Overview:
 
RFID is destined to be a disruptive technology that will have a slow start-up ramp, followed by rapid clock speed acceptance and a relentless series of documented improvement stories. It will be a technology that will find its way into a rash of applications, industries, and individual businesses, undoubtedly impacting our professional and personal lives.
 
The real benefit will come when RFID is integrated as part of a drive for supply chain optimization, full network connectivity, and ERP-to-ERP communication that communicates information to business partners such as supply amount, location, and how it can be brought to the point of need, in quantities that match the actual demand. Additional value will be realized when it also helps in the data analysis that leads to generating new revenues. In short, the use of RFID technology is expected to grow significantly in the next five years and it is predicted that someday RFID tags will be as pervasive as bar codes.
 
This report first provides a brief introduction to RFID.  The major focus of the report is on the market, manufacturers, products, and the companies around the world developing and deploying RFID systems and applications. It is must reading for anyone interested in launching or expanding RFID operations.
 
Target Audience:

RFID hardware, software, and solution vendors and related professional services companies
Managed services providers, outsourced RFID solutions and application providers, and RFID service bureau operators
Personnel responsible for automating Supply Chain Management (SCM), Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Manufacturing Resource Planning (MRP), Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and other business processes
Manufacturers and personnel responsible for management of inventory and materials, timing and control of critical resources, improve Warehouse Management Systems (WMS), and other production line automation and industrial processes
Healthcare management personnel responsible for tracking patients, staff personnel, equipment, inventory, and other critical resources
Retailers and personnel responsible for merchandise inventory and ordering processes, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Merchandise tracking and fraud prevention
Providers of value-added applications and services such as metering, telemetry, telematics, and sensor applications, inventory control and tracking such as merchandise control, asset tracking and recovery such as computing equipment monitoring, tracking parts moving through a manufacturing process, tracking goods in a supply chain, and payment systems
Providers of RFID middleware such as the VeriSign or Oracle
Companies interested in optimizing their RFID business process strategies

  Table of Contents:  

Introduction    5
  Section-I: RFID Overview    8
  Readers  8
Passive RFID Tags  8
SAW RFID Tags  9
Semi Passive RFID Tags  9
Active RFID Tags  10
Frequencies  11
Read/Write Operations  12
Analysis of Passive vs. Active RFID Systems  13
Advantages of Passive RFID   13
Disadvantages of Passive RFID   15
Advantages of Active RFID   16
Disadvantages of Active RFID   17
  Section-II: RFID Companies Worldwide   19
  RFID Companies in Europe  19
RFID Companies in Asia/Asia Pacific  36
RFID Companies in the United States of America  49
  Section - III: RFID Case Studies   63
  U.S. Naval Air Systems Command   63
United States Navy Regional Supply Office  66
St. Olavs Hospital, Norway  68
Heinz Project - US  71
Mobile Management & Maintenance in Frankfurt  74
Dat Autohus Car Company Project  74
Personnel Tracking System in Switzerland   76
E-Ticketing System   78
Component Monitoring and Tracking Project  79
Telecom Product Tracking System   80
  Section-IV - Emerging RFID Applications   83
  Comparison of Various Access Control Methods  84
Prevalent Application Types  85
Item Tracking and Tracing   86
Inventory Monitoring and Control  86
Asset Monitoring and Management  87
Emerging Application Types  87
Anti-Counterfeit  87
Member Applications  88
Drug Anti-Counterfeit  89
Benefits  90
RFID on  Humans  90
RFID in Super markets: Smart Shelf  92
Strategic Dimensions of Commercial Mandates  95
Government Mandates and Strategies  97
  Section-V: Business Cases for RFID   100
  The two types of ROI  100
Quantifying Return on Investment with Financials  101
Cost of Investment  101
Breakdown of Cost of Installing RFID System (ROI Quantification) 102
Savings and Reduced Costs of Labor  102
Payback Period   102
Return on Assets  103
Ways to a faster success on Returns  104
The Ultimate Goal for the Future  105
  Section-VI: Conclusion    108

 List of Tables and Figures
 
Comparison of Various Access Control Methods - 84
 
Applications and Volume Projections - 97
 
Breakdown of Cost of Installing RFID System (ROI Quantification) - 102
 
Payback Period vs. Pallets per Month Graph - 103
 
Increasing Shareholder Value - 105