1. Start early.
It takes time to research the technology, select the right partners and align the organization.
2. Choose supplies carefully.
If your tags don’t work, you risk missing deadlines for compliance.

3. Determine the where and how of smart labeling.
Will you incorporate RFID tags into your current shipping labels or add new label formats? Where are labels best placed on the carton, pallet? There are many questions to answer.

4. Pick the right partners.
Choosing the right partners is critical for RFID success. Look for companies that are experienced and fit well with your existing applications and business processes.

5. Start small and simple, then expand.
Beaver Street Fisheries, Victory Land Group and Pacific Cycle started with basic RFID tagging on a limited number of products. All three companies agreed that starting small made the project a lot less intimidating and reduced costs by saving on mistakes that could disrupt operations.

6. Test, test, test.
Tags perform differently with different materials, at different locations and at different channels within the UHF spectrum, so it is important to thoroughly test early in the process to avoid creating more issues as implementations scale up in volume.

7. If you can, plan RFID from the ground up.
If your company will be involved in new construction, implementing new applications or upgrading IT infrastructure, gaining experience with RFID and factoring it in your plans is a very good idea.

8. Utilize the data.
It is important to transport and translate the RFID data flow to upstream business applications for true ROI from an RFID implementation.

9. Look beyond compliance for ROI.
Beaver Street Fisheries, Victory Land Group and Pacific Cycle agree that leveraging their compliance learning is only the first step—although extending the technology internally in an organization requires business process and software re-engineering. When RFID data can be used to improve business processes, companies experience significant payback.

10, Recognize that RFID is still a moving target and plan for change.
RFID certainly has arrived, and global standards are still being settled. Almost for certain, the RFID architecture that is implemented today will undergo changes in the next 18 months. Therefore, the initial vendor relationships you establish will be critical as your implementation matures. By choosing strong and knowledgeable partners today, end users can ensure they stay abreast of the many developments in RFID tomorrow.

To download the complete article, “Best Practices for RFID Compliance”, visit zebra.com/rfid_top_ten.

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Sirit Announces New Board Appointments
TORONTO, CANADA—At the company's Annual General Meeting, Sirit elected seven directors the company's board, now comprised of Norbert Dawalibi, Cal Haverstock, Suresh Kumar, George C. McKinnis, Richard I. Segal, Art Mesher, and Howard Johnson. Subsequent to the meeting, Art Mesher was appointed chairman of the board of directors.

See sirit.com.

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ODIN Opens Joint Venture in Budapest
DULLES, VA—ODIN technologies has announced the formation of ODIN Budapest, a joint venture between ODIN technologies, Swiss firm MTS, and the Hungarian government Agency. While ODIN technologies has been serving European clients from its U.S. offices for the past two years, the growth in the European RFID market now requires a local presence to meet demand.

See odintechnologies.com.

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Avery Dennison Offers Military Compliant Solutions
WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA—A new service bureau offering called the RFID Military Compliance Solution from Avery Dennison Retail Information Services (RIS) enables vendors to quickly and cost efficiently meet Department of Defense mandates for affixing RFID labels to cartons and pallets, and for issuing advance ship notices.

The mandates affect vendors shipping hardgoods, apparel, footwear, and other specified commodities to DoD distribution centers in Susquehanna, Pa, and San Joaquin, CA. The RFID label requirement is in addition to existing DoD requirements for identifying cartons and pallets with bar-coded Military Shipping Labels (MSL).

By way of the RFID Military Compliance Solution, Avery Dennison RIS supplies vendors with a supplemental RFID label that is encoded with a unique identification code to meet the DoD mandate. The code also is printed as a bar code and in readable characters. During the shipping process, the supplemental RFID label is affixed to cartons and/or pallets in proximity to the MSL label.

Minimum orders are as low as 500 labels. To order the labels, vendors need only supply their CAGE (Commercial and Government Entity) code, and the quantity and mix of carton and pallet labels they require. Vendors who are registered with Avery Dennison RIS typically receive shipment within 72 hours.

See averydennison.com.

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AIM Global Announces RFID Video
WARRENDALE, PA—AIM Global announces the Public Television-produced video entitled "Spotlight On: RFID Technology," is available for download in several formats at media.aimglobal.org. The six-minute video was produced with public television viewers in mind as a way to educate them about what RFID technology is and to illustrate some of the ways it's being used in day-to-day life. Footage from the member sponsors, American Express, and The Boeing Company, combined with interviews by Dr. Bill Hardgrave, Director, University of Arkansas RFID Research Center and Mr. Ken Porad, Associate Technical Fellow for Boeing, give a concise and interesting snapshot of what the technology is and how it is currently being used.

The video is the culmination of a year-long project sponsored by AIM Global members FEIG ELECTRONIC, Intermec Technologies, Markem Corp., PSC, and Symbol Technologies and produced by Public Television film entertainment company, Trivue Entertainment.

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SATO Announces Appointments
CHARLOTTE, NC—SATO Corp. has appointed J. Michael Fowler as a director of SATO Intl. and president of SATO Holding Americas. Robert Linse is appointed president of SATO America.

See satoamerica.com.

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RFID Forecasts for 2006 and Beyond
CAMBRIDGE, UNITED KINGDOM—According to IDTechEx research and forecasts, cumulative sales of RFID tags for 60 years until the beginning of 2006 totaled 2.4 billion, with 600 million tags being sold in 2005 alone. In 2006, IDTechEx expects 1.3 billion tags to be sold. Of that, about 500 million RFID smart labels will be used for pallet and case level tagging, but the majority will be used for a range of markets, from baggage and passports to contactless payment cards and drugs. In 2016, IDTechEx see the value of the total market including systems and services to rocket to $26.23 billion from $2.71 billion in 2006 in value. The number of tags delivered in 2016 will be over 450 times the number delivered in 2006. The market for active RFID is expected to be more than $6 billion in 2016.

For more information, including IDTechEx's published report on the subject, visit idtechex.com.

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WiFi-Enabled RFID Asset-Tracking Tag
EVERGREEN, CO—Active RFID Systems (ARS) and Broadcom are collaborating to develop and sell a WiFi-enabled RFID tag that will be used to track assets directly in a WiFi Network Enterprise System. The new tag offers many years of battery life and is interoperable with existing WiFi networks.

Under the terms of the agreement, ARS will incorporate the Broadcom chipset into the tag and will manufacture and support the finished tag product. Broadcom will support the hardware, firmware, and software activities.

See active-rfid.com.

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JUNE
MARKEM Partners with ThingMagic
KEENE, NH AND CAMBRIDGE, MA—MARKEM Corp. is partnering with ThingMagic to enhance the full suite of MARKEM's RFID solutions, including high-speed tagging in production environments, semi-automated tagging, and use of RFID portals for supply chain communication and stock control.

MARKEM Applied Intelligence? Solutions has certified ThingMagic's Mercury4 serial reader fourth generation fixed reader and is available for use with its 800 Series high-speed applicator, which applies up to 100 RFID tags per min. and automatically rejects bad tags. The Mercury4 reader also enables the 800 Series applicator to encode RFID tags at speeds of up to 100 tags per min.

See markem.com/rfid.

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ADT Awarded Customer Honors
BOCA RATON, FL—ADT was ranked number one in customer experience for its RFID services by readers of Consumer Goods Technology magazine, the second year in a row ADT took home first place in this category. The magazine cited ADT's flexibility as key to their readers' decision. More than 150 consumer goods executives were polled to determine Best-in-Class technology vendors.

"ADT's solutions are based upon the premise that no single RFID technology is best suited for all the market requirements that exist," the magazine wrote. "This philosophy will bode will for the RFID services vendor community going into 2006."

ADT also was recognized in Spain with the 2006 Futureshop Award for Best Anti-theft Innovation for its XBR Loss Prevention and Sensormatic SmartEAS technologies, two security solutions that contribute to point-of-sale management. The awards recognize the best products, services, and projects in the retail trade and distribution sector.

For more information, visit adt.com.

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Omron Introduces Wave Tag
SCHAUMBURG, IL—Omron RFID has introduced the V750 Series Gen 2 (C1G2) "Wave" tag, designed to deliver high-read performance in all UHF RFID frequency spectrums. According to Omron RFID chief strategist Bill Arnold, "Acceptable read/write performance has only been possible through the use the a different tag design optimized for each regional frequency band. Demand is growing for a single RFID tag that can perform in all UHF RFID frequencies. RFID-fueled global commerce will benefit because product manufacturers can choose just one tag design for use around the world."

To learn more, visit omronrfid.com.

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The Package is the Tag
CAMBRIDGE, MA—TAGSYS has introduced it’s The-Package-Is-The-Tag program and its accompanying Gen 2 UHF tag offering, the Adaptive Kernel (AK) family of tags. The concept incorporates two parts: an ultra small, low cost and universal UHF "Kernel" tag and an adaptive antenna that is customized and intrinsically incorporated within the package of the item to be RFID-enabled. This approach to item-level RFID enables the integration of RFID technology into packaging strategies so that RFID becomes a component of the package. It is designed to increase the ability to authenticate and safeguard goods, enable real-time inventory and item visibility, and automate labor-intensive processes in industries such as package goods, fashion and apparel, and courier or luggage tracking.

The antenna allows the tag to become an integral part of the packaging and is fully customizable to customers' packaging shapes, materials and sizes, nature of goods in the packaging, industrial environment, processes organization, reading distances and conditions, privacy requirements, and region of use. Based on TAGSYS' P3: e-Xecute program, the approach has been tested successfully on items such as courier envelopes and boxes, luggage tags, item boxes of various shapes and sizes, and fashion price tags.

Unit prices can be as low as five to eight cents. The tags are currently available to select clients and partners for testing and deployment and will be available for large-volume orders during the second half of 2006. Testing kits also are available upon request.

See tagsysrfid.com.

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Marnlen Adds Production Capacity
MARKHAM, ONTARIO, CANADA—Marnlen RFID's new high-speed RFID label converting equipment now is in production. The production line is capable of inserting any size RFID inlay to label facestock, producing a multitude of UHF and HF standard and custom radio frequency identification labels and tags. One hundred percent end-of-line inspection reportedly ensures quality, accuracy, and reliability.

For more information, visit marnlen.com.

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Welcome to the RFID Hub
DALLAS/FORTH WORTH, TX—Metroplex Technology Business Council has re-branded the North Texas region as "The RFID Hub," intending to convey that North Texas is at the forefront of the RFID industry and that the Dallas/Forth Worth area offers all of the resources needed to assist companies at all levels with RFID needs. The council also has made a poster available at dallasrfidhub.org, developed to underscore the re-branding.

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RFID Technology To Replace Supply Chain
DALLAS, TX— A new report sponsored by the North of England Inward Investment Agency (NEIIA) concludes that RFID technology could become a catalyst for deeper collaboration between companies and lead to the formation of "supplier networks" that could replace today's linear supply chains. Titled "RFID Comes of Age" and written by The Economis Magazine's Intelligence Unit, the report explores some problems for companies looking to exploit RFID technology for commercial advantage. It looks at where RFID is likely to have the greatest impact over the next few years, as well as some of the broader challenges confronting the industry.

The report identified product safety and healthcare as other areas where RFID could play an important role. The paper references items with a high cost of failure or confusion where embedded smart tags could help. It also suggests legislatures regulating the use of RFID tags should require them to be de-activated at point-of-sale to remove privacy concerns rather than require the permanent "killing" of stored data. This way, users could have the opportunity to opt-in to post-sales uses that benefit both them.com.

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and the business using the technology.

For more information about North England, visit northengland.com. For a copy of "RFID Comes of Age," contact Alexsis Wilkes at 212/780-1900, awilkes@stantoncrenshaw Portable RFID for Factory Automation
SCOTTS VALLEY, CA—Escort Memory Systems has introduced SILVERJET RFID PDA, a handheld RFID solution for factory automation. The company's Jet Applicatons Software, included with every SILVERJET package, provides an intuitive interface for developing custom programs for reading and writing tag data. These programs then are transferred by Wi-Fi or USB to the Jet PDA where they are executed by JetRunner Software. Tag data is scanned from the tags and stored under a Windows file system on the PDA. Unique tag-specific data can be written to each tag through the interface.

See ems-rfid.com.

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High-Speed Testing and Coding System
NOKIA, FINLAND—Confidex launches MR01, a testing system for UHF and HF RFID inlays and labels. It is the first industrial testing and coding system in the market to offer quality control for the manufacture of Gen 2 labels. MR01 has a read testing speed of up to 200,000 tags per hour and a write testing speed of up to 18,000 tags per hour. The system provides two separate inline testing points. The system operates without a host PC or complex user interface. MR01 also can be connected to a computer, which enables data collection for statistical process control.

For more information, see confidex.net.

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EPC-Capable RFID Reader
MISTELGAU, GERMANY—Brooks Automation has introduced an EPC reader for HF data entry from the HF 60 series, designed for use in rough environments. The communication between transponder and reader takes place standardized through the International Standards EPC or ISO 15693. Acquired data can be transmitted via a serial RS232 interface, as well as via an Ethernet interface. With its five antenna connections, the reader is suitable for applications with many reading points, and reduces the costs of RFID integration.

The accessories include comprehensive Plug & Play antenna solutions, and the device includes a 4 DIP (dual inline package) switches for convenient interface or test mode setting. As an option, Brooks also markets the reader with additional input/output ports parallel to the antenna connections. The reader functions independent of a separate power supply due to the power supply via the Enthernet interface.

To learn more, visit brooks.com.

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Checkpoint Systems Supplies RFID Hangtags
THOROFARE, NJ—Lemmi Fashion, a German-based producer of children's apparel, has chosen Checkpoint Systems, manufactures and marketers of RF- and RFID-based solutions for security, identification, tracking, and merchandising applications, to provide the company and its strategic partners with RFID hangtags. The RFID consumables will be used as part of a strategic initiative to help improve Lemmi's speed to market, ineventory management, and order accuracy.

Checkpoint Systems is supplying Lemmi's manufacturing partners in Asia and Europe with Performa 13.56 MHz RFID-enabled hangtags. The hangtags, which include a visible version of the RFID tag and a traditional bar code, contain data such as article number, size, and color.

See checkpointsystems.com.

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Omron Offers a One Day Compliance Package
SCHAUMBURG, IL—Omron RFID offers the "One Day" Compliance Package supporting both EPC Class 1 and Gen 2 standards. The package creates a one-day-and-done opportunity for suppliers to Wal-Mart, Target, Best Buy, the U.S. Dept. of Defense, and other retail vendors to meet RFID tag mandates.

The package has the ability to expand from two devices to any type or number of EPC RFID devices across a Wal-Mart or DoD supplier's entire enterprise. It includes an Omron reader/writer, antenna, all cables, tags, an optional computer, an RFID printer, an indicator "stack" light, a mounting stand for the antenna with all hardware, and the software required for compliance. Also included are operator training, professional setup services, and system documentation.

See omronrfid.com.

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Argent Partners with Vue
TROY, MI—Argent Group has signed an agreement with Vue Technologies that will enable Argent to further expand its asset tracking range of solutions. The partnership enables Vue Technology to increase its presence in the manufacturing and medical sectors where RFID plays an integral role in optimizing the supply chain, including warehouses, distribution centers, and civic facilities. Argent Group's customers will benefit from new scalable, cost effective solutions based on Vue's technology to increase savings throughout the enterprise by decreasing labor and inventory costs and downtime while increasing asset utilization.

For more information, visit argent-group.com or vuetechnology.com.

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Print Server Increases Reader Functionality
YORK, ME—The new Loftware Print Server (LPS) 8.4 delivers new RFID reader functionality with the addition of software support for fixed mount RFID reader technology from companies like Alien, Symbol, ThingMagic, and AWID. As a result, companies implementing pilot programs can use multiple hardware devices with a single software solution. The platform encodes and reads both smart labels and RF tags to perform real-time use cases, including building, receiving, and verifying pallets. LPS 8.4 is a highly-scalable and fault tolerant system designed to handle thousands of requests with all the appropriate queuing, status, and recovery features expected in advanced enterprise systems.

See loftware.com.

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CompTIA Presents BreakAway Conference
The Computer Technology Industry Assn. (CompTIA) will hold its annual BreakAway Conference August 2-4, 2006, at the Royal Pacific Resort at Universal Studios in Orlando, FL. An executive panel discussion will be a highlight at the conference. Executives from Cisco Systems, Xerox, 3Com, SYNNEX, Websense, and Ingram Micro will participate in the interactive discussion where media can hear the industry's take on current trends, products, and services. The conference will bring together 115 technology vendors.

For more information, visit comptia.org.

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Domino Acquires EIS
CAMBRIDGE, ENGLAND—Domino Printing Sciences has acquired Enterprise Information Systems (EIS), Dallas, TX, an automatic identification and data capture systems integration specialists. Specializing in the deployment of RFID technology integration to provide traceability solutions throughout the supply chain, EIS will be incorporated into Domino's Integrated Solution Group.

See dominoamjet.com.

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Covalence Launched as Private Company
PRINCETON, NJ—Covalence Specialty Materials Corp., formerly the Plastics and Adhesives operation of Tyco Intl., has become one of the nation's independent, private companies. The occasion was marked by completion of the purchase of Covalence in a $975 million transaction by Apollo Management. Terry A. Sutter has been named president and CEO while Marvin O. Schlanger has been named chairman.

See covcorp.com.

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Stratum Global and Omron RFID Form Alliance
LITTLETON, CO—Stratum Global and Omron RFID have formed a strategic relationship designed to help customers benefit from Stratum's application performance and Omron's high-yield RFID tags and high-performance readers. Omron manufactures RFID tags and reader products known for high functionality in hostile environments. Stratum Global develops and market TagNet. Coupling the two technologies will increase asset and object visibility and improve produce traceability while eliminating replacement costs that are incurred for failed or poorly working inlys.

For more information, visit stratumglobal.com or omronrfid.com.

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