Aug 20, 2008This article was originally published by RFID Update.
August 20, 2008—Wealth and asset management firm Robert W. Baird & Co. has released its RFID Monthly for August. Baird has given RFID Update permission to reprint the Key Developments section (below), which offers the report highlights. For those wanting more detail, the complete 23-page document is available free here.
The standard matrix of primary RFID providers is on page 17 and following are the Key Developments:
- Non-Pharma Healthcare Traction. In our view, non-pharma healthcare will begin to see RFID traction and opportunity in the next 6-12 months for both HF- and UHF-based solutions. We see tracking for orthopedic devices, specimens and document management as increasingly promising near-term opportunities. These markets have, in contrast to pharma, relatively more closed loop systems that can offer a stronger, identifiable ROI relative to initial investment. We are hearing of individual company project sponsors in these healthcare segments.
- Apparel Activity Increasing. We have spent time recently speaking with retailers, apparel providers and industry participants and have come away with the impression that pilot activity is increasingly robust, although we view rollouts in the next 12 months as still limited. We continue to view this as an important market given over 24 billion units of apparel articles and shoes are shipped worldwide each year. We believe that retailers are interested in the technology mostly because it can help them improve sales by decreasing out-of-stocks, and by improving the customer shopping experience. We don't believe receiving value requires source tagging at the manufacturer. Most apparel activity is currently in Europe and Asia. (Also see IDTechEx: RFID Apparel Market to Grow 70% Annually.)
- Industry Consolidation. Another acquisition occurred this past month as Fluensee will add TrenStar into its operations. As we noted in March and again last month, we expect to see continued acquisition activity in the next 12 months as key providers seek to build their position or develop an increased solution offering. We believe Fluensee did a bit of both with this acquisition given increased access and work flow understanding in the beverage, brewing and synthetic rubber markets, and by enabling a Software-as-a-Service model. We are seeing increasing numbers of companies look to be acquired into a larger organization. (Also see Fluensee Acquires TrenStar's RFID Software Business.)
Download the full Baird RFID Monthly
