Good news! The Brazilian radio frequency identification (RFID) market is mature, it has room for supplier companies to grow and it is expanding at an accelerated rate. Leading the market are companies that know how to improve their clients’ businesses and collect important success stories.
This conclusion results from a panel that I coordinated last week with Brazilian authorities, businessmen, executives and entrepreneurs at the RFID Journal Virtually LIVE! conference and exhibition. The panel had more than 50 attendees who were interested in the Brazilian RFID market, including end users. The impressions and contributions were very positive, revealing that RFID is doing well in that country despite the feared negative impacts of COVID-19. Incidentally, the pandemic has done RFID very well, especially by stimulating e-commerce.
I had the honor of organizing the proceedings and presenting at the event, for which I invited important professionals like Vanderlei Ferreira, the president of Zebra Brasil, with whom I had the opportunity to talk in advance and at length about the Brazilian RFID market (see Zebra Brazil’s CEO Discusses RFID Growth).
I then opened the microphone for another guest of great relevance in the RFID market, and in new technologies that are under development in the world of the Internet of Packaging (IoP): Paula Valerio, the executive director of Sincpress. Valerio brought fresh ideas and a privileged view on how smart packaging is moving out of identified and traceable supply chains to add a guarantee of authenticity to products, security of origin, better services and information for consumers, and sustainability.
Fabiana Wu and Alexander Modro, from Avery Dennison, presented the company’s expectations, which are in line with the RFID market in Brazil and worldwide, including initiatives in smart packaging. The company has increased investments in the country, thanks to a positive view regarding the growth of Brazil’s RFID market.
Henrique Miguel, from MCTIC, spoke about post-pandemic initiatives under way in the ministry that involve RFID as a tool to enable improvements in such vertical markets as health, Industry 4.0, smart cities and agribusiness, the worst of the National IoT Plan. According to Miguel, we are in a moment of great opportunities for RFID technology, which is the basis for all the initiatives that need to be taken in the fight against the pandemic and more.
Another important collaboration for the chat was with a major player in the market: Fernando Claro, the executive director of Seal Systems, a company that, together with Ernst & Young, had two successful use cases (from Volkswagen do Brasil and Grupo Boticário) granted during this year’s RFID Journal Awards ceremony (see RFID Journal Announces Winners of Its 14th Annual RFID Journal Awards). Claro highlighted that his company works to optimize solutions to simplify adoption by end users, helping to expand the technology’s penetration.
Edson Yano, from HID Global, explained that the Brazilian market must act within the concepts of globalization, reducing taxes and fees even for imported inputs, which will bring benefits to the entire sector. His vision is based on expanding the benefits for users of RFID technology, and on increasing business opportunities for all companies in that sector. The firm’s creation of a business platform with NFC in 2018 opened up space for more intensive performance in smart packaging.
Odarci Maia Jr., from Correios, discussed the evolution of a project that is supported by the Universal Postal Union, which is testing the use of RFID in Brazil to expand the technology’s adoption by the global mail and parcel business. Mark Timms, from MobiZcan/Impinj, explained his perception that RFID in Brazil will still take 15 years to reach U.S. levels, though he said he agrees that it is growing—and that there is room for new players. Pedro Moreira, the president of the Brazilian RFID association CHEP, also participated, as did Rogério Davanso, the director of Grupo CCRR.
Edson Perin is the editor of IoP Journal Brasil and the founder of Netpress Editora.