Return on investment (ROI), tag availability and performance remain the biggest concerns end users have about radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, according to ABI Research.
The majority of respondents to the survey were global organizations, with over half making more than $500 million annually.
Many logistics and IT management staffs still struggle to integrate RFID hardware and software into enterprise systems for quantifiable long-term benefits, without major disruption. Integrators such as Accenture, Deloitte, Hewlett Packard, and IBM are addressing these issues. Whether existing applications from Manhattan Associates, RedPrairie, IBM, TIBCO, webMethods, and others can adapt to meet these new architecture needs remains unclear.
Startups OATsystems, Globeranger and ConnecTerra continue to release new products, but deployment bottlenecks remain likely until EPC standards are finalized and material handling and logistics companies, including HK Systems, create products around emerging sensor technology.
The survey also revealed concerns with tag availability and performance. Director of RFID Erik Michielsen said "inlay conversion and label application yields, which are likely to trouble end-users as they begin deployments, barely registered on their radar screens. In-field conversion losses of 10% to 15% on tags have Rafsec, Hana and KSW pushing to assist their RFID customers, including Alien, Matrics, Philip and TI. Label converters including Moore-Wallace, Paxar, Rafsec and Avery Dennison also play a role in bringing greater supplies of working tags to market. Improvements in tag production processes impact supply scalability and product performance at the end-user level. If these companies fail, their IC and inlay partners will suffer the consequences of end-user dissatisfaction."
www.abiresearch.com
