What would it be like if a product had its own “digital ID card”? Based on radio frequency identification capability, RFID can accurately perform digital collection, achieve real-time transmission and traceability of inventory data. Not only can it significantly reduce labor costs and improve operational efficiency, but it can also play a role in environmental recycling. Nowadays, this imported product is expanding its application from the field of clothing to multiple industries such as food and logistics, and turning foreign experience into its own use. The process of combining new technology with the industry requires time for verification, as well as patience and an open mindset from practitioners. The duration of collaboration for new technologies is usually calculated in years. Testing, launching, adjusting, and accompanying, and finally the brand owner achieves smooth operation of the RFID technology system, which is almost a digital reengineering project.

If the inside of the box is equipped with an RFID tag, a piece of food will have “nowhere to hide” no matter where it goes. The batch, production time, expiration date, factory time, as well as the trajectory from storage to delivery, including the distribution warehouses across the country, can all be tracked, and the data can be captured in real time. The visualization of the entire supply chain enables merchants to accurately understand the production and circulation status of the entire goods, and the inventory of each link is clear at a glance.

RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) is not a new thing. It is a non-contact automatic identification technology that uses wireless radio frequency to perform non-contact bidirectional data transmission between the reader and the radio frequency card in order to achieve the goal of identification and data exchange, which is generally used for inventory of goods in the supply chain, handover of goods in and out of storage, and full-chain traceability.?

“Using RFID technology can effectively reduce costs and improve efficiency”. Xu Ming, General Manager of Cainiao Logistics Technology IoT Business, witnessed the profound changes that RFID has brought to the industry. He gave an example, saying that in the past, it was necessary to manually scan barcodes, but RFID can perform batch scanning. For example, about 80 people are needed to scan and ship on the platform, and using this technology can reduce labor costs by half.?

Customers can also use a small inventory reader to conduct real-time inventory checks on distributors. Xu Ming said that in the past, businesses needed to send 2-3 inspectors to spend two or three days to thoroughly check the goods of distributors and understand whether there was any smuggling behavior. But now, with just one person holding a reader and walking in the distribution warehouse for 10 minutes, it is possible to obtain inventory data with an accuracy of over 90%, avoiding manual data sorting errors or fraudulent behavior.

Improve express delivery recognition rate

RFID can help enterprises automate and refine supply chain management, which makes Xu Ming and his team more ambitious. This means that if RFID can move out of the clothing field and be used in more extensive industries such as logistics and food, it will have considerable commercial prospects.

Taking the most familiar express delivery service for consumers as an example, thanks to the barcode on the electronic waybill, consumers can see a clear package tracking trajectory from the origin to the destination on the e-commerce platform. If RFID technology can be used instead of barcodes, it can not only effectively reduce labor costs, but also greatly improve the authenticity of data and the efficiency of collection.?

Currently, Cainiao is piloting the use of RFID tags on packages for express delivery. Compared to the 99.9% recognition rate in the clothing industry, the average recognition rate of RFID in the express delivery industry is about 70% to 80% due to the variety of items in the express packages. To overcome the interference of liquids, metals and other items on the RFID recognition rate, Xu Ming led the team to make a lot of improvements and research in three dimensions: label magnetic field, algorithm and reader, in order to improve the application ability of RFID and strengthen the market extension space of the product.?

Looking back at 2014, Cainiao launched electronic waybills to replace traditional paper waybills, greatly improving the efficiency of the express delivery industry and promoting the automation of the entire industry's operational processes. From the express delivery point to the end courier scanning, RFID will greatly change the original work habits and operation processes of practitioners. This is a huge project.

Help reduce carbon emissions and recycle

Companies are also trying to apply the ability of making RFID data transparent and traceable in the environmental protection and recycling process. The products under the Yingshi brand include a variety of nutritious foods such as infant and toddler rice cereal, Qingqingbao, noodles, crispy meat, glucose, and biscuits. The reusable boxes for the products are mainly used in the link from the Yingshi factory to the e-commerce warehouse. By using the self-developed RFID chip by Cainiao, it can help Yingshi reduce packaging material costs by 30%. In carbon reduction, a single cycle can reduce carbon emissions by approximately 575 grams.

According to statistics, it is estimated that the market size of ultra-high frequency RFID will reach 29.1 billion yuan in 2026. China's ultra-high frequency RFID applications will gradually be promoted, and in the future, ultra-high frequency RFID will mainly be applied to positioning, encryption, and sensor integration. Currently, companies such as Invengo, Micro ID, and Silion are competing in the ultra-high frequency RFID field.?

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and ten other departments pointed out in the “5G Application 'Sailing' Action Plan (2021-2023)” that they should increase investment in baseband chips, RF chips, key RF front-end devices, etc., and accelerate the breakthrough of technological and industrial bottlenecks. The “14th Five-Year Plan” also mentions the need to build new advantages in the digital economy, cultivate and strengthen emerging digital industries such as artificial intelligence, big data, blockchain, cloud computing, and network security, and improve the level of industries such as communication equipment, core electronic components, and key software.