March Madness - RFID Technology Gains Traction in Dallas/Ft. Worth

Dallas, TX   (March 1, 2004) – March is a frenzy of activity in American    college basketball.  So
too, it seems, for the Dallas/Ft. Worth RFID industry.   Radio frequency identification (RFID)
technology teams across the country are collaborating to create winning solutions for consumers,
retailers and supply chain participants.  Recent RFID adoption rates accelerated, launching the
industry from its formative development stages into early product and service introductions.  And
Dallas/Ft. Worth firms have entered the fray playing key roles in the industry.

If you live in Dallas, you may be using RFID technology.  RFID uses wireless technology to transmit
information from small tags attached to objects in order to automatically identify and track those
objects.  The North Texas Tollway Authority’s vehicle TollTag system and ExxonMobil’s Speedpass
payment system use RFID technology.  These kinds of applications are early adoptions of RFID
technology.  

But a big prize in RFID applications involves the supply chain process - tracking products from the
manufacturer, through distribution, on to retail channels and finally to the consumer.  Supply chain
RFID technology promises optimized inventory, real-time visibility, improved efficiency and
increased control.  Supply chain implementations are coming of age with the advent of the
Electronic Product Code (EPC).  EPC is the next generation of product identification similar to the
UPC (Universal Product Code) or barcodes.   The EPC is standardized information that is written
onto RFID enabled microchips called tags.  Enterprises can electronically track goods by attaching
a RFID tag to those goods.

Mega-retailers like Wal-Mart and Target are applying pressure to consumer packaged goods
manufacturers, declaring EPC initiatives and driving suppliers to begin RFID implementations.   
Retailers drove requirements for barcodes and EDI (electronic data interchange) in the 80’s and
the 90’s.  The EPC standard, enabled by RFID technology, has galvanized the industry and is
driving retail requirements in this decade.

These are daunting changes for existing retail suppliers.  Modification to existing enterprise
systems require process design, systems programming and testing along with enterprise wide
changes in business operations.  These changes are causing upheaval in the industry.  When
large suppliers such as consumer products firms Pepsico/Frito-Lay and Kimberly-Clark get ready
to connect RFID databases and enterprise applications to their multi-vendor corporate systems,
they're going to need help.  Lots of help, to the tune of over $7 billion by 2008 for hardware,
software and integration services according to technology research firm ABI Research.

The Dallas/Ft. Worth area has over twenty RFID technology related firms, almost filling the
alphabet soup from A to Z, with firms from Axcess, Inc. to Xterprise.   Entrepreneurs with RFID
related enterprises are sprouting up like Texas bluebonnets in springtime.  And venture capital
firms scramble to play a part in seeding these firms in the industry’s formative stages.  Southwest
Venture Forum, a Dallas non-profit forum to which entrepreneurs turn to start or build a business,
highlights the RFID activity with its March event titled “RF Identification: Dallas, the New Epicenter”.  

Charles Humphreyson, general partner at HO2 Partners, is one of the speakers at the March
forum.  “RFID exploded onto the technology scene in a big way this past year with Wal-Mart and
other prominent consumer product companies announcing new initiatives to replace bar code
technology with RFID,” said Humphreyson. “The potential for this technology is huge as RFID
promises better inventory control, streamlined supply chain management, and optimized
replenishment, among a host of other benefits.  And unlike any other area in the United States, the
Metroplex already has an established combination of leading RFID firms, like GlobeRanger,
wireless solutions companies, RFID system manufacturers, and technology service providers that
make North Texas the country’s primary center for RFID technology,” he added.

Dallas/Ft. Worth has bloomed into a tremendous RFID laboratory with its confluence of education,
ideas, commerce, capital and supply chain networks.   Dallas is a distribution center for the
southwest United States.  The area is populated with transportation nodes and spokes for air, road
and rail networks.  The DFW and Alliance airports, trucking consolidation depots for over-the-road
NAFTA traffic and Midlothian’s RailPort Business Center have attracted many supply chain and
logistics players to the area.  Dallas is at the center of a triangle for three Wal-Mart RFID test
distribution centers in the north Texas area slated for the firm’s 2005 RFID rollout.  

Hoping to win business from retail suppliers scrambling to meet the RFID implementation
requirements, teams are setting up supply chain labs.  These labs play a role converging lofty
RFID scientific concepts with the stark reality of day-to-day supply chain operations.  One such lab,
the RFID Deployment Center, operates at a warehouse in Hutchins, 13 miles southeast of Dallas.  
Douglas Chaney, president of Distribution Center Logistics has space planned for the RFID test
facility.  “I have a ‘dirty’ environment for RFID; metal racking that can interfere with RFID signals,
forklifts moving around, people doing real warehousing and transportation business – all forces
that effect RFID solutions.” said Chaney.

Scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and a technical workforce - all the
collaborative elements are here.  Dallas/Ft. Worth has a positive business environment with an
educated, technical workforce.  Wireless technology workers are plentiful with the Richardson
Telecom Corridor workforce and employees of long time technology giant Texas Instruments, an
RFID player. The University of Texas at Dallas and Southern Methodist University, local
universities, are part of the mix with RFID initiatives.  Those that keep an eye on Dallas/Ft. Worth
will be wired into RFID and supply chain industry innovation.

The annual March Madness of the NCAA college basketball tournament produces one final
champion.  But RFID will produce many winning teams for RFID technology suppliers, retailers,
supply chain providers and consumers.    Dallas/Ft. Worth appears to be the place for a regional
RFID tournament.  And if the trend continues, it may be the site for RFID championship games.

About the Author:
Mark Johnson, the leader of RFID Tribe, has served in leadership roles as CFO and COO for
software, information technology, consumer electronics, telecommunications and supply chain
businesses at Texas Instruments, Alcatel and Exel.   

About RFID Tribe:
RFID Tribe is a radio frequency identification (RFID) collaboration forum. The group collaborates
on RFID technology, standards, venture capital, legislation, products, solutions, industry trends,
people and events.

CONTACT INFORMATION:
Mark Johnson
RFID Tribe
www.rfidtribe.com

214.808.1352
RFID Tribe News