This article was originally published by RFID Update.
February 21, 2007—Wealth and asset management firm Robert W. Baird & Co. has released its RFID Monthly for February. 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 16-page document is available free here.
The standard matrix of primary RFID providers is on page 13, and following are the Key Developments:
- Mainstream Press Incrementally Negative on RFID. The Wall Street Journal featured a story on Wal-Mart and RFID on February 15, which suggested that RFID at Wal-Mart “…is showing signs of fizzling.” (See Financial Press Considers RFID’s Potential for more.) While we viewed the overall content in the article as factually correct, we believe there exist several points beyond the article that suggest RFID momentum continues to move forward, including evidence of reduced stock outs, reduced pricing, and strength with non-retail supply chain RFID applications, among others.
- High-Level Government Interest in RFID. Eight electronics industry associations have formed the RFID Technology Council, an ad hoc organization created to support the U.S. Senate RFID Caucus. Recall that the Senate RFID Caucus was initiated by U.S. Senators John Cornyn and Byron Dorgan in order to promote RFID technology development by educating government officials and the public about the potential of RFID. The eight industry associations are the American Electronics Association, AIM Global, European-American Business Council, IEEE-USA, Information Technology Association of America, Information Technology Industry Council, International RFID Business Association, and the Semiconductor Industry Association.
- DoD Helping to Reduce Stocks of Gen1 Inventory. The Department of Defense announced that it is extending its deadline for use of Gen1 RFID tags. Gen1 tags are now permissible for use in contracts signed up until March 1, 2007, after which Gen2 tags are required. The previous deadline was October 1, 2006. The DoD extended the deadline so that its suppliers would not be left with large quantities of Gen1 tags. Recall, the DoD was late in administratively changing the DFAR clause to require end-user compliance for new contracts, which likely led to lower than expected unit volumes during 2006.
- Meaningful Tag Order Placed. Xterprise reported that it has ordered a total of 4.5 million tags from Alien, Avery Dennison, and Zebra. The order was placed as an asset management project for iGPS, who will use the tags to track reusable plastic pallets. (See Xterprise Makes Multimillion RFID Tag Purchase for more.)
Download the full Baird RFID Monthly (pdf)
