May 29, 2006When we launched RFID Journal on the Web more than four years ago, our goal, first and foremost, was to educate people about radio frequency identification—explain what it is, how it works, the standards being developed and how companies were using it. That’s still a big part of our mission, because many businesspeople are still just learning about RFID, but the RFID industry is entering a new phase and we’re changing to better meet the needs of end users and RFID hardware, software and service providers.
We regularly survey our large readership (200,000 unique visitors a month now visit our site) and ask them about the information they need. Our research shows that a significant portion of our readership is now looking for information about how RFID can be deployed to deliver specific benefits in their industry. We’re responding with more industry-focused content online, at our events and in print.
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Online
The RFID Journal Web site will soon have a new look. We’re adding two rows of buttons across the top, with the names of eight vertical industries. When you click on one of those links—say, Health Care/Pharma—you will see all the health-care and pharmaceutical news items, opinions, case studies and features stories that we’ve published.
Many visitors to our site are also interested in information related to their functional area. Let’s say you are the CIO of a large automotive part supplier and you’re interested in what other companies in your industry are doing. But you’re also very interested in how companies in other industries are integrating RFID data with their back-end systems. In the left-hand global navigation bar, we’re adding a Topics section, covering IT/Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Inventory/Warehouse, Operations and so on. You can click on the IT/Infrastructure link and see all the IT/infrastructure stories we’ve published.
We’ve also introduced three new free newsletters with industry-specific content:
• RFID Journal Health Care/Pharmaceutical News
• RFID Journal Manufacturing News
• RFID Journal Retail/CPG News
This vertical industry content will help you climb the learning curve more quickly; it also will provide you with a unique opportunity to learn from others who have deployed RFID solutions in your industry or solved issues in your functional area. Click on the name of the newsletter above to sign up.
Fall Events Schedule
To complement our vertical industry content online, we have introduced new events focused on specific vertical industries.
RFID Journal—AAFA Apparel & Footwear Summit
Aug. 15-16, 2006, New York, Fashion Institute of Technology
/apparel2006/
This event will address the needs of companies looking to deploy RFID in the apparel and footwear sector. There will be case studies from companies that have already deployed RFID in their retail, supply chain and manufacturing operations.
Industry Summits for Retail/CPG, Pharmaceutical, Manufacturing and Aerospace
Sep. 26-28, 20006, Chicago, Lincolnshire Marriott Resort
/industrysummits/
Each of these four co-located events focuses on the critical adoption issues in a specific vertical. Each brings together leading end users, potential end users, integrators, resellers and vendors to address critical adoption issues in their industry in an interactive and collaborative setting. The four events share one technology exhibition.
RFID Journal LIVE! Europe 2006
Oct. 25-27, 2006, Amsterdam
/europe2006/
Our second-annual conference and exhibition in Europe is designed for end users and potential end users of the many types of radio frequency identification technologies. We’ve designed the program to address the benefits RFID can bring European companies, and the adoption challenges unique to Europe. Our first event was the largest RFID event ever held in Europe, and we are building on that success with a program based on feedback from our readers and past event attendees in Europe.
And More
We will also be introducing special industry-specific supplements in print and hosting Webinars with industry-specific content. We are dedicated, above all else, to providing the highest quality content that meets your informational needs. If you have suggestions for how we can do a better job of that, please feel free to
e-mail me. I look forward to hearing from you.
Mark Roberti is the founder and editor of RFID Journal. If you would like to comment on this article, click on the link below.
