NFC tags would play vital role in supply chain management applications and large amount of tags would be produced in the future in a low cost manner.
Near field communication (NFC) is a short range communication between two compatible devices. One of the device is transmitter and other is receiver. NFC enabled devices are classified into passive and active devices. Passive devices, such as tags and transmitter can only send information without having their own power source. On the other hand, active devices, such as smartphones, can send & receive data and communicate with other devices.
Scope, a Project for NFC Enabled Packaging:
Scope, a three-year project has been led by the Centre for Process Innovation (CPI) to increase adoption of packaging integrated with near-field communication (NFC)-based technology. Scope is a £10m project co-funded by the Advanced Manufacturing Supply Chain Initiative and various market players. The consortium consists of 14 partners, such as Unilever, Crown Packaging, Hasbro, Andrews & Wykeham, Mercian Labels, and others, across the UK’s packaging supply chain.
NFC is a technology consisting of NFC chip that is embedded onto product packaging and then activated using an NFC reader or a smartphone. Data is interchanged between two devices when they are held close to each other. NFC tags are made for convenience and sharing information without any discrepancies. In the future, NFC tags would play vital role in supply chain management applications and large amount of tags would be produced in a low cost manner.
Mike Clausen, CPI programme manager said, “So far, the consortium has made excellent progress and has worked closely to produce a range of NFC product concepts that integrate logic circuits produced on flexible substrates. Going forward the next steps are to upscale the manufacturing process to ensure that these novel NFC applications are produced at the cost and speeds that industry demands. To do this, we are currently developing the capability to scale up these production processes to produce market trial samples of up to 50,000-100,000 tags.”
Applications of Printed NFC Tags:
- To provide product differentiation on fast moving consumer goods.
- Tracking or indicating the authenticity of a product in logistics.
- Anti-tampering controls.
- Printing industry
Commercial Applications of NFC:
- Contactless Payment Cards
- Vending machines
- Information sharing
Analysts studying the market have presented a thorough information about changing market dynamics and how market would shape in the future. Allied Market Research has published a report titled, “World Near Field Communication Market - Opportunities and Forecasts, 2014 - 2020.” As per the report, the world near field communication market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 40.4% from 2015 to 2020 and would reach $24 billion by 2020. The report offers an extensive analysis of drivers & opportunities, dominant segments, and competitive intelligence. Furthermore, the research provides SWOT analysis, key market players, value chain analysis, and estimations through 2014 to 2020 for each segment of the industry.
