RFID for Postal and Courier Services 2008-2018

This publication has been discontinued on May 6, 2011.

Below is the updated product.

RFID for Postal and Courier Services 2011-2021

Published: September, 2010

Product code: 176895

Introduction

In the major new report "RFID for the Postal and Courier Service", IDTechEx estimate that the global market for RFID systems, including tags, in this sector will be $2.5 billion in 2018. It could be much bigger if current efforts to tag individual items gain widespread acceptance. In due course, over one trillion postal items will be tagged yearly, making this the second largest application of RFID in the world after the retail supply chain.

Detailed ten year forecasts are given plus a full explanation of the technologies. In detail, there are over 40 new case studies of RFID in action in the postal and courier service in North America, Europe, the Middle East and East Asia. The major breakthroughs that will provide future success are discussed. Postal services ignoring this accelerating change will become uncompetitive and suppliers missing out will regret it.

RFID is an idea whose time has come in postal, courier and high volume light logistics. In the past, RFID has been used for little more than the evaluation of postal performance, using tags in a small percentage of letters, and the tracking of a small number of conveyances and vehicles. No longer. From the International Postal Corporation now monitoring mailflow with RFID in over 50 countries to Saudi Post tagging postal boxes, the big innovations are now happening.

There is even a postal RFID system that completely automates the whole process of mail delivery from accepting the package to classification and dispatching. It has been successfully tested in Korea this year. Korea Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute ETRI demonstrated this RFID system in front of representatives from the Ministry of Information and Technology and private sector representatives.

The current postal package unified information system uses barcodes, thus necessitating human effort at every mail center to input mail numbers into the system. This results in inaccuracies during transfer of duties and it delays the mail dispatches. The new RFID system, developed by ETRI of Korea, aims to reduce costs, errors and tedious human intervention. When perfected, it will provide a comprehensive electronic postal system with the potential to maximize mail package process capabilities while minimizing logistics cost. Real-time information automation, impossible with the existing system, is now possible, claims ETRI.

It is difficult to estimate when pervasive RFID tagging of most of the courier and letter post will occur but RFID enabled parcels, conveyances, vehicles and trailers are now commonplace, with multiple paybacks often being enjoyed. RFID is enhancing security and safety and removing tedious operations. Swedish Post has a parcel that detects and records tampering using RFID and other innovations abound, including RFID cards controlling driver access to postal vehicles and RFID enabled postal sorting equipment. Little wonder that companies as large as Microsoft have entered the fray. The global potential is illustrated by its decision to offer its first postal systems in Taiwan and elsewhere in East Asia.

• Pages: 183
• Tables Over: 20
• Figures Over: 60
• Case Studies: 40
• Forecasts to: 2018
• Last update: Q2/08

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

1. INTRODUCTION

• 1.1. Benefits
• 1.2. Evolution of RFID in postal and courier services
  • 1.2.1. Calculating cross charges
  • 1.2.2. Conveyances and vehicles
  • 1.2.3. Postal boxes
  • 1.2.4. Latest developments
  • 1.2.5. RFID recorded delivery
  • 1.2.6. RFID for orders online
  • 1.2.7. Automatic handling equipment
  • 1.2.8. A world first in Korea?
  • 1.2.9. RFID at China Post
  • 1.2.10. Experience from a courier service company - TNT Express
  • 1.2.11. RFID for Postal Services in the Middle East
• 1.3. Structure of this report
• 1.4. What really happened in 2006?
  • 1.4.1. The global RFID market

2. MASS TAGGING OF POSTAL ITEMS AND THE TAGGING OF ASSETS

• 2.1. EPCglobal influence on standards
• 2.2. Choice of frequencies
• 2.3. The EPC air interface
• 2.4. Gen2 is a breakthrough for some open RFID systems
• 2.5. EPC is not confined to UHF
• 2.6. Over promising - no ideal frequency for everything
• 2.7. RFID enabled asset management

3. DETAILED CASE STUDIES

• 3.1. Item level
  • 3.1.1. IPC AMQM - the largest RFID network in the world
  • 3.1.2. Correos - Europe' s largest UHF EPC project
  • 3.1.3. DHL, temperature monitoring pharmaceuticals, USA
  • 3.1.4. DHL postal packages, Belgium
  • 3.1.5. China Post, mail bags China
  • 3.1.6. DHL postal packages, Belgium
  • 3.1.7. UPS courier packages USA
  • 3.1.8. FedEx NetReturn/ Intellareturn courier returns USA
  • 3.1.9. DHL Time/temperature recording Belgium
  • 3.1.10. La Poste, measurement of mail flow France
  • 3.1.11. European Commission ParcelCall project, Europe
  • 3.1.12. Royal Mail, mail flow monitoring, new system UK
  • 3.1.13. Royal Mail, monitoring letters, UK
  • 3.1.14. US Postal Service, mail flow item level, USA
  • 3.1.15. DHL Fashion apparel France
  • 3.1.16. Deutsche Paket Dienst parcels Germany
  • 3.1.17. Home Office, TRI-MEX International Ltd, Nokia and DHL, UK/ Finland
• 3.2. Post boxes
  • 3.2.1. Saudi Post post box identification Saudi Arabia
  • 3.2.2. La Poste postal box access France
• 3.3. Conveyances
  • 3.3.1. Brinks France transport container access
  • 3.3.2. TNT Express and Thai Customs, overland logistics, Thailand
  • 3.3.3. TNT, Liege Airport, freight tracking, Belgium
  • 3.3.4. UPS tote boxes USA
  • 3.3.5. UPS tote boxes Phase Two USA
  • 3.3.6. UPS shipping tools USA
  • 3.3.7. UPS Reusable container sortation USA
  • 3.3.8. DHL and Nokia, cellphone transit cases UK/Finland
  • 3.3.9. Italian Post Office, mailbags, Italy
  • 3.3.10. Korea Post, pallets, Korea
  • 3.3.11. Royal Mail, roll cages, UK
  • 3.3.12. Swedish Postal Service, conveyance packs, Sweden
  • 3.3.13. US Postal Service pallets US
  • 3.3.14. UPS mandated pallets and cases USA
  • 3.3.15. UPS mail bags USA
• 3.4. Vehicles
  • 3.4.1. Deutsche Post trucks and swap-bodies Germany
  • 3.4.2. FedEx keyless entry/ignition system, USA
  • 3.4.3. DHL, RFID enabled van, Europe
  • 3.4.4. Parcelforce trailers, UK
  • 3.4.5. UPS trucks USA

4. MARKET FORECASTS AND PLAYERS

• 4.1. Market dynamics
  • 4.1.1. Why RFID is now the hot topic in this sector
  • 4.1.2. Leaders and followers
• 4.2. Market forecasts 2008-2018
• 4.3. Total RFID Market Growth

APPENDIX 1: FURTHER READING FROM IDTECHEX

APPENDIX 2: INTRODUCTION TO RFID

APPENDIX 3: EPCGLOBAL AND THE INTERNET OF THINGS

APPENDIX 4: HF TO LONGER RANGE

• 1.1. Business drivers for trailer portals
• 1.2. Option 3 Proposition
• 1.3. Value of RFID passive tag market in 2007
• 1.4. Value of RFID active tag market in 2007
• 1.5. Value Chain 2007
• 2.1. Summary of Gen2 features
• 4.1. Numbers of posted items, conveyances and vehicles used by the postal and courier services in 2008 - an indication of the potential for RFID
• 4.2. Postal/courier global market for RFID systems and services, including tags, in billions of dollars 2008-2018
• 4.3. Number, average cost and total spend on tags for postal and courier services
• 4.6. The numbers of postal items delivered globally by year in billions, USPS vs Other, 2008-2018
• 4.7. Total RFID market growth in US$ billion 2008-2018

• 1.1. FKILogistex RFID enabled postal storage retrieval machine
• 1.2. Motorola tunnel at China Post
• 1.3. RFID Compliance - "Slap & Ship"
• 1.4. RFID Compliance - Semi-auto "Slap & Ship"
• 1.5. RFID Compliance - Enhanced Semi-auto "Slap & Ship"
• 1.6. Exel view of tagging of vehicles and trailers
• 1.7. Option 1 Proposition
• 1.8. Asset management proposition
• 2.1. RFID Enabled Asset Management
• 3.1. Principle of automatic mail registrations with RFID
• 3.2. Mobile AMQM - equipment and practical use
• 3.3. DHL RFID today development model
• 3.4. One version of item level RFID trialled by DHL
• 3.5. Intellareturn Smart Return Services
• 3.6. The RFID electronic Time Temperature Indicator from KSW Microtec
• 3.7. La Poste slide 1 - Further information needed
• 3.8. La Poste slide 2 - Improving transit time with RFID
• 3.9. La Poste slide 3 - Technical choices
• 3.10. ParcelCall scenarios
• 3.11. I.D. Systems tags
• 3.12. DHL in action
• 3.13. ASK summary of DHL Fashion trial
• 3.14. Veronique Delachaux fashion
• 3.15. NBG tunnel interrogator at DHL Fashion
• 3.16. NBG roving aisle interrogator at DHL Fashion
• 3.17. Overview of VIGIK
• 3.18. The patented VIGIK solution
• 3.19. VIGIK principles
• 3.20. VIGIK technical
• 3.21. VIGIK authorisation
• 3.22. La Poste distribution
• 3.23. Banknotes with dye activation. Ink staining versus acid
• 3.24. The EM Microelectronics active tag
• 3.25. The overall vision of UPS for RFID - Pilot: Distribution and Fulfilment
• 3.26. The DHL view of the project - Regional pilot Western Europe
• 3.27. Nokia and DHL nest technologies to provide real-time product visibility
• 3.28. Mail Rail
• 3.29. Cypak logo and stamps
• 3.30. Cypak/Swedish Post Office package - RFID package that senses time of tampering
• 3.31. RFID wristbands
• 3.32. FedEx special delivery
• 3.33. Parcelforce Worldwide is the largest parcel carrier in the UK
• 3.34. The tag is read by road loops (coils buried in the road)
• 3.35. The driver is automatically directed to the correct loading bay
• 3.36. UPS trucks in pilot
• 4.1. Phasing of mass adoption of RFID by sector - New opportunities
• 4.2. The global potential for RFID tags for all applications in yearly numbers
• 4.3. Global market for RFID systems and services, including tags, 2008-2018, in billions of dollars
• 4.4. Number, average cost and total spend on passive tags for postal and courier services
• 4.5. Number, average cost and total spend on active tags for postal and courier services
• 4.6. Number, average cost and total spend on total tags for postal and courier services
• 4.7. The numbers of postal items delivered globally by year in billions, USPS vs Other, 2008-2018
• 4.8. Total RFID market growth in US$ billion 2008-2018

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