- OYSTER BAY, N.Y. (BUSINESS
WIRE) -- Most of the public attention given to RFID has focused on the
retail supply chain, especially Wal-Mart's 2005 mandate to its top 100
suppliers. But the U.S. Department of Defense is also mandating its use
in 2005 -- not to merely 100, but to all of its 43,000+ suppliers. Add
to that the needs of the aerospace industry, particularly the two giant
aircraft makers, Boeing and Airbus, and the shape of a massive vertical
RFID market emerges.
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- A new study from ABI Research, "The RFID Aerospace
and Defense Market," details how, when, where and who will be implicated
by the RFID agendas and mandates within that market.
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- According to Erik Michielsen, ABI Research's director
of RFID and ubiquitous networks, Boeing and Airbus -- which use many of
the same components -- are working with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration
to formalize UHF RFID certification for systems to track aircraft parts.
The hoped-for improvement in ROI is of vital importance to an industry
that has been hard-hit by recent economic conditions. Safer planes and
fewer procurement overlaps are added incentives.
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- "The airline industry is obviously profit-based,"
he says. "They want efficient manufacturing, supply chain and asset
tracking systems to create economical business models. With the DOD, RFID
is not about business models: it's about improving military operations
efficiency in acquiring materiel from suppliers and making sure it gets
to units in the field. These are massive, aggressive and very complex initiatives
that will be major factors driving RFID's adoption."
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- The first beneficiaries are the RFID suppliers who have
been granted "Blanket Purchase Agreement" awards, certifying
that their systems meet the DOD's requirements. The first five companies
in this favored position are UHF EPC Class 1 transponder suppliers Alien
Technologies, Avery Dennison, CDO Technologies, Lowry Computer Products
and Intermec. Other BPA awards are expected soon.
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