LogicaCMG published a report recently about the situation of the RFID market and there was this interesting point in it regarding a shift of focus in RFID market in europe. Until 12 months ago, vendors targeted the open supply chain in the retail industry, hoping to capitalize on the high volume of RFID tags and readers. But, many vendors have widened their focus and are targeting opportunities in other market segments.

According to the study, Europe and North America differ in their focus for RFID implementations. North America continues to view the technology as key for the retail and defense sectors, driven by mandates made by Wal-Mart and the Department of Defense. Europe, however, is recognizing the wider applications for the technology in logistics, aviation, healthcare, and pharmaceuticals.

The study, undertaken by LogicaCMG's RFID center of excellence, shows that adoption in Europe has been boosted since the regulations were changed in 2004 to allow tags in the Ultra-High Frequency (UHF) range to operate with similar performance as in North America. The new regulations, and EPC Gen2 standard, have led to more than two-thirds of hardware vendors saying they now create RFID technology that works in both regions.