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RFID adoption modest, but growth is on the way

According to the survey "RFID: How Far, How Fast?" sponsored by NCR Corp. and conducted by Retail Systems Alert Group, the adoption rate of RFID is moving at a modest pace. However, there is reason to believe growth may be on the way.

May 24, 2006

CHICAGO - According to the survey "RFID: How Far, How Fast?"sponsored by NCR Corp. and conducted by Retail Systems Alert Group, the adoption rate of RFID is moving at a modest pace. Many challenges, both technical and cultural, continue to impede the growth of RFID. However, there is reason to believe growth may be on the way.

Highlights of the survey include:

• Retailers are lagging far behind manufacturers in adopting RFID. Only 9 percent of retailers who responded to the survey have an RFID-implementation timeline, and the majority of retailers who responded positively estimated their organization's overall revenue to increase to $5 billion or more.
• 44 percent of manufacturers have developed a timeline. Although fewer retailers reported a timeline for implementation, those retailers that have a timeline reported that they are spending more than in 2005, according to survey results.
• Manufacturers are focusing their attention on one to 50 product lines, rather than across a broader range of product lines as was reported in the 2005 survey results.
• Among those companies that have a timeline for RFID adoption, most respondents (both retailers and manufacturers) report that they have pilot distribution centers up and running.

According to the survey, although there still may be several challenges that are on the horizon in the adoption of RFID, the outlook is cautiously positive. The awareness level of RFID among C-level executives, directors and managers has significantly improved. In addition, many respondents are aware of the benefits their companies can expect within the first five years of RFID implementation.

The release of the survey, 3rd Annual Benchmark Study "RFID: How Far, How Fast?" was part of the 3rd Annual Retail RFID Technology Symposium, a full day pre-show held at Retail Systems 2006 which addressed underlying RFID trends. The results were presented by Dan Bogan, vice president of NCR's Retail Solutions Division.