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Not All RFID Vendors Ready for the Wal-Mart Challenge,
Claims ABI
Oyster Bay, NY - November 19, 2003
Game theory describes the “winner’s curse:” a winner’s
remorse after a favorable outcome. A similar fate may
lie ahead for many RFID vendors after finally achiev-
ing what they so long have wanted: Wal-Mart’s push
for RFID adoption. This is a clear driver of primary de-
mand for RFID – a long-standing goal for the dozens of
companies marketing RFID readers, tags and software.
Recent findings included in a study by technology mar-
ket research firm ABI indicate that the rewards are high,
with annual revenues set to break the $3 billion mark in
just a few years.
Wal-Mart is not the only recent large-scale announce-
ment in the RFID industry. Similar plans by the US De-
partment of Defense and UK-based retailer Tesco have
given the RFID industry a further boost, confirming that
this technology is not just a passing fad. However, even
with such high-profile organizations radically boosting
primary demand, the battle for secondary demand has
yet to begin, according to recent research by ABI.
“Only companies that have the right blend of
continued innovation and proven implemen-
tation will thrive in this market,” explains
Edward Rerisi, Director of Research at ABI.
“RFID vendors must understand the technol-
ogy and the unique demands of each custom-
er, which can take years to develop.”
ABI’s latest research on RFID indicates a
slight dichotomy in the RFID space: com-
panies that are champions of innovation and
those that are established implementers. Who
will be successful is anyone’s guess.
“Intermec, Texas Instruments, Tagsys, and
EM Micro have tens of millions of RFID tags
in the field, serving to establish their presence
in the market,” explains ABI senior analyst
Erik Michielsen. “Recently, however, companies like
Alien Technologies and Matrics are more synonymous
with innovation, cementing their foundation in high-
growth market segments.”
A key finding of ABI’s research is that not all RFID
vendors will be ready to meet Wal-Mart’s mandate of
system accuracy, performance and scale in the short
timeframe allotted.
ABI’s report, “RFID:
technology for applications including asset manage-
ment, supply chain management, and point-of-sale. The
study breaks down RFID standards, applications, and
vertical markets, and provides marketplace forecasts
through 2008. Reader shipments and revenue are pro-
vided, as well as data on different RFID transponder
and component markets. In addition, selected RFID
vendors, integrators, developers, and IC manufacturers
EMMICRO [ EM MICROELECTRONIC - MARIN SA ]
