Oct 25, 2015I recently received an e-mail from a clothing manufacturer in Germany that was seeking help in finding companies that could quote on an order for 6 million passive ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) RFID tags. A week ago, I spent an hour on the phone with a gentleman who wanted to understand how RFID could be used to track works of art. And two weeks ago, one of our salespeople was approached by the North Carolina Department of Transportation about posting a request for proposal for a toll-collection system on the Monroe Expressway, which we did (premium members can view it here).
This is another sign that RFID adoption is accelerating. We have been providing information about worldwide tenders for RFID projects, through a third party, for roughly two years now. The number and variety of tenders has continued to increase throughout that time. Many of the RFPs are for library systems. Tracking books in libraries was one of the first applications for RFID, and it has continued to expand over the years.
But there are many other opportunities for RFID companies. Among the RFPs posted recently are:
• An RFID system for tracking linens (Singapore)
• A passive UHF RFID system linked to a closed-circuit television system (South Africa)
• RFID identification badges (Pakistan)
• RFID-based electronic lockers (France)
• An RFID sponge-tracking system and disposables (United States)
• RFID identity bracelets (Sweden)
• RFID readers and a self-checkout machine (China)
• A real-time location system for a hospital (United Kingdom)
• Animal ear tags (Italy)
• A winery-management system (Ecuador)
• RFID read-write tags for court assets (Brazil)
New RFPs are posted almost every day, and are available to all premium members of RFID Journal. We provide this information because we want to help companies, government agencies and other organizations find the solutions they need, and we want to help solution providers find new business.
I'm encouraged by the growing number of RFPs from businesses worldwide, and by the wide variety of industries and applications. I wish vendors would be more proactive in checking this area of our website and responding. Unfortunately, many providers still seem to focus on the large number of people who are not interested (yet!) in RFID, rather than on the small number actively seeking solutions. But that, too, will change.
Mark Roberti is the founder and editor of RFID Journal. If you would like to comment on this article, click on the link below. To read more of Mark's opinions, visit the RFID Journal Blog, the Editor's Note archive or RFID Connect.
