Out of the Trough

There were also many end users new to the market who attended the conference to learn what they need to do to put RFID to work. The story newcomers heard this year was far more positive than at last year's event. They heard repeatedly that the technology has matured, that solutions exist and that RFID can deliver real business benefits in specific areas. (No speaker hid the fact that it is difficult to get a return on investment from tagging cases for a customer that has issued mandates.)

This was the first time end users shared specific metrics about the benefits their companies are getting. Dick Cantwell, vice president and head of RFID at Procter & Gamble (P&G), described how P&G tracked Fusion razors during the product's introduction at some 400 RFID-enabled stores. According to Cantwell, P&G enjoyed a 20-percent "sales lift" because the company and its retail partners could use RFID tracking data to make sure the promotional displays were out on the retail floor on time. He said the sales increase more than paid for the tagging of the promotional displays (see P & G Finds RFID 'Sweet Spot').

Alan Estevez, assistant deputy undersecretary of supply chain integration for the U.S. Department of Defense, spoke about the benefits the Marines are getting from using RFID to track material in Iraq. He said RFID has helped the military branch cut the value of inventory in the supply chain from $127 million to $70 million. Average delivery times, meanwhile, have dropped from 28 days to just 16 (see DOD Quantifies Payback From RFID).

It's not just the leading early adopters, though, who are now seeing where the ROI is. Small and midsize manufacturers, hospitals, logistics companies and others presented case studies describing the benefits they've realized from their RFID pilots, as well.

There was a lot of positive energy at this year's event—and with good reason. It's clear to me that the RFID leaders will continue to build on the work they've been doing for the past few years and find more places where they can deploy RFID profitably in their operations. Those just starting to learn about RFID can have a faster road to adoption because the technology is better and the early adopters have shown them where the benefits are. I don't anticipate hockey-stick type growth in the market any time soon, but I do expect to see steady progress.

I'm confident that when we all gather in Orlando from April 30 to May 2, 2007, for our fifth annual RFID Journal LIVE! conference, there will be even more attendees and a lot more companies with positive stories to tell.

Mark Roberti is the founder and editor of RFID Journal. If you would like to comment on this article, click on the link below.