Long abstract

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Radio frequency identification (RFID) is a technology which is already in widespread use in a few applications (contactless travel passes, toll road payment, entry badges) but the range of potential applications is increasing rapidly. Besides new applications along the supply chains of companies, the public sector recently also intensively deals with RFID, e.g. for museum items or e-passes. This rapidly widening range of potential applications has captured the attention of the media, governments, companies and the general public.

After the initial RFID hype, evaluation of the technological applications has been more mixed. On the one hand, there are early adopters of RFID who have already integrated the technology, some of them for years, with generally positive results. The main competitive advantages have been important time and cost savings along the supply chain due to improved tracking and tracing capabilities as well as an increased level of transparency and security. On the other hand, there are a significant number of critical reports, too, and a significant number of companies are reluctant to adopt the technology. They argue that cost savings are difficult to assess, that there are still significant technological challenges and that standardisation remains an issue to be resolved. Overall, the RFID landscape is marked by a high level of uncertainty. Existing studies on the implementation of RFID technology either assess related benefits and challenges on an aggregated level or focus on one sector or even one specific application. Few studies compare the use of RFID technology in different sectors.

This study aims to answer the following questions:
• What is RFID? What are the elements and varieties of RFID systems?
• Why are companies in different industry sectors investing in RFID technology?
• How do industry sectors differ in the implementation and the use of RFID?
• What is the potential of RFID in the future?

It draws on in-depth interviews with early adopters of RFID technology, academics and research institutes as well as consulting companies. The sample is based on leading companies in Germany which are early adopters of RFID technology and that are undertaking pilot or implementation projects. To compare different sectors, companies were selected from a broad range of industries.