Abstract
Establishment of Standards to Lead to Remarkable Market Growth
One of the main factors keeping the radio frequency identification (RFID)
market from changing classification as a steadily growing market into a
fast-paced one is standards establishment. Though the market has benefited from
the electronic product code – an item-level code that uses a unique name,
serial number, or signature – the industry is still fragmented in its
choice of standards for emerging applications. This can lead to a situation
where organizations will have to incur high costs to ensure multiple standards
compatibility for their products. A more structured standards framework, on the
other hand, will not only help keep prices down but also enable greater
technological and product innovation.
This Frost & Sullivan research service examines the global RFID standards
market and discusses its various trends and opportunities. The study analyzes
the position and direction of the RFID market with regard to current and future
industry standards. It offers the impact of standards on the market.
Adoption of RFID by High-profile Users Increases Customer Awareness
RFID is no longer an emerging technology requiring lots of publicity to
initiate sales. It has evolved into a popular technology that is making great
strides. This has been made possible by the numerous pilot projects that have
been attempted in the last two years and the extensive deployments in
large-scale applications such as retail and security.
Another important reason for this trend is the initiative shown by
organizations such as the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) and Wal-Mart in
adopting the technology and mandating their numerous suppliers to tag their
products. "The DOD and Wal-Mart initiatives have proven to other end users
that RFID is here to stay," says the analyst.
Use of Standardized RFID Systems in Mainstream Applications Increases
Operational Efficiency
Mainstream applications such as supply-chain management can significantly
enhance operational efficiencies and thereby, profits, by incorporating RFID
systems that conform to industry standards. Such applications bring control and
clarity to materials management processes. "Standardized RFID can enable
real-time visibility of assets and goods across the supply chain and gives
operators detailed product information right from the tag," notes the
analyst.
At a time when low return on investment, due to expensive proprietary RFID
systems, is a barrier to the growth of RFID systems among end users, standards
are expected to drive prices down and bring in better returns. This market is
all set to witness a boom, as indicated by the recent trend of major companies
adopting standardized RFID systems. | 
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