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.
What lies ahead for RFID technology? According to some of the visionaries who spoke at the September RFID World conference in Boston, all signs point to a bright future. Though they acknowledged that there are still obstacles (like privacy concerns and costs) to overcome, conference speakers agreed that these will fade over time. Privacy concerns, for example, are likely to diminish as consumers learn more about the technology and how they can benefit from it.
As for the long-held perception that RFID is too pricy, especially for small to mid-sized firms, Patrick Sweeney, president of ODIN technologies, noted that the March introduction of Intel's R1000 Gen 2 reader chip should result in a 40- to 60-percent drop in the price of RFID readers over the next six months. Last month, in fact, ThingMagic unveiled its tiny M5e-Compact reader, which uses the Intel chip. The chip integrates multiple components into an integrated RFID circuit and enables digital signal processing and analog data processing on the same tag.
Sweeney predicts that many companies will have more RFID readers than computer servers in the not-too-distant future and that most enterprises will employ more RFID readers than telephones by the year 2027.
Another trend noted by Sweeney is the growing number of wearable RFID devices emerging in the European market. "RFID technology, combined with ergonomics, will become very important in the future," he said.
Sweeney also reported that adoption of the technology has been brisk and that "companies that wait too long will be put in the penalty box."There will be a limited window of opportunity to gain a competitive advantage from the technology, he warned. Sooner or later, there will be massive adoption and companies will no longer be able to look to RFID for a competitive edge.
Also at RFID World, Jeff Schaengold, RFID product manager for Siemens Energy & Automation, told attendees how combining RFID, sensor networks, and packaging advancements will help make the food supply chain safer going forward.
"Intelligent smart packaging will be huge for the food industry," he said. Schaengold predicted that within two years, packaging will be created that will turn a specific color if E. coli or some other contaminant is detected inside the package. Through use of RFID technology, boxes of spoiled lettuce, for example, could be identified by their serial numbers and easily recalled. "The packaging of the future will be interactive," he said. "That authentication and product safety will be a real consumer value."
RFID stars in movie pilot
Shoppers at select retail stores in Minnesota and Oklahoma have a better chance of finding new DVDs in stock than the rest of us do, thanks to an RFID pilot program. Retailers there are in the midst of an eight-week program in which RFID tags are being placed on 12,000 individual DVDs sold at participating stores. About 15 newly released movie titles from 20th Century Fox, Cinram, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Technicolor, and Warner Home Video are involved in the trial. Retailers taking part in the Electronic Product Code (EPC) technology pilot include Wal-Mart and Best Buy.
The RFID-tagged DVDs could provide many benefits to consumers, including improved product availability and faster service. "We've all had the frustrating experience of a store associate telling us that a DVD is in stock, but they can't find it on the shelves," says Chris Adcock, president of GS1 EPCglobal. "EPC can help eliminate that problem."
When the trial ends this month, the participants hope to have gained enough information to move toward a larger-scale deployment of itemlevel RFID tags on DVDs and other items.
Editor's note: To learn more about how RFID is securing the supply chain for DVDs and other electronic products, see the feature story on page 36.
Supply chain planning (SCP) leaders working on transformation efforts are focused on two major high-impact technology trends, including composite AI and supply chain data governance, according to a study from Gartner, Inc.
"SCP leaders are in the process of developing transformation roadmaps that will prioritize delivering on advanced decision intelligence and automated decision making," Eva Dawkins, Director Analyst in Gartner’s Supply Chain practice, said in a release. "Composite AI, which is the combined application of different AI techniques to improve learning efficiency, will drive the optimization and automation of many planning activities at scale, while supply chain data governance is the foundational key for digital transformation.”
Their pursuit of those roadmaps is often complicated by frequent disruptions and the rapid pace of technological innovation. But Gartner says those leaders can accelerate the realized value of technology investments by facilitating a shift from IT-led to business-led digital leadership, with SCP leaders taking ownership of multidisciplinary teams to advance business operations, channels and products.
“A sound data governance strategy supports advanced technologies, such as composite AI, while also facilitating collaboration throughout the supply chain technology ecosystem,” said Dawkins. “Without attention to data governance, SCP leaders will likely struggle to achieve their expected ROI on key technology investments.”
The U.S. manufacturing sector has become an engine of new job creation over the past four years, thanks to a combination of federal incentives and mega-trends like nearshoring and the clean energy boom, according to the industrial real estate firm Savills.
While those manufacturing announcements have softened slightly from their 2022 high point, they remain historically elevated. And the sector’s growth outlook remains strong, regardless of the results of the November U.S. presidential election, the company said in its September “Savills Manufacturing Report.”
From 2021 to 2024, over 995,000 new U.S. manufacturing jobs were announced, with two thirds in advanced sectors like electric vehicles (EVs) and batteries, semiconductors, clean energy, and biomanufacturing. After peaking at 350,000 news jobs in 2022, the growth pace has slowed, with 2024 expected to see just over half that number.
But the ingredients are in place to sustain the hot temperature of American manufacturing expansion in 2025 and beyond, the company said. According to Savills, that’s because the U.S. manufacturing revival is fueled by $910 billion in federal incentives—including the Inflation Reduction Act, CHIPS and Science Act, and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act—much of which has not yet been spent. Domestic production is also expected to be boosted by new tariffs, including a planned rise in semiconductor tariffs to 50% in 2025 and an increase in tariffs on Chinese EVs from 25% to 100%.
Certain geographical regions will see greater manufacturing growth than others, since just eight states account for 47% of new manufacturing jobs and over 6.3 billion square feet of industrial space, with 197 million more square feet under development. They are: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Ohio, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, and Tennessee.
Across the border, Mexico’s manufacturing sector has also seen “revolutionary” growth driven by nearshoring strategies targeting U.S. markets and offering lower-cost labor, with a workforce that is now even cheaper than in China. Over the past four years, that country has launched 27 new plants, each creating over 500 jobs. Unlike the U.S. focus on tech manufacturing, Mexico focuses on traditional sectors such as automative parts, appliances, and consumer goods.
Looking at the future, the U.S. manufacturing sector’s growth outlook remains strong, regardless of the results of November’s presidential election, Savills said. That’s because both candidates favor protectionist trade policies, and since significant change to federal incentives would require a single party to control both the legislative and executive branches. Rather than relying on changes in political leadership, future growth of U.S. manufacturing now hinges on finding affordable, reliable power amid increasing competition between manufacturing sites and data centers, Savills said.
The British logistics robot vendor Dexory this week said it has raised $80 million in venture funding to support an expansion of its artificial intelligence (AI) powered features, grow its global team, and accelerate the deployment of its autonomous robots.
A “significant focus” continues to be on expanding across the U.S. market, where Dexory is live with customers in seven states and last month opened a U.S. headquarters in Nashville. The Series B will also enhance development and production facilities at its UK headquarters, the firm said.
The “series B” funding round was led by DTCP, with participation from Latitude Ventures, Wave-X and Bootstrap Europe, along with existing investors Atomico, Lakestar, Capnamic, and several angels from the logistics industry. With the close of the round, Dexory has now raised $120 million over the past three years.
Dexory says its product, DexoryView, provides real-time visibility across warehouses of any size through its autonomous mobile robots and AI. The rolling bots use sensor and image data and continuous data collection to perform rapid warehouse scans and create digital twins of warehouse spaces, allowing for optimized performance and future scenario simulations.
Originally announced in September, the move will allow Deutsche Bahn to “fully focus on restructuring the rail infrastructure in Germany and providing climate-friendly passenger and freight transport operations in Germany and Europe,” Werner Gatzer, Chairman of the DB Supervisory Board, said in a release.
For its purchase price, DSV gains an organization with around 72,700 employees at over 1,850 locations. The new owner says it plans to investment around one billion euros in coming years to promote additional growth in German operations. Together, DSV and Schenker will have a combined workforce of approximately 147,000 employees in more than 90 countries, earning pro forma revenue of approximately $43.3 billion (based on 2023 numbers), DSV said.
After removing that unit, Deutsche Bahn retains its core business called the “Systemverbund Bahn,” which includes passenger transport activities in Germany, rail freight activities, operational service units, and railroad infrastructure companies. The DB Group, headquartered in Berlin, employs around 340,000 people.
“We have set clear goals to structurally modernize Deutsche Bahn in the areas of infrastructure, operations and profitability and focus on the core business. The proceeds from the sale will significantly reduce DB’s debt and thus make an important contribution to the financial stability of the DB Group. At the same time, DB Schenker will gain a strong strategic owner in DSV,” Deutsche Bahn CEO Richard Lutz said in a release.
Transportation industry veteran Anne Reinke will become president & CEO of trade group the Intermodal Association of North America (IANA) at the end of the year, stepping into the position from her previous post leading third party logistics (3PL) trade group the Transportation Intermediaries Association (TIA), both organizations said today.
Meanwhile, TIA today announced that insider Christopher Burroughs would fill Reinke’s shoes as president & CEO. Burroughs has been with TIA for 13 years, most recently as its vice president of Government Affairs for the past six years, during which time he oversaw all legislative and regulatory efforts before Congress and the federal agencies.
Before her four years leading TIA, Reinke spent two years as Deputy Assistant Secretary with the U.S. Department of Transportation and 16 years with CSX Corporation.