National standards promulgated difficult to solve domestic RFID industry is capital snubbed

"Our group is stepping up its work, and if all goes well, UHF RFID standards expected to be launched during the year.

"Automatic identification manufacture Association of China Glume informed the Secretary-General, Shanghai securities news reporters Xie.

Xie Ying represents, in fact, the Association has been belonging to the Association's standards, the present work is to apply the standards adopted more stringent audit up to national standards.

Standard deletion has been China RFID industry person of the broken heart.

RFID applications with cross-industry, cross-sectoral and even global characteristics, therefore, RFID standards become particularly important. At present, there are three major organizations established a relatively complete RFID standard system, the "International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Committee joint technical Committee SC31 child" and "EPCglobal" in the United States and Japan's "UID". Supporting international existing RFID standard system of intellectual property was nearly monopolized by foreign companies, with their standards, not only to pay patent fees and heavy financial costs, there is also a great security risk. Previously due to various reasons, China to develop its own standards was stranded.

Industry experts believe that in the area of information technology, an industry often is built around one or a few standards.

RFID standards battle is the essence of the competition rules, the control of the competition in the market.

RFID industry Association Secretary-General Ouyang Yu is also developing their own strong supporter of the standard.

He said that at the end of April 2007, the Ministry issued the publication 800/900MHz band radio frequency identification (RFID) technology to apply the provisions of notification law on a trial basis, marks the introduction of UHF RFID frequency, but other criteria does not emerge. "China develop their own standards was essential. An internationally oriented, ready-to-use international, no out-of-the-box, to establish its own better. ”

Funding: the return period the side line

Market research firm IDTechEx forecast, 2008 Global RFID market will be the last year rose to us $ 49.3 52.9 million, this figure covers the RFID market, including tags, readers and other infrastructure, software and services.

IDC forecasts that by 2009 the Chinese RFID market capacity will be expanded to 58.7 billion yuan, the annual compound growth rate of about 65.6%.

UHF RFID application ratio will be higher and higher, to 2009 will account for three-quarters of the entire market capacity, and low-frequency of application will be reduced to one quarter.

Ouyang Yu to this reporter believes that RFID technology in application with unlimited imagination.

UHF RFID application range of no more than 5 years, and the eruption in around 2010. "UHF is the general direction of future industry applications. Electronic labelling is contact with the substance, its broad application prospects of the non-production. For example, a bottle of mineral water, a cigarette will put a tag, it would be a big market, train tickets and if! into electronic label forms, many of the Chinese population, the country one year can sell this massive train ticket inside the market prospect is infinitely vast. ”

In spite of this, but in the Ouyang Yu industry now is most lacking funds.

"This industry is not like the Internet industry, the investment in the short term not see obvious effects. "Ouyang Yu said:" However, as soon as you start, the future space very big. ”

According to introduction, Ouyang Yu trade companies mostly 20, 30 individual small businesses, many have the characteristics of the technology.

Due to the lack of financial support, there have been several do not go on and was eliminated. "For the venture capital business, want to quit as soon as possible, while many good projects, but financing needs. One billion last year, the Ministry of science and technology policy funding support, but to 30 or so, on every enterprise is just a drop in the bucket. ”

Beijing a UHF RFID Enterprise reporter said that their product is the cooperation with China Mobile, embedded in a SIM card is independent of the communication on the part of financial cards in mobile payment business, and in the mobile phone SIM card to load large amounts of additional payments on the service application.

There was an urgent need for a working capital in card production for China Mobile's pilot, however, has been in contact with many venture funds have reached the end.

An aviation fund investment management department heads to the reporter of the he sector investment ideas: first, the industry in the current application channels also narrow; second, in the business model is still immature, i.e. the technical and commercial application integration is not good enough; the third, on the client channel is not cultivating well.

Sequoia China founding partner Zhang fan you believe that the industry needs of the industry chain is too long, is not a business the ability to grasp for investment, it is not yet mature.

Granite global investment partners is a strong indication of Sun Sea also interested.

"RFID and even not a profession, the commercialization of this technology easier, the threshold is not high, and thus want to sell a good price is also not easy to attract investment and certainly not easy. ”

Analysys International recently published the report also says that the industry is still in market cultivation period, in addition to listing and Symbol YuanWang Valley is Motorola's acquisition, the current financing activities less capital activities occurred, not active.

In the industry, the RFID industry has been snubbed, available from the market, technical and cost aspects of the analysis.

Market: nurture monopoly is easy

According to industry experts, currently in the country each subdivision industry basically have corresponding RFID Enterprise, such as cars, trains, medical, library, ordnance equipment management, tobacco, wine, access control, etc, but no

Special strong enterprises, namely the absence of such as YuanWang Valley is famous for its enterprise. Almost no dominant market segments, market concentration is low.

A small business owner complained to the reporter, the Government used to support the development of large enterprises, but the results from the current view, some large enterprises do not have formed their own distinctive and competitive products.

One of the industry experts pointed out that this industry is very easy to form a barrier, a company once in a turn, other industry manufacturers of similar products even better, it is difficult to process, such as YuanWang Valley Railway RFID market monopolies.

As the railway industry RFID market monopolies and the industry's leading enterprises, 2007, YuanWang Valley realization 5461 million, operating profit compared with the same growth 60.77%.

Another Beijing standard RFID Enterprise source technology company President Xu Foundation-introduction to the reporter, the company took 15 years in the development of an automotive digital standard source of technology, RFID technology applied to the so-called "e-license plate" information management of vehicles, cannot be achieved on the driver and vehicle identification and management of double, can be widely used in public security, transport, insurance, and the Environmental Protection Department of information management.

In Ningbo began after a successful pilot, will gradually to national promotion. Once the promotion, means that enables the national monopoly in this market.

Tianjin easy Lei e-tag technology co., Ltd. General Manager Cui Jianguo says that policy guidance role, but the lack of systematic.

Current industry barriers seriously, some enterprises once the first-in, and the national authorities to form a good relationship, other similar enterprises on basic lost opportunity. "The State cannot simply enabling large corporations to small and medium-sized enterprises, should be treated alike, the key is to grasp the market cultivation. ”

Because the domestic market is not enough, many enterprise products are mainly sold abroad.

Cui's founding clear that their product is cooperating with the United States who, in the future supply of the United States market. In addition a prison inmate tracking identification system, vehicle tracking and firearms tracing of UHF RFID company management also said as domestic policy reasons, no market for their product, currently sold abroad.

Technology: missing my weak foreign patents

In RFID technology, particularly in the core chip development and production on the obvious rendering foreign I weak trend.

Ouyang Yu, Frank said, domestic enterprise flexible UHF labels is not more than five, do UHF reader enterprise has around 20 to 30, however, fully owned independent technology and core of high frequency module and control modules entirely by its own production does not exceed five. The current number of the vast majority of foreign brands. "In fact our talents and many, many sea turtles would like to do these things in China (chip development and production), are suffering from financial distress. ”

According to its introduction, the RFID tag chip production, domestic General enterprises do, as often is the hundreds of billion of investment, a few companies have the capital strength.

While chip and antenna technologies, we also do, often from Germany, Austria and other countries imported equipment. Production process also has a certain gap, including packaging equipment.

"Particularly in the control module part coding modules for data analysis and send, domestic enterprises to do their own products is not a few, mostly bought from abroad, your Assembly.

In reader price, overseas better to fetch block. If China can master core module technology, will be able to own production, prices can drop to around 2000 block. "Ouyang Yu said," now occupies a strong advantage in foreign company, a lift and we think the chip Texas instruments, Philips, UPM and other foreign giants, however foreign companies product prices quite expensive. It can be said that two years Chinese enterprises do not dominate the market, our market will lose out. ”

Xie Ying believes that China in the near future will have their own chip, current technological maturity with foreign still have a long way to go, most read/write device, tag to purchase foreign chips.

But domestic enterprises also have their own advantages, foreign enterprises in China's national conditions and relationships do not understand that our enterprises can make their own industry application for subdivision of system integration and solutions.

The patent rights in foreign enterprises, under the shadow of domestic enterprises is often blamed and even foreign companies have been alleged plagiarism foreign patent technology.

Shenzhen sense technology chief engineer Mr wing Health believes that in the country's many RFID Enterprise, agency or foreign branches and system integration and application development companies account for almost 90%, truly engaged in the development of core technology for RFID, with independent intellectual property products less than 10%, this is China RFID industry the weakest link.

Analysys International analyst summer rain pointed out that the RFID industry, divided into chip manufacturing, packaging, application of the three stages, chip manufacturing in China is weak, we are mainly concentrated in the application phase.

But it seems that the founding of the CUI, my current applications more junior level, system integrators, application technology.

In the United States, system developers and customers research and development, the process by the customer, this can be quite close to the customer's real needs.

Cost: high on batch hardly

Many in the industry believe that the problem is affecting labelling costs of RFID technology to promote one of the major factors.

Ouyang Yu believes that can promote important because cost can be reduced. "Two dollars a stick on no problem, moutai posted in milk, smoke on the problems, costs down, application there is a problem of scale. ”

However, Xie ying has a different view, the "foreign enterprise's profit is not the most thick chips, the key is able to achieve volume and achieve million-level imports natural to achieve cost reductions and label prices.

General Accounting, label use greatly improving the efficiency and effectiveness, it is worth it. ”

Far

Hope Valley General Manager Chen Chang said, to reduce the cost of the electronic label can be found in the electronic label structure splitting up. For passive RFID tag, which is the label tag chip, chip directly encapsulated into printed antennas on Flip Chip technology and tag antenna production costs. Application needs to make some additional RFID environmental adaptability requirements, such as temperature and humidity, service life, resistance to radiation and ageing, as well as other issues such as anti-disassembly, anti-theft, etc. These additional requirements often can significantly increase the cost of the electronic label. It can be said that the application needs are diverse, when one needs to stabilize after the product has been on batch can achieve performance stable and inexpensive.

For industrial applications, Analysys International, in its publication of the quarterly report, it is recommended that the retail industry application of RFID should be combined with barcode technology — in a pallet and box using RFID tags to achieve a large number of fast access to goods and inventory management; in single-use bar code products to meet sales demand.

With the label price gradually declining, industry application environment gradually improved, RFID application in China's retail industry will gradually increase. China's retail industry should seize the opportunity in the supply chain using RFID, merchandise sales, using bar code technology on both the combination of advantages.