We use cookies to provide you with a better experience. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy.
  • INDUSTRY PRESS ROOM
  • ABOUT
  • CONTACT
  • MEDIA FILE
  • Create Account
  • Sign In
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Free Newsletters
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • MATERIAL HANDLING
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • LIFT TRUCKS
  • PODCAST ETC
    • Podcast
    • Webcasts
    • Blogs
      • One-Off Sound Off
      • Global Logistics and Risk
      • Empowering Your Performance Edge
      • Analytics & Big Data
      • Submit your blog post
    • Events
    • White Papers
    • Industry Press Room
      • Upload Your News
    • New Products
      • Upload Your Product News
    • Conference Guides
    • Conference Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • DCV-TV
    • DCV-TV 1: News
    • DCV-TV 2: Case Studies
    • DCV-TV 3: Webcasts
    • DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    • DCV-TV 5: Solution Profiles
    • Parcel Forum 2022
    • MODEX 2022
    • Upload Your Video
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • MATERIAL HANDLING
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • LIFT TRUCKS
  • PODCAST ETC
    • Podcast
    • Webcasts
    • Blogs
      • One-Off Sound Off
      • Global Logistics and Risk
      • Empowering Your Performance Edge
      • Analytics & Big Data
      • Submit your blog post
    • Events
    • White Papers
    • Industry Press Room
      • Upload Your News
    • New Products
      • Upload Your Product News
    • Conference Guides
    • Conference Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • DCV-TV
    • DCV-TV 1: News
    • DCV-TV 2: Case Studies
    • DCV-TV 3: Webcasts
    • DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    • DCV-TV 5: Solution Profiles
    • Parcel Forum 2022
    • MODEX 2022
    • Upload Your Video
Home » Alien invades Asia
rfidwatch

Alien invades Asia

February 1, 2007
John R. Johnson
No Comments

Asia is becoming a hotbed of RFID use, and Alien Technology is jumping into the market. The RFID hardware and tag supplier is investing up to $10 million to form Alien Technology Asia, a new venture it will use to boost its Asian distribution, marketing, R&D and manufacturing capabilities.

"The advanced stage of the Korean RFID market coupled with the technology capability, leadership and vision demonstrated in adoption of RFID in Korea make the country an ideal location for the headquarters of Alien's business operations in Asia," says Robert Eulau, chief financial officer of Alien. "We look forward to further engagement with the leaders of the RFID industry in Korea to address the growing opportunities for RFID business across Asia."

Alien began offering its Alien RFID Academy training courses in the Korean market in January in SongDo Incheon City, Korea. The Alien RFID Academy has graduated more than 1,800 people from around the world, representing over 600 commercial and governmental organizations.

According to ABI Research, the South Korean market alone represents a significant opportunity for RFID, with the total South Korean RFID hardware spend expected to reach more than $100 million this year. Supply chain management-related applications should account for approximately 10 to 15 percent of that total, according to Michael Liard, research director for RFID & Contactless at ABI Research.

RFID tag and reader provider Impinj is also investing in the region, partnering with Korean hardware integrator LS Industrial Systems to deliver high-performance RFID solutions in Korea. Responding to significant demand from the Korean manufacturing sector for RFID-enabled logistics and distribution capability, LS Industrial Systems will build and distribute a comprehensive RFID solution incorporating Impinj's Speedway reader platform and Monza Gen 2 chips. The solution, scheduled to be commercially available this month, targets Korean product distributors, manufacturing companies and government entities requiring RFID technology to improve factory automation and supply chain efficiency.

"Our goal is to quickly become the premier provider of high-performance RFID solutions in Korea," says Ju Hwan Jung, director of the RFID business division at LS Industrial Systems.

Sales of RFID tags in Asia are likely to get a boost from several national governments, according to research firm Research & Markets. The governments of China, South Korea and Japan are aggressively promoting the technology throughout society by forming RFID information centers and hosting conferences and summits to help companies and the public better understand the latest developments in RFID technology and its applications. Some of those promotional groups include the RFID China Alliance, the South Korean Ubiquitous Sensor Networks (USN), and Hibiki, a consortium founded by the Japanese government to develop low-cost RFID tags.

China has also started to move ahead with the development of an RFID standard and is poised to become the largest market in the world for RFID tag applications, especially as more and more manufacturers recognize the efficiencies to be gained from attaching RFID tags to products at the point of manufacture.

iGPS develops a palate for tags

Plastic pallet pooling startup Intelligent Global Pooling Systems (iGPS) isn't even a year old yet, but it has already become a major RFID tag customer. Last month, the company placed an order for just under five million passive Gen 2 RFID tags to be used on its plastic pallets. Avery Dennison will supply about three million of the inlays, while the remainder will come from Alien Technology. The company is paying approximately 23 cents per tag.

iGPS is the only large-scale pallet supply service to put RFID tags on every pallet to track shipments in real time, which reduces shipping costs and allows companies to verify food and drug safety, as well as to address security issues. To assure 100 percent readability, the company places not one, but four RFID tags on each pallet—one in each corner.

The company currently has an inventory of just 100,000 pallets, but its manufacturing partner will start production of 200,000 pallets a month in March. iGPS CEO Bob Moore, who founded the company last March, hopes that production can be increased to 400,000 pallets per month, which would make iGPS one of the largest users of RFID tags, consuming at least 1.6 million tags per month.

Automatic Data Capture RFID Global Logistics
  • Related Articles

    Alien IPO a no-go; is a sale next?

    Dachser expands charter program between Europe and Asia

    JAXPORT now offers fastest, freshest grapefruit transit to Asia

John Johnson joined the DC Velocity team in March 2004. A veteran business journalist, John has over a dozen years of experience covering the supply chain field, including time as chief editor of Warehousing Management. In addition, he has covered the venture capital community and previously was a sports reporter covering professional and collegiate sports in the Boston area. John served as senior editor and chief editor of DC Velocity until April 2008.

Recent Articles by John Johnson

supply chain 2010 ... are you ready?

RFID: ready to roll

earning its stripes

You must login or register in order to post a comment.

Report Abusive Comment

Most Popular Articles

  • Schneider welcomes first battery-electric truck

  • Fred Smith is not worried about Amazon

  • RJW LOGISTICS GROUP EXPANDS RETAIL LOGISTICS OPERATION TO DALLAS

  • Maersk deploys indoor drones for warehouse inventory counts

  • Outlook 2023: What’s in store for logistics/supply chain?

Now Playing on DCV-TV

5afe63a5 7125 4318 b851 1e5738df1c91

Patterson Fan Co. | HVLS V-Series Ceiling Fan | Staging Area Air Movement

DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
The Patterson V-Series is a high-volume, low-speed industrial ceiling fan that is designed to circulate a lot of air at a very low speed. These fans, ranging in diameters of 8’ all the way to 24’, are perfect for large, open spaces such as staging and shipping areas. One 24’ fan can generate a cooling effect of 6 –...

FEATURED WHITE PAPERS

  • The five best applications for robotic lift trucks in warehouse environments

  • Fulfillment Facility Improved Efficiencies by 4x

  • 3PLs: Complete Orders Faster with Flexible Automation

  • Reusable Packaging for the New Wave of Supply Chain Automation

View More

Subscribe to DC Velocity Magazine

GET YOUR FREE SUBSCRIPTION
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • NEWSLETTERS
  • ADVERTISING
  • CUSTOMER CARE
  • CONTACT
  • ABOUT
  • STAFF
  • PRIVACY POLICY

Copyright ©2023. All Rights ReservedDesign, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing