This article was originally published by RFID Update.
April 9, 2008—ABI Research has publicly announced what it deems the top three manufacturers of both ultrahigh frequency (UHF) and high frequency (HF) passive RFID inlays. The rankings are in the form of ABI’s new “Vendor Matrices” for each of the two categories. A Vendor Matrix indicates where vendors are positioned in the market based on selected criteria.
The top three UHF inlay manufacturers, according to ABI’s new matrix, are:
The top three HF inlay manufacturers are:
The UHF winners are not surprising, at least based on anecdotal evidence — it always seems to be one of those three companies that lands the large orders. ABI analyst Mike Liard indicated that choosing Alien, Avery, and Raflatac as the top three was straightforward, but that determining a rank among them was not. “Scoring was especially close among the top UHF inlay providers, with Alien, Avery, and UPM Raflatac locked in a tight 3-way race,” he was quoted in the release. “The number of market participants, coupled with relatively close proximity of their scores, demonstrates the fragmented yet highly competitive nature of the passive RFID inlay space.”
Innovation and implementation were the two umbrella categories by which ABI evaluated the inlay manufacturers to determine rank. Under the innovation umbrella, ABI considered a number of criteria, including product innovation, product features, innovation in the manufacturing process, experience, leadership, strategy, and size of product portfolio. Under implementation, criteria included sales volume in different markets and applications, number of markets served, overall market share, market leadership and strength, sales and support infrastructure, and distribution channels.
The complete vendor matrices, which are available for sale from ABI Research, include a full top-ten ranking for their respective categories: