antennas and RF cable — gain, polarisation, cable type and run length per position
- Infrastructure — poles, gantries, mounts, PoE switches, UPS, enclosures, earthing and surge protection, conduit and civil work
- Software — server and client licences, with integration and API work as a separate line
- Services — site survey, installation, commissioning, training, documentation
- AMC — priced year by year as separate lines, not folded into capital cost
Add a repeat-order rate for consumable tags. A programme can sit stalled for want of an agreed tag replenishment rate long after the hardware itself is working.
Specify performance, not part numbers
A performance line states what is read, in what population, at what speed or distance, and to what success rate. For example: each lane shall read a windshield tag at up to a stated vehicle speed across the full lane width, at a stated success rate over a stated number of passes, without reading the adjacent lane. That is testable; “read range 10 metres” is not, because range depends on tag, substrate, orientation, reader power and the site itself.
The equivalence clause — always cleared by your own legal cell before it goes in — usually runs along these lines: where a make and model is referenced it is indicative only, to establish a performance benchmark; equivalent or superior equipment is acceptable provided the bidder submits a clause-by-clause compliance statement against the parameters at the annexure, supported by the OEM datasheet, with equivalence judged against those parameters and not against the referenced model. It only works if the annexure actually holds parameters. Against a bare model number, “equivalent” means nothing.
The tag lines
An evaluable tag line states the protocol and band (for India, EPC Gen2 / ISO 18000-63 in the 865–868 MHz range), the memory needed, housing material, dimensions, mounting method and — critically — the substrate the tag sits on. A tag on steel behaves nothing like the same tag on a carton. Add read performance on that substrate at a defined reader power, antenna gain and orientation; IP rating and temperature range; survivability (wash cycles, UV, solvents, impact, vibration); encoding and marking; and sample approval before bulk supply. Ask for the datasheet against every line rather than accepting a headline number. Our guide to scoping read range against the real environment covers the physics a spec has to respect.
Reader and antenna lines
Specify port count; band and protocol; RF output power range, configurable within the limit permitted in India; network interfaces (Ethernet, PoE, serial); GPIO count where a barrier or sensor must be driven; whether an SDK is required; enclosure IP rating, temperature range and mounting; and the power source, including whether the position is UPS-backed.
For antennas, state gain, polarisation, beam width and mounting height, and make bidders declare cable type and run length: a long coaxial run can cost several dB that the reader has to make up. Outdoor positions need surge protection and earthing as named lines rather than assumptions. The reader selection guide and gate reader page explain these trade-offs.
Four specimen specification blocks you can lift into an annexure
What follows is specimen drafting wording for four items that turn up in most RFID tenders: an Android handheld UHF reader, a four-port fixed UHF reader, an integrated gate or portal reader, and an RFID label printer. It is wording to adapt, not a datasheet to issue. Every __ is a decision only you can make — the site, the tag, the throughput, the climate — and a blank left in a live tender is read by bidders as permission to assume.
Two rules before you copy anything.
Write floors and ranges, not one vendor’s exact figures. The rows below ask for “a maximum capability of not less than __ dBm, in steps of 1 dBm or finer” and leave the figure to you. They do not say “0 to 33 dBm in 1 dBm steps”, which is a real line off one of our own datasheets and therefore exactly the wrong thing to paste into an annexure. An annexure assembled out of one manufacturer’s exact numbers — a particular peak power, a particular reads-per-second figure, a particular connectivity string — is single-sourced even though no model is named anywhere in it, because only that manufacturer ticks every row. It comes back as a single-bid tender, and a single-bid tender usually gets retendered. Set the level the site actually needs and let more than one build reach it.
Express performance as a requirement to be tested, never as a figure to be believed. Figures like “up to 25 m” and “over 700 reads per second” — both off our own datasheets — are best cases, obtained in conditions a datasheet rarely states. They are not dishonest, but they are not commitments and cannot be enforced at commissioning. The rows below convert them into an acceptance test with a tag population, a distance, a number of passes and a pass rate — which is what specifying performance rather than part numbers, above, is for.
Add two columns to each block before you issue it: Bidder’s compliance (Yes / No / Deviation) and Datasheet page reference. Without them a bid cannot be scored; with them you can see at a glance which rows a bidder has quietly left alone.
1. Android handheld UHF reader
| Parameter | Specimen required specification |
|---|---|
| Frequency band | Shall operate in 865–868 MHz, India’s licence-exempt UHF RFID band notified by G.S.R. 853(E) dated 10 December 2021, made in supersession of the 2005 Rules and their 865–867 MHz figure. Units shall be delivered configured to the Indian region profile, and the bidder shall state whether that profile is field-changeable and by whom. Support for other regional bands is permitted but shall not be required. |
| Air-interface protocol | Passive UHF, EPC Class 1 Generation 2 / ISO/IEC 18000-63 — the air interface published earlier as ISO 18000-6C and marketed as RAIN RFID. ISO 18000-6B support optional. HF 13.56 MHz or LF 134.2 kHz reading, if needed, shall be a separate declared module on its own row — a UHF module reads neither. |
| Tag memory | Shall read and write the EPC, TID and User memory banks. EPC length required: __ bits (96 bits if encoding to SGTIN-96). User memory required: __ bits, or “not required”. Lock / permalock support required: __. Our guide to UHF chips, EPC and TID memory explains what each bank is for before you fix a length. |
| RF output power | Conducted output at the antenna feed shall be adjustable by the operator or the application. The bidder shall declare the output range in dBm and the step size. e.r.p. with the integral antenna shall stay within the limit permitted for the band. Fix a minimum here only if your worst read point demands one — most handheld tenders do better to require a declared, adjustable range. |
| Integral antenna | Gain in dBi and polarisation to be declared by the bidder. |
| Read performance (requirement, not a claim) | Shall read not fewer than __ % of a test population of __ tags of the type and mounting at Annexure __, at a working distance of __ m, within __ seconds, over __ consecutive passes, demonstrated at acceptance. Any read distance quoted in the bid shall be stated as typical, with the tag, mounting surface, power setting and orientation used to obtain it. |
| Anti-collision and read rate | Shall implement Gen2 anti-collision and shall complete inventory of the acceptance population above within the stated time with no tag missed across the stated passes. A bare tags-per-second figure shall not be accepted unless the tag count, population layout and dwell configuration used to measure it are stated with it. |
| Host interfaces | Wi-Fi required: __ — the bidder shall declare the bands and 802.11 standards supported rather than the tender naming them, because a standards list copied off one datasheet narrows the field for no operational gain. Bluetooth: __. USB for charging and data, connector type to be stated. Cellular data: __. Integrated 1D/2D barcode scan engine: __, with symbologies at Annexure __. Shall ship with an SDK, a working demonstration application and sample code at no additional charge. |
| Platform | Android mobile computer. Minimum OS version acceptable: __ — check it against your MDM and your own application before you write it in. Bidder shall declare RAM and storage offered, expansion options and the security-patch position. |
| Ingress protection | Minimum IP __. IP65 is a sensible floor for indoor stock-taking; specify IP67 where the device goes into a yard, outdoors or near wash-down. Drop resistance: __ m onto a hard surface, across __ faces. |
| Operating temperature | __ °C to __ °C, with humidity __ % RH. State what the site sees rather than copying a figure off a datasheet: a battery-powered handheld with a display is usually the narrowest-rated item in an RFID system, so this row decides more bids than it looks as though it should. |
| Battery and shift endurance | Capacity __ mAh; hot-swap required: __; shall sustain __ hours of __ (continuous inventory / intermittent scanning) on one pack, demonstrated at acceptance. |
2. Fixed four-port UHF reader
| Parameter | Specimen required specification |
|---|---|
| Frequency band | Shall operate in 865–868 MHz, India’s licence-exempt UHF RFID band notified by G.S.R. 853(E) dated 10 December 2021 in supersession of the 2005 Rules, which had set 865–867 MHz. Readers of this class frequently cover the US/FCC plan at roughly 902–928 MHz on the same platform, so require confirmation in writing that each delivered unit is configured to the Indian band — our RFID frequency by country guide sets out why that is the mismatch that actually causes trouble. |
| Air-interface protocol | Passive UHF, EPC Class 1 Generation 2 / ISO/IEC 18000-63; ISO 18000-6B support optional. |
| Antenna ports | Four ports for external antennas. Connector type shall be stated (SMA, RP-SMA or N-type) and matched to the antenna and coaxial cable specified at Annexure __, whose gain, polarisation and cable loss belong on their own rows — see the antenna gain and polarisation guide. A connector mismatch between reader, cable and antenna is among the commonest post-award change requests, and it is nobody’s fault when the tender never named the connector. |
| Tag memory and buffering | Shall read and write the EPC, TID and User banks; EPC length __ bits, User memory __ bits or not required. Where the reader must keep reading while the host or network is down, the bidder shall declare the offline record capacity and the behaviour when it fills, and the figure shall be demonstrated at acceptance. Buffer and caching figures get quoted in marketing copy and omitted from datasheets — ours included — so require this one in writing. |
| RF output power | Conducted output at each antenna port shall be adjustable, with a maximum capability of not less than __ dBm in steps of 1 dBm or finer across a range of at least 10 dB. This is conducted power at the port, not radiated power — e.r.p. is the port figure plus antenna gain less cable loss, and the band limit applies to e.r.p., so the setting actually used will sit below the capability. The bidder shall state the maximum e.r.p. of each offered reader, antenna and cable combination. Our IHZ4 page works that distinction through against a real port figure. |
| Read performance (requirement, not a claim) | At each position listed at Annexure __, shall read not fewer than __ % of a population of __ tags of the stated type and mounting, moving at up to __ m/s across a __ m opening, over __ passes, demonstrated at acceptance. |
| Anti-collision and read rate | Shall implement Gen2 dense-reader-mode anti-collision and shall complete inventory of the acceptance population within __ seconds with the full offered antenna configuration enabled. Multi-port readers typically serve their ports in sequence rather than simultaneously, so a tags-per-second figure is a reader-level figure shared across the ports in use: do not specify a per-port rate, and do not accept one. |
| Host interfaces | 10/100 Ethernet RJ45 mandatory. PoE: __ — specify it where the position has no mains point, and price an injector as its own line where it is not built in. RS-232 / RS-485: __. Wiegand: required only where an existing access-control panel must be driven, in which case name the panel and its Wiegand format at Annexure __. USB for local configuration. Wi-Fi or Bluetooth: __. Documented API with sample code at no additional charge. |
| Digital I/O | __ digital inputs and __ relay outputs, counted against the devices actually driven at that position: boom barrier, bollard, signal light, siren, turnstile. Count them before the tender rather than at commissioning — our own four-port reader brings three relay outputs to the terminal block, so a fourth driven device needs external relay switching or a second reader, a BOQ line either way. Check the offered unit’s count the same way, because a shortfall found at commissioning is a variation order. |
| Ingress protection | IP __ for the reader housing itself, or a separately priced IP __ enclosure at Annexure __ with the reader rated for that enclosure’s internal environment. Say which of the two you are buying, because many fixed readers are rated for a sheltered mount and go outdoors inside a box. Do not accept “rugged”, “industrial-grade” or “weatherproof construction” in place of an IP code: those are descriptions, not ratings, and they cannot be tested at acceptance. |
| Operating temperature | __ °C to __ °C. Estimate it inside the enclosure, in sun, at the hottest hour — a sealed roadside box in an Indian summer runs well above shade ambient, and that is the temperature the reader actually sees. |
| Mechanical and power | Dimensions and weight to be declared; mounting method (pole, gantry, wall, DIN rail); cable entry and gland sizes; input voltage and consumption; and, at outdoor positions, surge protection and earthing as named BOQ lines rather than assumptions. |
3. Integrated gate or portal reader
Worth saying plainly how thin the published data is in this class, our own included. Under key specifications, Identium’s HLR200 portal page lists direction sensing, alarm outputs and a read range of up to 4 m across the portal — a figure the same page is careful to call typical and environment-dependent rather than a target to design to. The band and air-interface protocol are stated in that page’s body text rather than in the specification list, and no page on our site publishes the HLR200’s RF output, an IP code or an operating-temperature range at all. Ask us for those in writing, and ask every other bidder the same. A portal row that leaves them out cannot be evaluated.
| Parameter | Specimen required specification |
|---|---|
| Frequency band | Shall operate in 865–868 MHz, India’s licence-exempt UHF RFID band notified by G.S.R. 853(E) dated 10 December 2021, superseding the 865–867 MHz of the 2005 Rules. Integrated portals omit the band from their specification lists more often than any other product class, so require it as a declared figure together with the regional profile the unit ships configured to. |
| Air-interface protocol | Passive UHF, EPC Class 1 Generation 2 / ISO/IEC 18000-63. For a library gate, settle whether UHF is the right frequency at all before specifying it — HF 13.56 MHz under ISO 15693 is the long-standing library route and behaves very differently at a doorway, and our library management system page sets out when each one fits. |
| Tag memory | EPC read as a minimum. Where the portal must act on a security bit, an AFI or a User-memory flag without querying the host, state the bank, the bit and the required behaviour: __. |
| RF output power | Conducted output per panel or per internal antenna shall be declared in dBm and shall be adjustable. e.r.p. shall stay within the limit permitted for the band: Table IV of the 2021 Rules permits 2 W e.r.p. only in four channels of up to 200 kHz each, centred at 865.7, 866.3, 866.9 and 867.5 MHz, with continuous transmission on a channel limited to about 4 s and at least 100 ms between bursts on the same channel, referencing ETSI EN 302 208. Notifications get amended — confirm the conditions in force with WPC before the document is issued. |
| Coverage (requirement, not a claim) | Shall cover a clear opening of __ mm width by __ mm height and read not fewer than __ % of a test population of __ tags of the type at Annexure __, carried through at normal walking pace, over __ passes in each direction. |
| Containment | Shall not raise a read event from tags stationary more than __ m outside the portal on either side, nor from an adjacent portal __ m away, demonstrated at acceptance. This is the row most portal tenders omit, and it matters: on gates, stray reads cause more operational trouble than missed ones, so a portal specified only on maximum range will deliver them. Tag choice, mounting and orientation move the result more than reader settings do, which is why this row is written about the tag population and not about the reader. |
| Direction detection | Shall determine direction of travel (In / Out) for every read event, with the method declared — dedicated direction sensors, antenna sequencing, or host-side logic — and shall be demonstrated in both directions at acceptance. |
| Multi-tag performance | Shall read __ tags presented together in a single pass at walking pace, at __ % success over __ passes, with the stack orientation described at Annexure __. |
| Host interfaces and outputs | Ethernet RJ45 and/or Wi-Fi; event delivery by HTTP/REST push to a stated endpoint or by TCP socket, naming the receiving system: __. Local annunciation (LED, buzzer, industrial alarm) as required: __. Relay output or Wiegand: __. Not every integrated portal brings these out — our own HLR200’s published outputs are its LED, industrial alarm and buzzer, and that page sends buyers to the four-port fixed reader where relays or Wiegand are needed. So if a turnstile, barrier or access panel must be driven, say so in this row, because the answer may be a fixed reader with external antennas instead of an integrated portal — a different BOQ head at a different price. |
| Offline buffering | Records retained on loss of host or network: __, with overflow behaviour declared and tested. |
| Ingress protection | IP __, stated for the installed position: air-conditioned lobby, covered entrance or exposed gate. “Rugged construction rated for industrial working environments” is not an IP rating and shall not be accepted as one — including when it is our own phrase. |
| Operating temperature | __ °C to __ °C, humidity __ % RH. |
| Mechanical and installation | Panel height and footprint; floor fixing and anchor detail; cable entry and routing; mains or PoE supply; vandal resistance where the portal is unattended; and the clear opening width that must remain after the panels are installed. |
4. RFID label printer (print-and-encode)
One disclosure first: Identium does not manufacture printers. We manufacture the tags, labels, cards, wristbands, readers and antennas in New Delhi; printers we supply and support, including third-party units from Zebra, TSC and Honeywell. Read this block as drafting guidance from someone who specifies printers rather than builds them.
| Parameter | Specimen required specification |
|---|---|
| Encoder frequency band | The RFID encoder module shall operate in 865–868 MHz, India’s licence-exempt UHF RFID band under G.S.R. 853(E) dated 10 December 2021, which superseded the 2005 Rules and their 865–867 MHz figure. The unit shall be delivered with the encoder region set for India, and the inlays supplied shall be tuned for the same band. Region menus on older machines may still carry the 865–867 MHz label; our iT4R printer page explains how to read that on a quote. A specification that recites 865–867 MHz as the current allocation is quoting a superseded instrument. |
| Air-interface protocol | EPC Class 1 Generation 2 / ISO/IEC 18000-63, passive UHF. A UHF encoder writes UHF only. HF 13.56 MHz or NFC media needs an HF encoder and its own BOQ line; LF animal ear tags are moulded and encoded in production and are not label stock at all. State the fitted module on the purchase order rather than assuming one machine covers both. |
| Tag memory and encoding | Shall write the EPC bank to __ bits (96 bits for SGTIN-96) and the User bank to __ bits where the scheme needs it; shall read and print the TID; lock / permalock support required: __. Shall verify every encoded label by read-back and shall automatically void — overstrike or mark — any label that fails, so a failed label cannot reach an asset. |
| RF output power | Encoder output shall be adjustable, with the range in dBm declared by the bidder. A low figure is the right answer here: the encoder couples closely to a single inlay, so the requirement that matters is not power but selectivity. Specify it as such: encoding shall affect only the label in the encode position, verified across a continuous run. |
| Throughput (requirement, not a rating) | Shall print and encode not fewer than __ labels per hour at a label size of __ mm by __ mm, at __ dpi, using the encoding scheme at Annexure __, sustained over a continuous run of not fewer than __ labels, with the encode failure rate not exceeding __ % across that run. A headline labels-per-hour rating describes the engine at an unstated label size; the figure that decides your project is the failure rate on your own media. |
| Print specification | Resolution __ dpi — 203 dpi is usual for logistics labels, 300 dpi where small text or dense 2D codes are printed. Print width __ mm, stated separately from maximum media width __ mm: the two get confused on datasheets and on supplier web pages routinely, ours included, so ask for both and note that the common class is nominally 4-inch, about 104 mm. Print speed up to __ ips. Direct thermal or thermal transfer: __. Ribbon type — wax, wax-resin or resin — matched to the label’s working life rather than to the printer. |
| Media handling | Maximum media thickness __ mm. Rigid anti-metal label stock is what usually rules a desktop machine out, so state the thickness where on-metal asset labels are in scope. Roll outside diameter and core size; inlay pitch and offset compatible with the encode position, confirmed on a test roll before any bulk media order. |
| Host interfaces | USB mandatory. 10/100 Ethernet (TCP/IP): __ — network connectivity is an option rather than standard fitment on many desktop machines, ours included, so name it in this row if the print station is shared. Serial and Wi-Fi: __. Printer command language and driver support shall be declared, together with the label-design or host application it must print from and whether a Windows driver, a CUPS/Linux driver or an SDK is required: __. This row gets skipped more often than any other on a printer line, and it is the one that stalls integration after delivery. |
| Ingress protection and environment | Printers are production-room equipment and IP codes are seldom published for them, so an IP demand will narrow the field to specialist units — impose one only where the environment genuinely requires it. Otherwise specify operating temperature __ °C to __ °C and humidity __ % RH for the room, with dust protection by siting or by an enclosure priced separately. |
| Duty cycle | Daily volume __ labels, peak-hour volume __ labels, pattern __ — bursts through the day, or continuous through a shift. Duty cycle and print speed are separate questions, and treating them as one is how a desktop machine ends up on a production line. |
| Consumables | Media and ribbon part numbers, with a priced per-roll rate held for __ months as a BOQ line. The recurring media and ribbon bill can outrun what the machine itself cost over a few years — our printer buyer’s guide makes that case — so a printer line without a media rate is an incomplete BOQ. |
Before any of this is issued
Work the blanks out first. Every __ above is a decision that is cheaper to take now than at evaluation. Then do three things: have your own legal or procurement cell settle the equivalence wording that sits alongside these blocks; check every regulatory row against the position in force with WPC and BIS rather than against a page like this one; and, if your process allows it, put the parameter set out as a pre-bid draft. Pre-bid queries against a parameter set cost nothing. A retender does.
Compliance lines, worded without over-claiming
Radiating equipment sits under more than one regime, and they are not interchangeable. A UHF reader or antenna transmits, so equipment type approval for the band it operates in — in India, the domain of the wireless planning wing — is usually the first question. Telecom equipment certification applies to categories of equipment that have actually been notified under that scheme. BIS registration or certification likewise applies where the product category has been notified. Applicability depends on the specific device and on the notifications in force at the time, so verify the current position with the relevant authority rather than with a page like this one.
Draft accordingly: require the approvals applicable to the equipment actually offered, valid as on the bid due date, plus confirmation that the reader operates within 865–868 MHz, the licence-exempt UHF RFID range notified by G.S.R. 853(E) of 10 December 2021 in supersession of the 2005 Rules, which had set 865–867 MHz. A compliance clause still reciting 865–867 MHz is quoting a superseded instrument — though Rule 1(3) of the 2021 Rules grandfathers equipment type-approved under the older rules for its service life, so an existing approval is not void. Naming a certificate that does not apply to the device class invites irrelevant paper and can disqualify an otherwise compliant offer. Our BIS and WPC compliance guide explains the distinctions in more detail.
Software, integration and data ownership
The clauses most often missing, and the ones that hurt at renewal:
- Data ownership and exit — data belongs to the buyer, exportable in an open format at any time, with the schema documented.
- API access — documented, with sample code, at no additional charge.
- Named integrations — the actual system and protocol: SIP2 or NCIP for a library system, the specific ERP, HRMS or TOS otherwise, and who provides the endpoint.
- Licence model — perpetual or subscription, per user or per reader, and what happens when AMC lapses.
- Bespoke development — source code or escrow, or the right to engage a third party after AMC.
- Hosting — on-premise or cloud, where data resides, backup and restore, audit logs, role-based access.
Site survey, acceptance testing and AMC
Make the survey contractual: a post-award, pre-despatch survey reporting RF environment, interference, mounting points and power and network availability, approved before material ships. Allow a pre-bid site visit so bidders price reality rather than a floor plan.
Acceptance testing is where the performance lines earn their place: define the test cases, tag population, number of passes, pass criteria and who signs, then tie a payment milestone to it. For AMC, state the warranty period first, then price each year separately with response and resolution times, preventive maintenance visits, spares availability, an uptime commitment and a written definition of downtime.
Worked BOQ shapes
| Application | Separate BOQ heads | Performance line to nail | Common trap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gate or tolling lane | Reader, antennas, gantry, RF cable, PoE switch, UPS, barrier or camera interface, windshield tags, lane software, civil | Moving tag read at a stated speed across the full lane width, no cross-reads from the next lane | Cross-lane suppression unspecified; barrier interface left “as required” |
| Trackside or rolling stock | On-metal tags rated for the surface and vibration, mounting hardware, fixed and handheld readers, encoding | Retention on steel, plus read at a stated speed and offset | Tag spec with no substrate; no line for encoding or asset-register mapping |
| Armoury or kote | On-metal tags sized to the item, rack or door readers, handheld for verification, tamper interface, issue-return software with roles and audit trail | Complete read of a full rack within a stated time, over stated cycles, with no misses | Free-air read range quoted for dense metal packed in a rack |
| Library | Item tags by media type, staff station, self-issue kiosk, security gate, shelf-audit handheld, LMS integration, tagging labour | Gate detection rate for a stated stack carried through; shelf-audit throughput | LMS and protocol unnamed; tagging labour omitted |
| Port gate | Outdoor-rated readers and antennas, gantry, surge protection and earthing, vehicle or container tags, TOS or weighbridge integration, UPS, redundancy | Read at lane speed across a stated temperature and rainfall envelope, at a stated IP rating | No environmental envelope, no owner named for integration, no redundancy |
The weapon tracking, defence logistics and library automation pages show how these deployments are usually built.
Where Identium fits, stated plainly
We manufacture RFID hardware in New Delhi and supply public sector buyers — Indian Railways and a Government of Tamil Nadu infant-monitoring deployment among them — so read this section as disclosure rather than neutral advice. Identium Tech Solutions is BIS certified, our UHF readers and antennas are WPC-approved for India’s licence-exempt UHF RFID band, every unit is tested in-house, and an SDK with source code ships with each reader. We do not hold CE, FCC, RoHS, REACH or ISO 9001 and do not claim them, and we make no claim to be empanelled, rate-contracted or L1 anywhere.
If you are a consultant or technical cell fixing parameters, the proper route to vendor input is the pre-bid queries mechanism, where the answer reaches every bidder. A parameter set that several manufacturers can meet is what produces comparable bids.
General drafting guidance only, not legal or procurement advice. Regulatory applicability depends on the device and on the notifications in force, and must be verified with the relevant authority; any live procurement is governed solely by its own tender document.
Drafting a specification? Talk to us about what a comparable-bid parameter set looks like for your site.
If the tender in front of you is a state mining or mineral-transit one, the parameter set tends to be written around transit passes and weighbridges rather than warehouses — our RFID mineral transport guide covers what those specifications usually ask for.