Nissan Motor Co. and NTT DoCoMo Inc. have jointly developed a radio frequency identification (RFID) system to manage the inventory of dies for automobile parts. Each RFID tag contains information on the die's status, location, repair record and history usage. By placing the tag in a special RFID tag-reading tray, workers can instantly read information on the die on a nearby computer screen. The system uses a stacked reading capacity, and information stored on 100 RFID tags can be shown on the screen within two seconds.

After testing the system at Nissan’s Yokohama plant over the next six months, Nissan and NTT DoCoMo plan to expand it to include process production management of engine parts and the automatic ordering of dies. Nissan expects RFID technology to help it reduce its die inventory by half, to 3,500 units, in 2007.