Cainiao Logistics Technology IoT (Internet of Things) products achieve new results again. The electronic tag shipment volume of RFID technology led by Cainiaos has exceeded 100 million pieces, ranking first among logistics companies. The shipment volume reached the above level, less than 2 years since Cainiao announced this technology to the public. Industry insiders believe that the Internet of Things is the key path for the intelligent upgrading of the supply chain. The fact that Cainiao can achieve the above results in a short period of time not only indicates that Cainiao has made more comprehensive technological accumulation, but also reflects the market's recognition of Cainiao RFID products.?

As the third generation identification technology following barcodes and QR codes, RFID is regarded as one of the most promising information technologies of the 21st century. It is commonly used for inventory of goods in the supply chain, warehousing, and full traceability throughout the entire process. Previously, due to limited technological breakthroughs and low accuracy in identification, RFID has not been able to be widely used in practical applications. In April 2021, Cainiao unveiled its RFID technology. At that time, media reports claimed that by optimizing chips, readers, and a complete set of identification algorithms behind them, Cainiao significantly improved the accuracy of RFID recognition, reaching a global leading level. The breakthrough in this key technology makes it possible for RFID to be widely used in commercial applications.

Xu Ming, General Manager of Cainiao Logistics Technology's IoT business, introduced that now, Cainiao RFID has further improved its optimal recognition accuracy to 99.9%. The key to the breakthrough of Cainiao RFID technology lies in the tags and readers. Based on chip development, Cainiao's customized tags greatly improve the sensitivity of RFID identification, especially effectively solving the problem of difficult accuracy improvement in scenarios involving metal and liquid. After making a breakthrough in RFID technology, Cainiao quickly established products and solutions, such as footwear and apparel supply chain solutions, food supply chain solutions, turnover container solutions, etc. Currently, Cainiao RFID technology has been widely applied in industries such as clothing, food, and logistics, and its related capabilities have been validated and recognized by

“The Internet of Things is accelerating its penetration into various industries. The large-scale application of Cainiao RFID technology is expected to greatly promote the digital upgrade of the supply chain and logistics field”, Xu Ming explained, giving the example that clothing brands have thousands of SKUs. Merchants not only have promotional seasons but also face inventory pressure, which provides a natural application scenario for RFID. By deploying RFID solutions, businesses can achieve end-to-end supply chain digitization from auxiliary material factories to warehouses to stores, resulting in significant efficiency improvements and cost reductions, and driving operational and business decision-making supported by data. “In the past, inventorying a clothing store often required employees to spend 2-3 days, but with RFID technology, it only takes a handheld RFID device to quickly inventory the stock in less than half an hour, greatly improving inventory efficiency and reducing error rates”. In addition, consumers can also check out by themselves and enhance their shopping experience through RFID technology.

In addition to improving inventory efficiency and accuracy, RFID technology also effectively improves the level of supply chain management for brand merchants. Previously, due to the large amount of liquid and metal packaging, RFID reading and identification were difficult, and RFID technology was not well promoted in the food industry. Now, with the built-in Cainiao RFID tags in the cartons, it is clear at which stage of the supply chain the goods are, how long they stay, and whether there is any tampering. Brands can make dynamic decisions based on real-time data collection, extraction, and analysis. The full visibility brought by RFID drives business growth.