IBM Business Consulting Services

The untold RFID story

Product innovation in electronics

An IBM Institute for Business Value executive brief

ibm.com/bcs
The IBM Institute for Business Value develops fact-based strategic insights for senior
business executives around critical industry-specific and cross-industry issues. This executive
brief is based on an in-depth study created by the IBM Institute for Business Value. This
research is a part of an ongoing commitment by IBM Business Consulting Services to provide
analysis and viewpoints that help companies realize business value. You may contact the
authors or send an e-mail to iibv@us.ibm.com for more information.
 Contents
1 Introduction
1 Tagging opportunity: Taking
RFID beyond the supply chain
3 Signals of change: RFID in
product innovation
5 Electronics industry: Easier
entry, enhanced results
6 Tracking RFID success:
Alternative approaches
9 On the way to opportunity:
Overcoming RFID obstacles
11 Finding the right frequency:
Are you ready to benefit
from RFID?
12 About the author
13 About IBM Business
Consulting Services
13 References
1 The untold RFID story IBM Business Consulting Services
Introduction
With suppliers working feverishly to comply with requests from major retailers
and government agencies, most companies’ RFID efforts to date have centered
on shipment compliance, which generally benefits the client, but not the supplier
incurring the investment. However, client mandated use of RFID in the supply chain
barely scratches the surface of the benefits RFID offers. Just as the Web browser
served as the spark for generating innovative uses of the Internet that go well
beyond Web browsing, RFID will soon transcend basic asset and inventory tracking,
and will become an important aspect of the next generation of connected electronic
products. RFID allows not only greater innovation in product manufacturing and distri-
bution, but when it is combined with the appropriate networking infrastructure it can
enhance the way products themselves function – which can mean far greater returns
for electronics companies.
Tagging opportunity: Taking RFID beyond the supply chain
Big retailers (such as Wal-Mart, Metro and Tesco) have established a challenging
timeline to implement RFID technology – from their supply chain to the retail shelf. In
addition, government agencies such as the United States Department of Defense
(DoD) are rapidly embracing RFID and demanding that suppliers fall into step. If
suppliers want to remain competitive, they will have to comply with these mandates,
at the very least adding RFID to their products on item, packet, pallet or container
level, depending on the demands of their most important customers.
While tagging offers benefits such as reduced out-of-stock on the retailer’s shelf,
cost conscious supply chain managers will look for other opportunities to recoup
investments made in RFID compliance. Indeed, most will first look to the enhanced
supply chain visibility and performance RFID tagging offers. But the greatest oppor-
tunity for electronics companies lies well beyond the supply chain – in process and
product innovations that may yield even greater returns.
RFID can be used to increase automation and optimize processes across receiving,
manufacturing, work-in-progress management and shipping – resulting in faster
time to market. Here, RFID can provide the crucial link between manufacturing
execution systems and the physical world. For instance, RFID chips can be used on
manufacturing equipment to signal condition or wear, circumventing delays caused
by faulty or failing machinery. RFID application is especially compelling in situations
where limited manual (human) intervention is desired. For instance, many electronics
manufacturing environments require clean rooms, necessitating a solution that
embeds out-of-sight, fully automated identification.
In its Milpitas facility, Seagate
has deployed RFID for
traceability of all materials,
processes and equipment
used in the manufacturing of
disc drives. The company had
previously tried to use bar code
technology, but the human
intervention required, and the
contamination concerns from
the paper that the bar code was
printed on, made RFID a more
1 where it will go in realtime. Better prioritization of orders translates to accelerated time to market. In
elegant solution.
2 The untold RFID story IBM Business Consulting Services
Fabricating the future: IBM realizes RFID rewards
The profitable operation of a semiconductor fabrication plant (fab) depends heavily on speed and
automation. At any given moment, thousands of different active containers are moving through the
plant and need to be tracked in realtime by the factory control system. Manual processes not only slow
down production, they can also pose a contamination risk in the clean room environment.
After assessing traditional systems to track work-in-progress across the new 300mm semiconductor
fab in Fishkill, NY, IBM Technology Group decided RFID presented crucial advantages in simultaneously
fulfilling requirements for high accuracy, efficiency and automation. For instance, RFID offers the ability
to read multiple tags at once with no line of sight required. The tags can be used in harsh environments,
are less susceptible to damage and are reusable.
With a passive RFID tag on every container, IBM can track its current location, where it came from and
addition, IBM saves on labor costs: the fab can run with 60 to 70 people compared with an industry
2
average of 100 to 120, and be operated by a skeleton crew instead of shut down on holidays.
RFID supports the focus on an open standards infrastructure, acting as the first phase of a unique
identification of semiconductor material containers across all IBM sites. IBM is also well positioned to
seamlessly integrate into the supply networks of major clients, and to participate directly in the joint
benefits of RFID compliance.
For many companies that begin their RFID journey with compliance followed by
process optimization and innovation, product innovation will be the last area where
they take action (see Figure 1). These companies will likely want to apply what
they learned from compliance, supply chain enhancement and other automation
and optimization efforts to compete in the product innovation space. The lessons
learned along with the intellectual property and assets acquired through gaining
supply chain visibility and optimizing processes can add significantly to the value
proposition and business case for RFID-based product innovations.
 Figure 1: The typical path to RFID innovation.

Innovate
products

Value Innovate
process

Gain SCM
visibility
Comply

Experience required
Source: IBM Business Consulting Services analysis.

Signals of change: RFID in product innovation

While it is rather straightforward for any product developer to upgrade its physical
products with RFID functionality, such as placing RFID readers in mobile phones or
microwave ovens, it is the expertise in the back-end functions, such as data storage
and distribution, protocol conversion, standards implementation and the ingenuity to
overcome technical difficulties that will differentiate companies from their compet-
itors. After all, RFID technology is only as useful as the information it conveys, and
how that information is captured, stored and used to increase product functionality
and value will define how appealing RFID-enabled products are to the end customer.

What does RFID product innovation look like today? And how will it change the future
functionality and value of electronics products? Though companies are just now
beginning to move into the product innovation arena, the following scenarios demon-
strate early stage RFID capability, as well as how RFID technology could evolve to
increase the functionality, usability and attractiveness of products in the near future.

3 The untold RFID story IBM Business Consulting Services

 Personal communications: Mobile phones do work
Adding RFID tags and the capability to read RFID tags to mobile phones establishes a network between
the virtual world of the Internet and the physical world of objects. For instance, Nokia offers an RFID
kit for their 5140 mobile phone as part of their field force solution offerings. By touching an RFID
tag on the phone, or pointing the phone to RFID tags attached to physical objects, the customer can
send and receive a plethora of useful information. In one scenario, an RFID tag can be affixed to the
dashboard of a car. When the phone is pointed to it, it can transmit beginning and ending trip mileage
for expense purposes. RFID tags can also be used to set up time and attendance recording for roving
field employees, or to capture readings on meters or other remote machinery in the course of a day’s
3
work. At the same time, the value proposition for companies that add RFID-tagging to their products
is enhanced, as the RFID reading capability is now "in the hands" of customers around the world and no
longer requires the installation of stationary readers.

Industrial automation: Better bag handling

Airlines and airport operators have identified RFID as a breakthrough technology that can add dramatic
improvements to the accuracy and decrease the cost of handling baggage. For instance, though fewer
than a million of the 80 million or so bags Delta Air Lines handles in an average year fail to reach their
final destination on the same flight as their owners, locating and delivering misdirected luggage costs the
4
airline about US$100 million annually.

In October and November of 2003, Delta tested RFID tags on 40,000 passenger bags tracked from
check-in to loading. The results? RFID increased best case scenario bag handling efficiency to 99.8
percent from the 80 percent achieved by today’s barcode reading processes. That translates into only 80
5
bag handling errors versus the current 6,000 errors per 40,000 bags.

In addition, Las Vegas’ McCarran International Airport officials announced that the airport would begin
attaching radio tags to all checked luggage this fall. In tests, the RFID system that the airport will use
6
accurately routed 99.7 percent of luggage, compared with 89 percent for optically scanned bar codes.

White goods: Appliances with advantages

As more and more products are RFID tagged to comply with supply chain requirements, the unique
information they transmit can be of use along the entire lifecycle of the product. Typical consumer
products such as clothes and food interact with white goods appliances like washing machines, refrig-
erators and ovens. By embedding RFID reading capabilities into these white goods, and either storing
handling information locally or on the Internet, the end-consumer can avoid the typical risks associated
with household applications. No more mixing incompatible fabrics in the washing machine or making
half of a pie only to find out that the eggs in the refrigerator are past their date.

4 The untold RFID story IBM Business Consulting Services

 Italian electronics manufacturer Merloni is one company that has announced a line of white goods that
7
use RFID technology in innovative products that have future-forward capabilities. Fed with RFID tagged
clothes, the washing machine will be able to relay important information such as which clothes cannot be
washed together or how much detergent to use for the load size. The refrigerator will propose nutritious
meals and recipe instructions using RFID tagged contents and warn the consumer before foods expire.
While these capabilities may sound extravagant today, they give insight on the many possibilities offered
as the physical world of products begin to interact more and more with the virtual world of information
through RFID.

Electronics industry: Easier entry, enhanced results

Many industries, from consumer packaged goods to automotive, have much to gain
from RFID capability and innovation. But it can be argued that no industry has as
much to offer, or to gain, as Electronics in taking RFID focus beyond simple tag and
track and compliance initiatives.

RFID is electronics. Therefore, the electronics industry has far more ability to conceive,
build and implement RFID, and has more to gain from the successful innovation
that results than do other industries. Electronics companies supply the underlying
technology that enables RFID: they manufacture the actual tags and readers, and will
establish many aspects of the infrastructure (databases, data transfer over telco-lines,
electrical compliance of a solution, etc.). Hence, they should be at the forefront of
RFID, constantly scanning the horizon for ways in which they can supply customers
with innovative products and solutions to generate growth.

Adding RFID capabilities to an electronics product is more straightforward – and

provides more functionality – than in other industries. Adding an RFID tag to a bag of
potato chips provides few innovative possibilities for capturing and conveying infor-
mation or increasing functionality. Conversely, in electronics products, adding a tag
or chip to a mobile phone, washing machine, or heart rate monitor can increase the
value of the product by changing its capabilities, and hence the very nature of the
product itself – which has the potential to provide greater returns on RFID investment.

Electronics, often touted as "the new plastic," are pervasive. They are everywhere,
embedded into more and more of the objects we use on a daily basis. And RFID will
likely multiply that pervasiveness. RFID helps make pervasive connectivity real and
practical – bringing pervasive computing out of the theoretical world and into real
life business-critical applications such as supply chain management and factory

5 The untold RFID story IBM Business Consulting Services

 automation. It also brings pervasive computing to a level where sustained profit-
ability becomes an obtainable opportunity. By offering the capabilities necessary to
connect the virtual world of the Internet with physical objects, RFID will help fuel the
growth of the burgeoning network of interconnected devices, as well as provide the
infrastructure that keeps these devices in contact.

Lastly, in an industry that works on razor thin margins, electronics companies must
constantly seek new avenues toward productivity gains. In fact, the industry is
already well positioned to do so: since much of production is already outsourced,
innovative process improvements on the plant floor at an Electronics Manufacturing
Service (EMS) provider can bring value to its whole customer base. For electronics
companies, the savings from RFID-enabled innovation at the contract manufacturer
creates a second wave of optimization beyond the initial windfall from outsourcing
– and allows electronics companies to share the cost of innovation with the EMS’
entire customer set.

Tracking RFID success: Alternate approaches

While many electronics companies may lean toward the more traditional "compliance
first" path to RFID product innovation, some will find that they need not follow a
prescribed path to realize greater returns from RFID. These companies will learn
quickly that RFID at every level – from supply chain visibility and optimization to
process and product innovation – offers opportunities to leverage existing relation-
ships, enhance market position and generate growth (see Figure 2).

Figure 2: Alternate approaches to creating growth with RFID.

Shortcut to CEO’s agenda

Traditional Compliance Supply Process Product

entry path chain visibility innovation innovation

Innovation first

Source: IBM Business Consulting Services analysis.

6 The untold RFID story IBM Business Consulting Services


At one Japanese global
consumer electronics company,
local sales and logistics in
Europe have direct interaction
with clients and capture
technology and roadmap
requirements early on.
However, interaction between
R&D headquarters in Japan and
client-facing teams in Europe is
ad-hoc and not supported by any
governance model. Therefore,
this company risks losing the
opportunity to enhance the
business case with better
supply chain visibility or new
product possibilities, not to
mention recouping investments
made in adding RFID tags for
9
compliance purposes.
7 The untold RFID story IBM Business Consulting Services
Shortcut to the CEO agenda
As soon as the need to comply with customer demands has been agreed upon and
the scope of the first RFID initiatives has been discussed, electronics companies
may decide to move ahead quickly with a RFID strategy that does not concern
supply chain issues. Compliance or small-scope process innovation topics usually
do not rate on the CEO agenda, but revenue growth does: in a recent IBM survey,
89.5 percent of electronics industry CEOs cited revenue growth as the key focus for
strengthening their company's financial performance over the next three years.8
The obvious next step for some companies may therefore be to evaluate the
potential of RFID in the product portfolio. This will help lock in R&D and marketing
involvement as early as possible and drive the firm toward RFID-enabled product
innovation. The success of this approach depends on the state of current product
innovation processes and the ability of decision-makers to see technology as a
driving force in transforming the business model. However, the inherent acumen of
electronics companies for new technology makes it easier for them to adapt to this
line of thinking.
A more formidable impediment to the fusion between business and technology
necessary for successful RFID product innovation can often be found in the global
governance model. The distant geographical gap between R&D and sales depart-
ments is often mirrored by gaps in corporate mindset and connectedness. For
instance, when there is a strong disconnect between the centralized R&D organization
and the client-facing sales organizations in far-flung geographies and regions, there
are often rifts in the communication loop that can affect the development process.
The same holds true for process innovation opportunities in manufacturing when
plant operations, sales, R&D, and service organization and processes are connected
only at the very highest levels. The very way the company is organized becomes a
barrier to the flow of information and communication, making significant process and
product innovation difficult. As with any push toward optimization and innovation in
any industry, electronics companies will no doubt need to improve communication
mechanisms and governance structures in order to make the most of the opportu-
nities RFID product innovation has to offer.
 Innovation first
Electronics companies will play a key role in the advancement of RFID as a new
technology. Many already embrace RFID in the product innovation area by selling
RFID and RFID-enabling technology to customers. When the benefits of innovation
are observed at the end-customer, they can be a powerful source for advocating
subsequent internal process innovation. Often, these visible results are more credible
than the promise offered by RFID initiatives conceived internally. When RFID-based
product innovation has successfully contributed to new offerings and solutions exter-
nally, the company may naturally see value in extending the benefits of RFID to the
internal organization.

Successful companies will be able to learn quickly from customers how RFID-
enabled products and solutions can be used, and then apply that experience
internally to strengthen their competitive position and continually develop new,
cutting-edge products and solutions. For instance, it is only logical – and often
required by corporate policy – that a company that sells RFID readers externally
installs their own readers internally at inventory gates. Similarly, a business unit
that builds RFID chips will use them to tag their own products on their way to the
distribution center. Other important assets that can be rapidly reused are software
solutions to connect to the RFID infrastructure, such as an electronic product code
(EPC) database to look up product data.

However, outdated organizational, knowledge management and product innovation

processes can stand in the way of progress, making it difficult for companies to
use the very offerings and solutions they develop for others. As ongoing studies
on innovation processes in global electronics companies confirm, most companies
are not able to evaluate the potential result of product innovation for any other use
than was originally intended.10 But the potential for growth that can be generated
by product innovation far outweighs the risks that what companies learn will not
be applicable internally. Another benefit of RFID-enabled product innovation is that
increased sales can be used to bolster (and fund) a business case for subsequent
internal RFID initiatives.

8 The untold RFID story IBM Business Consulting Services

 Off the beaten path: Philips powers toward product innovation
Entering the RFID arena early as an RFID chip maker, Philips Semiconductors initiated a joint project with
IBM in November 2003 to improve the business processes within the manufacturing and distribution
supply chain, inventory management and control as well as to enhance customer satisfaction. Piloted
at Philips Semiconductors Kao Hsiung manufacturing site in Taiwan and its distribution center in Hong
11
Kong, the project requires that all wafer cases and carton packages be tagged with RFID chips.

Philips is differentiating itself from other early adopters, or companies that only consider compliance
when building a case for RFID, by using their process innovation experience and ingenuity with RFID
technology to move beyond its initial chip offering toward integrated end-to-end solutions for major
12
retailers, consumer goods manufacturers and couriers. By teaming with strategic partners and
complementing their products with services to establish solutions, they are using RFID to generate
growth beyond the typical compliance-based business case.

On the way to opportunity: Overcoming RFID obstacles

Whichever RFID path a company chooses, they will no doubt deal with obstacles
that arise from tag limitations, cost and privacy issues. However, as the industry
begins to explore the opportunities RFID offers, what today seem like insurmountable
challenges may be cast in a different light. Electronics companies must work to
examine every angle of business cases for RFID – and weigh both the negative and
the positive results of RFID initiatives – to make the sound decisions that will create
future growth.

Tag and technology limitations

Today’s RFID tags are sensitive, and systems must be designed carefully to make
sure that all tags can be read. However, these obstacles will soon be surmounted
– either by the development of better technology, increased experience with tag
use or by the placement of additional tag readers where necessary. New RFID
technology solutions are being developed every day. For instance, researchers are
currently working on RFID chips that are embedded organically in materials such as
plastic and glass. These chips will offer enhanced readability, as well as lower cost.13

Price
Companies must take not only the cost of the RFID tag but the total product or
device lifecycle cost into account to truly assess the cost benefit of RFID. For
instance, when RFID tags are used on packaging simply as tracking mecha-
nisms, the cost of the actual tag is of great consideration and importance – slim
profit margins can come down to cents on the dollar. However, imagine an RFID

9 The untold RFID story IBM Business Consulting Services

 device that senses wear, or the operational condition of a piece of machinery that
helps produce millions of dollars of inventory – in this case, the cost of the tag is
far offset by the benefits it offers. Similarly, if an RFID chip that cost a few dollars
lends functionality or provides a differentiating feature to an electronics product
that justifies raising the price of the product considerably, the revenue generated is
obviously worth the investment.

Cost case: Shining the light on RFID savings

Because they can’t be sure how much power is left – and being suddenly left in the dark can quickly
become a life or death proposition – U.S. soldiers in war zones throw away partially used batteries for
flashlights and other devices and take brand new ones as they equip themselves for each day.

A tag that signals how much power remains in the battery costs US$5, far more than the battery (which
usually cost just a few cents), but far less that the total cost of bringing new batteries over from the U.S.
(which can sometimes be greater than US$10 per battery). In addition, new environmental regulations
require the Army to recycle the batteries, raising total costs even higher.

Though this kind of tagging is not RFID-enabled, it provides a good point of reference with which to view
the price/benefit equation this kind of technology can offer. In this scenario as in many others, it is easy
to see that cost issues are not always obvious. The price of the tag is just one part of the business case
– and becomes less important as the total cost (and increased functionality) for the devices to which
tags are attached rises. As for the U.S. Department of Defense, they expect to save US$100M by putting
14
a tag (still as much as US$3-4 per unit) on each battery they ship.

Privacy
In the public opinion, it is clear that privacy concerns can overshadow benefit
discussions about the deployment of RFID. Consumers of RFID-enabled services
and products will no doubt weigh their fears of privacy infringement against the
value proposition offered by the product or service. Capturing customer insights and
including customer feedback in the development process is important for electronics
companies to identify and include the features that customers value most.

As the RFID adoption rate increases, there is greater awareness of privacy concerns
in all industries, as well as an increased focus on the development of privacy
standards. EPCglobal, in a joint venture between EAN International and the Uniform
Code Council (UCC) that is overseen by the EPCglobal Board of Governors,
is working with its industry groups to develop privacy principles to guide the
implementation of EPC and RFID.15 RFID product and service vendors are actively
involved in this process as well. Their clients are looking to them to remain diligent in
the process of standards development and provide guidance in implementing these
standards and policies.

10 The untold RFID story IBM Business Consulting Services

 In addition, academic institutions and government entities are engaged in privacy
discussions and policy definition for RFID. Current recommendations and guiding
principles recommended by various stakeholders of RFID include, but are not limited
to, the following:
• Development and proactive communication of a clear privacy policy to customers
and employees
• Incorporation of opt-in and opt-out options in the policies that govern the collec-
tion of customer information
• Development of tag management policies
• Collaboration with other members of the value net to create consistent policies
and processes.

Finding the right frequency: Are you ready to benefit from RFID?
Many electronics companies are just now beginning to consider RFID initiatives.
Will your company start down the compliance path, or head straight for growth
with product innovation? What current capabilities can make a certain RFID point
of entry (compliance, supply chain, process optimization and innovation or product
innovation) easier or more lucrative for your company? The following questions are
designed to help electronics industry executives assess the breadth of their RFID
strategy, and begin to plan a path to the future.
• Are you at risk of losing an important supply chain contract if you don't quickly
implement RFID tags on your deliveries?
• How are your current RFID initiatives scoped?
• How can the benefits of these initiatives (cost-cutting, executive buy-in, and tech-
nology) be used as a launch point to move into product innovation?
• Has your company identified a way to make (instead of spend) money on RFID
technology?
• Have you taken the total cost and benefit into account in building a business case
for RFID, or are you focused only on the price of tags?
• Have you considered ways in which your company might derive benefits from
compliance, or from RFID solutions deployed by key partners?
• How holistic is your supply chain strategy? Have you mapped out every possible
role that RFID can play in your supply chain?
• How well is your product development department leveraging expertise devel-
oped in supply chain management?

11 The untold RFID story IBM Business Consulting Services

 • Have you examined current manufacturing processes for areas where RFID tech-
nology could help to achieve better efficiency? What about reexamining peak
performing processes to see if RFID can offer new possibilities or raise perfor-
mance to even higher levels?
• What RFID initiatives, products or solutions are key partners or customers
developing? How can they support or complement your company’s product
innovation efforts?

RFID offers increased efficiency and functionality not only of the supply chain and
manufacturing processes, but of electronics products themselves. Information has
long been at the top of the list of assets that are most important to customers – the
smarter products are, and the more convenience they lend to the life of the end-
consumer, the more sought after they will become. The electronics industry, more
than any other, is primed to tap into this opportunity. Seeing greater returns will
require electronics companies to look at RFID with new eyes focused on growth.
They will have to look past compliance to view every entry point into RFID as a
possible path to not just cutting costs, but generating revenue.

Even if the current best scenario for your company is early-stage RFID compliance, you
can set future growth in motion today by building a business case that puts you on the
path to product innovation. To explore ways in which we might assist you in using RFID
technology to positively impact your revenues, please contact us at iibv@us.ibm.com. To
browse other resources for business executives, visit our Web site:

ibm.com/bcs

About the author

Dr. Hagen Wenzek is the Global Electronics Industry Leader for the IBM Institute for
Business Value. He may be contacted at wenzek@de.ibm.com.

Contributors
Marc Bourde, Supply Chain Management Leader, IBM Institute for Business Value
Faye Holland, Global RFID Marketing Leader, IBM
Jesus Mantas, Global RFID Leader for Electronics Industry, IBM Business
Consulting Services
Meg Merrill, Marketing Manager for Electronics Industry, IBM Business
Consulting Services

12 The untold RFID story IBM Business Consulting Services

 About IBM Business Consulting Services
With consultants and professional staff in more than 160 countries globally, IBM
Business Consulting Services is the world’s largest consulting services organi-
zation. IBM Business Consulting Services provides clients with business process
and industry expertise, a deep understanding of technology solutions that address
specific industry issues and the ability to design, build and run those solutions in a
way that delivers bottom-line business value.

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1
"RFID Application – Case study." ICT GmbH. http://www.ictglobal.de/download/pdf/
produkte/rfid_elektronik_eng.pdf (accessed July 27, 2004).
2
Poletti, Therese. "IBM chip plant is $2.5 billion gamble: Its researchers team up with
valley firms on chip designs, then IBM controls production." The Mercury News,
June 1, 2003. http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/business/5989916.htm
3
Nokia Mobile RFID Kit. http://www.nokia.com/nokia/0,,55738,00.html (accessed
July 27, 2004).
4
Feder, Barnaby J. "Delta to Invest in Radio Tags for Luggage at Airports." The New
York Times, July 1, 2004.
5
"RFID Connections." The Association for Automatic Identification and Mobility.
http://www.aimglobal.org/technologies/rfid/resources/articles/jan04/0401-
bagtag.htm (accessed July 27, 2004).
6
Feder, Barnaby J. "Delta to Invest in Radio Tags for Luggage at Airports." The New
York Times, July 1, 2004.
7
"Merloni: Household appliances that can think and talk to other things." Merloni.
[Press release.] April 4, 2003. http://www.merloni.com/eng/media/key_documents/
press_kit_completo_eng.pdf (accessed July 27, 2004).
8
"Your Turn: The Global CEO Study 2004." IBM Corporation, 2004.
9
IBM Business Consulting Services client experience.
10
Cooper, J., D. Greenberg, and J. Zuk. "Reshaping the funnel: Making innovation
more profitable for high-tech manufacturers." IBM, 2003.
11
Royal Philips Electronics. "Philips and IBM Join Forces in the RFID and Smart Card
Marketplace." [Press release.] January 26, 2004. http://www.semiconductors.philips.
com/news/content/file_1030.html (accessed August 9, 2004).
12
Ibid.
13
"Cheaper radio tags – incorporating radio frequency." MIT Technology Review, July/
August, 2004. http://www.technologyreview.com/articles/prototype40704.asp
14
Wynne, Michael, Acting Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology
and Logistics. Speech at the CSFB Aerospace/Defense Finance Conference, New
York. May 17th, 2004.
15
EPCglobal Inc. http://www.epcglobalinc.org (accessed July 27, 2004).

13 The untold RFID story IBM Business Consulting Services

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