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By Lorna Hopkin | July 10, 2025
Zebra RFID Forum Part Two: Real-World RFID Innovations and Emerging Technologies
In part one of the series, I shared my experience attending Zebra’s inaugural RFID Forum in Prague. As we continue our journey through our first-ever RFID Forum, it’s evident that RFID is not just a buzzword but a pivotal technology driving tangible change across industries. Real-world applications, as shared by our forum attendees, illustrate how RFID is revolutionizing operations and enhancing customer experiences.
In the retail sector, Marco Benasedo from Boggi Milano showcased how RFID ensures accurate inventory control, enabling customers to purchase their desired clothing styles and sizes across multiple channels. The concept of “tagging parties” to engage staff in the process exemplifies how RFID can transform labor dynamics, freeing employees to focus on enhancing customer experiences rather than administrative tasks.
The sports industry is also harnessing RFID’s potential. Cecillia Paez from Legends and Jean Baptiste Hochart from Frequential demonstrated how RFID facilitates quick location of items, like sports memorabilia, at live events, ensuring fans leave delighted with their purchases.
In healthcare, Albert Clarke from TEC-RFID shared an impactful example from Chec, a private ophthalmology group, where RFID significantly reduced stock take times and improve inventory management.
Simon Fleming from Peak Technologies and Damian Cahill from Stryker discussed how RFID is streamlining inventory management of medical devices in warehouses, showcasing significant efficiency gains.
On the technology front, Gagan Luthra from Impinj introduced the Impinj Gen2X, an enhancement to the RAIN radio standard that boosts RFID performance while reducing costs. This development is set to be integrated into Zebra’s RFID products, offering faster, more accurate reads in complex environments.
In healthcare, Rachael Ellis from Hull University Teaching Hospitals emphasized the life-saving potential of RFID. By tagging surgical trays, the hospital helps ensure rapid location of essential medical kits, reducing the risk of procedure delays and enhancing patient outcomes.
Ralf Kodritsch from NXP talked about how RFID paired with AI is leading to new levels of analysis. He showed a video of an RFID tagged tomato box being viewed through machine vision. Mold is recognized on some of the tomatoes and a computer-generated report is written on the screen. The power of combined technology is mind blowing.
James Poulton from Zebra highlighted the company’s comprehensive RFID portfolio, emphasizing the integration of RFID into enterprise mobile computers.
Zebra’s Brent Brown underscored our strategy for using RFID to count items, track their movement, and locate them in expansive environments. After explaining that our future strategy focuses on the diverse RFID use cases that extend beyond traditional applications, he discussed a unique customer example where RFID readers were placed in a rubbish chute to prevent theft.
The forum concluded on a high note with James Poulton and Brent Brown along with Louise Scott from the Zebra supplies team summarizing the biggest insights and innovations on the horizon.
The RFID Forum in Prague showcased a wide array of innovations and collaborations, thrusting RFID to the forefront of technology-driven solutions. By embracing RFID, industries unlock boundless opportunities for enhanced efficiency, sustainability, and customer satisfaction. Zebra is working with the best in industry to lead this charge, delivering intelligent operations that improve work every day. For a deeper dive into the forum’s insights, explore the recorded presentations linked throughout this blog series and see how Zebra’s RFID strategy is actively shaping the future of data-driven solutions.
