AIDC discusses future technologies

According to a presentation by the association, the AIDC market in India stands at 2,718 crore INR (about 421 million USD) of which barcode labels constitute 1,028 crore INR (about 159 million USD).

Attempting to tap the huge barcode label market in the country, Johnson Yue, director of RFID business, Asia Pacific at Avery Dennison detailed the benefits of RFID over a barcode system. RFID tickets allow retailers to read the tag without being in line of sight, he said, and reads multiple items in one pass. ‘More than 1,000 products can be tracked in 45 seconds using this technology. Currently, RFID tracks more than three billion items, which is less than three percent of the retail industry. So, there is huge growth potential in this industry.’ Indicating the increasing demand, Yue added that according to Arburn University RFID Center, an additional 32 percent of retailers across the world used RFID technology in 2016 compared to 2015.

He agreed that while RFID has arrived in India, it’s moving slow. ‘The potential is huge and in time, it will catch up for the benefits it offers. Some data research companies have set the expectations too high.’

In a panel discussion, moderated by Rajiv Nair, managing director of Stallion System and Solutions, it was widely discussed that for better and faster growth of the technology, RFID suppliers must advise users on the segments that can utilize this technology efficiently.

Sajan Abraham, general manager from Novexx Solutions, said that every car that comes out of the factory has an RFID tag and it is compulsory to use these tags in solar panels as well. ‘It is just a matter of time when RFID gets used in other industries too,’ he said

Anil Kumar Jain, managing director, Best Barcode Systems, pointed out: ‘Since the cost of implementation is high compared to barcodes, the apparel industry can easily use the technology for the volumes it sells and the profit margins it demands. As the cost of RFID implementation goes down, many other industries will adopt the technology.’

Talking of the next big technology, Abraham said that Industry 4.0 is a huge opportunity for everyone. ‘It’s all about automation and streamlining of data. I see a massive opportunity in retail e-commerce, transport and logistics,’ Abraham predicted.

Bijoy Peter from GS1 India, a not-for-profit global standards association, agreed that the future will be data oriented. He introduced delegates to an online platform called Datakart with more than 600 registered companies that have a combined data of over two million products. ‘This application helps in exchanging and managing product information through the supply chain and minimizes the chances of counterfeit products getting into the supply chain,’ he said. Another mobile application called Smart Consumer enables end users to access information printed on labels. Using the app, consumers can check the authenticity of products by simply scanning the product barcode.

AIDC Technologies Association president Viral Vyas urged members to consider making new technologies a part of their business and grow the AIDC industry. He further reflected upon the current state of the industry by presenting results of a survey that was based on responses from 53 member companies. According to it, only three companies have a turnover of more than 76 crore INR (approximately 11.8 million USD). While 43 percent of companies reported average growth between 10-20 percent in the last three years, only six percent were growing at more than 50 percent.

Harveer Sahni, chairman at Weldon Celloplast, invited the next generation to come forward and adopt the new technologies to take the Indian label industry to greater heights. He also appealed to the delegates to mentor and empower the next generation.

Other speakers at the two-days conference included: Umesh Kagade of HP India, who spoke on features of HP Indigo and advantages of digital printing; Rohit Mehta, director at SMI Coated Products, who presented on how to choose the right labelstock, and showcased the SMI application that, on responding to seven questions, suggests the right material for the job; Sanjeev Atre, managing director, PGI Technologies, who introduced his label printing machines; Suman Sarkar, overseas sales department at Guangzhou Shangchen Electronic; Karan Reddy, director from Stic on Papers; A S Shekhawat, director, Rachna Overseas; Ellen Cao from HPRTC; Premila Nayar from Honeywell; Jitendra from TSC; Ravi Shankar from Retail Solutions & Technology; and Munmi Mahanta, manager, sales and marketing Asia Pacific at Ricoh Thermal Media Asia Pacific.

Attended by over 200 delegates, the conference was sponsored by 18 companies including Armor India, Avery Dennison, Chainway, Epson, Guangzhou Shangchen Electronic, Heyday, Honeywell, HPRT, Nice Labels, Novexx Solutions, PGI Technologies, Retail Solutions & Technologies, Ricoh, SMI Coated Products, Todaytec, TSC, Stic-on, and Zebra.