RFID anti-counterfeiting application

RFID technology can effectively solve the increasingly rampant product anti-counterfeiting phenomenon. In RFID anti-counterfeiting applications, clothing is commonly used for anti-counterfeiting. Apparel manufacturers put their own unique RFID tags and clothing in a carton, each with its own unique ID code.

RFID technology can effectively solve the increasingly rampant product anti-counterfeiting phenomenon

It is estimated that the annual market affected by counterfeit products in the world reaches 300 billion US dollars, which is quite amazing, accounting for 10% of the world's total trade. While counterfeit products are flooding the market, they also cause a lot of work to be lost. The EU estimates that 100,000 people have lost their jobs because of counterfeit products. Needless to say, the anti-inferior products of some special products, such as aircraft parts and medicines, directly threaten people's lives.

The annual market affected by counterfeit products in the world reaches 300 billion US dollars, which is 10% of the total world trade.

One of the main advantages of RFID technology for manufacturers is that they can be integrated directly into existing products, machines or equipment without major changes to current production equipment. The RFID tag itself has read and write capabilities, can be written to the manufacturer's unique encrypted code, and easily integrated into a variety of goods.

An important factor in the ability of RFID systems to be used in business is that the same type of label can be applied to different products, as this can lead to an increase in the scale of production of the label, which ultimately reduces the price of the label to an acceptable level. For some valuable items, however, the size of the label is far more important than the price of the label.

In general, UHF tags are larger than UF tags. For small, expensive items, a slightly larger label is likely to affect the appearance of the item, as in this case the label is required to be as small as possible and does not pose a problem to the user. From the point of view of tag storage data, read-only tags are generally one-time programmable, low-cost, but must have a backup database for efficient tracking.

The tag data that can be read and written multiple times is relatively large, and generally can store all product information without the support of the backup database. This type of tag is more expensive and larger in size than a one-time programmable tag.

For manufacturers, the least they want to see is that the reading of RFID data delays the speed of production. UHF tags have a long read range and are generally suitable for use on boxes or pallets; HF has a short reading distance and is suitable for fixed locations such as shelves.

Another factor to consider when using RFID tags is the material of the goods. This is especially true for products that are often in contact with water during use, or where the label is metal. In the former case, the label must be waterproof and HF-based; since the longer wavelengths of the HF system are not easily smothered, high-frequency RF signals are more likely to penetrate water or other liquids. HF labels have been tested on textiles and clothing for many years and have been shown to resist large changes in liquid, pressure and temperature range.

When the label is attached to a metal surface, it also affects the RFID system. The RF signal cannot pass through the metal, so when the metal material is close to the HF antenna or the UHF tag and the reader, the read/write distance of the RFID system is greatly affected. Another adverse effect is absorption: metals can absorb RF signals, which also affect HF and UHF tags to varying degrees.

The read and write distance of the HF tag is relatively short. UHF tags have a long read and write distance when they are far enough away from the metal surface; however, if the tag is too far away from the metal surface, its abrupt portion will affect the usability of the tag, so the ideal height is 5mm.

In RFID anti-counterfeiting applications, clothing is commonly used for anti-counterfeiting.

Apparel manufacturers put their own unique RFID read and write tags in the carton at the same time, each carton has its own unique ID code. When the production is completed to the delivery process, each carton passes through an RFID tag reader, and all carton information is read and transmitted to the PC. The PC software system compares the actual information read with the planned shipping item of the carton to determine whether the release is made. At the same time, if the carton is released, the ID number of the carton will be written to the memory of each tag and locked. .

The manufacturer can also write corresponding information to other data blocks of the tag through the handheld RFID device during the QA check and other stages. In this way, the entire transportation process from the production to the distribution center to the retail can be recorded.

RFID technology helps to counterfeit products in the wine industry

The famous American writer Robert Louis Stevenson once compared wine to "bottled verses". Today, as wine producers and distributors gradually turn their attention to radio frequency identification (RFID), this In addition to romance, the magical liquid seems to add a bit of "wisdom." In addition, wine manufacturers are constantly looking for new ways to promote their products. In the colorful packaging marketing, RFID will gradually become the new darling. While implementing the tracking function, it will also help to improve the product safety of the consumer supply chain, and for the long-term RFID is also beneficial to the problem of counterfeiting products in the wine industry.

Recently, Americans have increased their enthusiasm for wine. The number of people who drink at least one glass a week has increased from 19.2 million in 2000 to 25.4 million in 2003. According to Entrepreneur magazine, this growth trend will continue to be maintained. In addition to the wealthier and older Baby Boomers, young people in the thousands of ages, who are in their 20s, have shown great interest. As a result, the US wine industry has grown rapidly, wine sales have risen steadily, retail sales have increased by 2.8 percentage points, and restaurant bar sales have increased by 8.1 percentage points. The wine market this year is expected to reach $21.6 billion. According to data from the California Wine Association, California wine production will still dominate the US market. There are more than 3,000 wineries in the United States, and there are more than 800 in California alone.

RFID requirements for wine manufacturers and retailers

Although the wines of supermarkets and specialty stores come from many different factories, the trend in the US market has become more and more centralized in recent years, because the cost of land and operations has skyrocketed, competition has become more intense, and breweries have been merging to form economies of scale. There are also some wineries that have been acquired by other big brands such as Constellation Brands, Diageo and Chalone Wine Group. EJ Gallo is the leading American wine producer and the second largest wine group in the world. With its huge sales volume, Gallo has also been included in Wal-Mart's second list of leading suppliers that must complete the ban, with RFID tags on pallets and boxes shipped to Wal-Mart before January 2006.

According to AMR Research's report, consumer goods companies spend about $25 million to complete Wal-Mart's requirements. But the difficulties and circumstances faced by winemakers are more complex than any other consumer goods company, because American wine sellers must use local distributors in order to comply with national laws. To meet Wal-Mart's requirements, wine manufacturers can't just develop their own internal RFID systems, they must work with their distribution partners to complete the requirements. In practice, company wines like Gallo have to rely on supply chain partners to ensure that manufacturers meet the requirements. On the other hand, if distributors use RFID tags, they can add value-added services to major manufacturers at least in the short term.

As retailers demand more, more wine companies need to use RFID tags on at least pallets and containers. For the wine industry, it is necessary to consider not only the requirements but also the potential benefits brought by RFID for the internal and external products, and to improve the tracking and monitoring of the production process and finished products. The brewery not only wants to improve internal management operations by using RFID tags on finished pallets and containers, but also wants to use RFID tags on wooden barrels in the production process. In the UK, Trenstar and ScotTIsh Courage Brewing show how to use RFID tags to better track the barrels. Their application shows that the installation of RFID antennas on containers by using special materials and the selection of suitable locations will greatly increase the read rate of liquid targets. Wine manufacturers can also use sensor technology RFID tags to monitor changes in the ambient temperature of the barrels that can affect the quality of the wine.

The labeling application of water products in wine products seems to be more intense than the market demand for any other food and beverage. Jonathan Byrnes of Harvard Business School believes that the cost-benefit ratio of using RFID on low-value department stores is too high. However, for beverages, the return on investment using RFID is much higher, because the price of the label is much higher than that of other department stores.

The market structure of the US wine industry also demonstrates the importance of using RFID tags on wine bottles. If $7 per bottle is used as the tipping point for high-priced and low-priced wines, then low-priced wines account for 70% of sales, while winemakers' 62% of profits come from high-priced wines. Therefore, wine manufacturers consider the use of labels in high-priced products in terms of higher safety, better control and market value.