RFID has long been touted as the future of logistics for all companies by allowing retailers and suppliers to track goods throughout the supply chain. However high prices for tags and systems has held enthusiasm at bay. Privacy concerns have also limited its use at the consumer level.
The debate will be launched by the European Commission this week in the form of a panel debate at the CeBIT conference, held this year from 9-15 March in Hannover, Germany.
The Commission will follow the launch with a series of workshops over the next couple of months. An online public consultation will also be part of the debate leading up to a final policy communication from the Commission.
"The aim is to take a visionary approach, sketching out possible future scenarios from the perspective of the industry, the provider, the end-user and the consumer," the Commission stated.
Current trends and forecasts indicate that the RFID market will grow fast over the next ten years, the European Commission stated
Cumulative sales of RFID tags have totalled €2.4 billion over the past 60 years, with 600 million tags being sold in 2005 alone. The value of the market, including hardware, systems and services, is expected to multiply by ten between 2006 and 2016, the European Commission stated.
The Commission's consultation will focus on the use RFID in such areas as transport and logistics, access control, real time location, supply chain management, manufacturing and processing, agriculture, medicine and pharmaceuticals.
"However, the more intensive and extensive use of RFID also raises questions in the areas of privacy, security, technological reliability and international compatibility," the Commission stated. "One key challenge for decision-makers is to devise a common vision and set of goals of how RFID can keep Europe more innovative and competitive in the world economy while at the same time giving citizens the tools and choices they need to ensure privacy and security."
More and more retailers are pushing their suppliers to use RFID as a means of tracking products more efficiently through the supply chain. Last year Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, announced it would require its top suppliers to implement RFID. In Germany, Metro has an ambitious programme to use RFID for all products to the point of sale.
RFID uses a wireless system that helps enterprises track products, parts, expensive items and temperature-and time-sensitive goods. Transponders, or RFID tags, are attached to objects. The tag will identify itself when it detects a signal from a reader that emits a radio frequency transmission.
Each RFID tag carries information on it such as a serial number, model number, colour, place of assembly or other types of data. When these tags pass through a field generated by a compatible reader, they transmit this information back to the reader, thereby identifying the object.