AutoID Technologies in High Demand Even During Corona Times

The industrial association AIM-D surveys its members biannually about their views on the general business and market development as well as the development of the AutoID markets in particular. The trend barometer shows: Even during Corona times, AutoID technologies remain the foundation of automation, autonomous processes, and digital transformation.

(Lampertheim) – After the survey for the last trend barometer (2nd half of 2019) was completed just before the Corona crisis, the current results for the 1st half of 2020 reflect the visible impacts of the Corona crisis so far and the resulting expectations of the AIDC industry during the crisis and for the time thereafter.

Less than a quarter of companies report positive business development

Peter Altes, Managing Director, AIM-D e.V., Lampertheim, comments as follows: “The results of the AIM trend barometer for the first half of 2020 are fully marked by Corona. Compared to the 2nd half of 2019 (over 80%), only a quarter of companies report an improved or at least unchanged business development in the AutoID markets; nearly three-quarters, on the other hand, currently see a deterioration in the markets. It is noteworthy,” says Altes, “that members assess their own position in the market as better than the market overall. Perhaps this reflects the expectations regarding the role of AIDC technologies, which are certainly accelerating automation processes due to the Corona crisis and increasingly also autonomous processes in production and logistics. This,” Altes continues, “also fits with the fact that in the area of electronic identification (RFID), the figures are better than in the area of optical identification – and that the expectations for the future development of the AIDC markets are exceptionally high.”Individual results on the questions of the AIM trend barometer:The economic situation of AutoID companies is, according to the survey, declining for the first time after the last five half-years; nevertheless, just over a quarter still sees the situation as stable or even better. Their investments have nevertheless increased by almost 15% (11.90% in the comparison period of the second half of 2019) among companies; and for 50%, the investment behavior has remained pleasantly stable. Just over 35% (15%) have invested less. The general market development in the AutoID sector: The sum of assessments for a better or unchanged market development amounts to a quarter of the surveyed companies; in the comparison period, this was still around 90%. And as in the comparison period, this time the perception of companies regarding their own development lags behind the perception or assessment of the general market development.The expectation of a future “increased demand” for individual technology areas is as follows:

• Optical identification: 26% (19% in the comparison period)
• Labeling: 21% (33%)
• RFID: 79% (64%)
• NFC: 38% (38%)
• RTLS: 21% (14%)
• Sensor technology: 27% (38%)
• Bluetooth: 10% (12%)
• Vision systems: 21% (26%)

Digital Transformation of Value Creation through AutoID Technologies

All these AutoID technologies enable, individually or in combination, as well as in combination with adjacent technology fields (e.g., LoRa), among other things: labeling & identification, tracking & tracing, anti-counterfeiting, secure objects, inventory management, picking, mobile payment, ticketing, eCRM, real-time localization, condition monitoring, predictive maintenance, smart metering, cyber-physical systems, and much more – in short: automation, autonomous processes, the digital supply chain, and smart factory; in brief: the digital transformation of value creation. “Industry 4.0, the Internet of Things (IoT / IIoT), and the digitization of value creation overall,” summarizes Altes, “are the daily business of the AIM community, which is fully committed to these processes. The AutoID technologies rightly see themselves as enabling technologies for automation and the design of autonomous processes in production and logistics. And this development will certainly keep the AutoID markets busy for a long time to come.” However, it is crucial how the economic framework conditions, the labor market situation, the market acceptance of AutoID technologies in particular, technological progress in general, and – very importantly for the AutoID industry – global standardization develop during Corona times. The answer to this question is, however, completely open – especially since a “post-Corona” is currently something that very few are likely to expect…www.aim-d.deImage: © Association for Automatic Data Capture, Identification (Auto ID) and Mobile Applications