“Mr. Steickert, let’s be honest, has there been any digital awakening at all this year?”

Tino Steickert,
Geschäftsführer RFID Konsortium

Yes, it’s true. The mood is not exhilarating. But we can see that there is still a need for projects. Even if the implementation of one project or another is postponed, evaluations are always taking place. Inquiries have been picking up again since November. Especially when it comes to container tracking. This is about accuracy for planning and transparency – people want to know how many containers are available for production. Above all, you don’t always want to have to buy more. The containers should also be returned automatically by suppliers and customers. The same applies to internal plant traffic. We can see that many companies are continuing to push ahead with digitalization internally.

We successfully completed an important project in the pharmaceutical industry this year. The customer is planning new research buildings. As soon as these are completed, the project will enter the next phase. We will then also introduce our RFID installations there. The pharmaceutical company wants to push ahead with its digitalization strategy and also use our RF KonSys Track& Trace module in these new research laboratories.

Things are also continuing with another customer from the event services sector. We are also receiving inquiries from companies in the lighting and sound technology sector. This is also a classic case of warehouse and order management, picking, delivery and returns. Track & Trace is also the big overarching topic in the event sector. What has been delivered to the event location should of course also come back. Losses and extra transportation must be minimized. Many customers are concerned with the complete mapping of their cycle.

Logistics is often a problem in all sectors. Many companies use traditional barcodes. In practice, however, pallets and cartons are often moved from a warehouse staging lane for reasons of space. The result is incorrect provisioning and misallocation. The wrong goods end up on the truck. The track of the goods, which were originally booked to a different staging zone, is lost. RTLS as a tracking technology can help here. Pallets, cartons or load carriers can be quickly localized in real time with RTLS, i.e. found without any search effort. Many decision-makers want to minimize search times and losses. After all, the few personnel should be deployed for actual work.

Lack of transparency is always the big issue. If someone takes the box away, then it’s gone. It’s time-consuming and labor-intensive to find things that have been produced. Where are the goods in the production hall? And where are they in logistics? A lot of time and manpower goes into this. Companies don’t have either. Especially in view of the shortage of skilled workers, many see the need to digitize processes. This would help to complete tasks quickly with the manpower that is available.
This lack of transparency is sometimes so extreme that things that are not found have to be reproduced. This means superfluous additional costs and also higher transportation costs, which have risen anyway. All of this is at the expense of the margin. If you talk to the production or logistics management, this is where the shoe pinches the most.

Yes, we can see that decision-makers are taking a wait-and-see approach. But we can still carry out an evaluation in the sense of a feasibility analysis or, as we say, a proof of concept. The willingness to invest in complete systems from the outset has changed. Customers now want figures that prove that the investment will be worthwhile. The ROI analysis at the beginning is therefore more important than ever. On the one hand, you want to be sure that the solution will bring the desired success, e.g. to compensate for staff shortages, and on the other hand that it will pay for itself quickly. We also offer the proof of concept because it is not a barrier to entry. It is risk-free.

Another very quick and cost-effective way to get started is our “Slap and Chip” solution. This is the fastest changeover from barcode to RFID in just 3 steps: 1. barcode is scanned, 2. RFID label is printed, 3. RFID label is affixed. The label can be applied manually or using an applicator. The stored coding is unique. All other manual processes are then eliminated and RFID labeling allows you to work immediately via various RFID read points. We also offer a mobile RF KonSys Gate for customers who want to get started quickly. It has the advantage that it can be moved to different loading gates and used flexibly.

We plan to further standardize our modules. We are also focusing on the further development of our Machine Learning Gate, which we will be presenting at LogiMAT 2025. We are planning to further expand the data models. The advantage for the customer: There is no longer any effort involved in measuring items. We also want to play a pioneering role here with the AI gate solution.
Then we have an exciting project inquiry from the USA. We have noticed that there has been a real boom in RFID technology in America in particular. We are following this with excitement and are pleased that we are also being asked to contribute our expertise to international projects.

Positive. We are looking ahead. The demand is there. The inquiries are there. We are involved in interesting tenders. Thanks to our partner network and word-of-mouth recommendations, we were able to buck the trend in 2024 and even exceed our targets. We have just expanded our premises and plan to do the same in terms of personnel. We are confident that the reluctance to invest will disappear over the course of next year. We are looking to the new year with confidence.