The 23rd edition of RFID Journal LIVE! 2025 is beginning to take shape and one of the deep dives this year are the discussions being held about real world implementations and outcomes in manufacturing.
The world’s largest conference and exhibition focused on radio frequency identification and related technologies, LIVE typically features more than 100 exhibitors from 26 countries showcasing best-in-class RFID tags, readers, software and implementation services.
The show in 2025 will be held May 6-8 at the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas, NV. The 2025 conference will include three days of industry-specific and how-to tracks, as well as general education for those new to the RFID market.
Conference tracks and education sessions give participants the opportunity to hear compelling case studies, share best practices, network with their peers and learn about the latest technological advances from the vendor community.
Pilots and Beyond
Beyond The Pilot: Real World Implementations and Outcomes in Manufacturing is a track that focuses on transformative technologies delivering benefits to manufacturers beyond just track and trace. Advanced technologies are enabling enterprises to develop a digital enterprise strategy, as well as becoming a smarter, more connected manufacturer.
Track: Beyond the Pilot: Real World Implementations and Outcomes in Manufacturing
Session Title: NextNav FCC Proposal: AIM RFID Expert Weighs In
Date: May 6, 8:45 AM
Speaker: Kevin Berisso, Ph.D., Director, AutoID Lab University of Memphis
Session Title: The Future of Smart Manufacturing: AI-Driven Real-Time Tracking
Date: May 6, 11:05 AM
Speaker: Scott Dugdale, General Manager, EMEA, CribMaster (a Stanley Black & Decker Company), Smart Storage Solutions
Description: As industrial manufacturing and supply chain processes become increasingly digitized with IoT, robotics, and AI, even the smallest data inaccuracies can have significant operational, safety, and security impacts. Traditional inventory tracking systems struggle to detect, count and locate items accurately and quickly. Stanley Black & Decker is using a system by PervasID to track critical manufacturing tools housed in smart RFID tool cabinets used by aircraft manufacturers. Each cabinet contains over 1,000 tools and ensuring none are left inside an aircraft is crucial to prevent the issue of Foreign Object Debris (FOD) incidents. FOD costs the aviation industry $13 billion annually in both direct and indirect costs, such as delays and fuel inefficiencies. Learn how the firm has used the system with over 99 percent accuracy and responsiveness, delivering a cost-effective solution with rapid ROI, saving money, time and people’s lives.
Session Title: Valgroup Expands and Improves Industrial Processes with RFID
Date: May 6, 11:55 AM
Speakers: Mauricio Campos da Silva, Commercial Manager, Valgroup
Glaucia Gomes, RFID and IoT Specialist, RFID Brasil
Description: Valgroup, one of the largest plastic producers, transformers, and recyclers in the world, and the largest in Latin America, has successfully integrated SAP with the firm’s ERP system. This integration eliminated the need for parallel systems, enabling all operations to be performed directly within the SAP environment. They also developed an innovative RFID chip encoding process that eliminates the need for specific RFID printers, significantly simplifying the operational process. Learn how the project was expanded to include three industrial plants, resulting in an increase in productivity. Gain an understanding of how the use of RFID technology to integrate complex corporate systems has resulted in a transformative solution in an industrial setting.
Session Title: Doug & Kevin Talk Shop: Unlocking Real-Time WIP Visibility With RFID
Date: May 6, 1:50 PM
Speakers: Kevin Berisso, Ph.D., Director, AutoID Lab University of Memphis
Doug Harvel, Senior IT Distribution Analyst/Consultant, RFID Consulting
Description: Industry experts, Doug Harvel and Kevin Berisso join forces in this session to discuss how radio frequency identification (RFID) technology is successfully being used in the manufacturing industry for real-time WIP (work- in -progress) tracking. Learn how the use of RFID is enabling efficiencies in factories, warehouses and distribution centers and improving manufacturing capability while providing an automated solution that accurately collects the data in real time.
Session Title: RAIN Alliance Manufacturing Quality Workgroup Update
Date: May 6, 2:40 PM
Speakers: Bahar Aliakbarian, Senior R&D Director, Associate Professor, Axia Institute- Michigan State University
Aileen Ryan, President, RAIN Alliance
Description: The RAIN Alliance Manufacturing Quality Workgroup has been collaborating to produce transparent and openly available manufacturing quality specifications, best practices and benchmarks to help ensure there’s sufficient global capacity for RAIN certification so that market capacity demands can be met. In this session they will share the results of their work, including a survey regarding quality concerns in RAIN tag manufacturing, current certification practices and the perceived importance of manufacturing quality certification.
Session Title: Applying AI to pRTLS
Date: May 7, 8:45 AM
Speakers: Kevin Berisso, Ph.D., Director, AutoID Lab University of Memphis
Ray Lee, Founder, Resix Robotics
Description: pRTLS solutions continue to gain traction but can also introduce new types of uncertainty. Hear how the University of Memphis AutoID Lab has teamed up with AI startup, Resix Robotics, to help improve the determination of motion in pRTLS data. The session will discuss the challenges encountered during testing, what has been learned to date, and how the information gleaned will be used in the future.
Session Title: Gartner Overview: Industry Update
Date: May 7, 9:35 AM
Speaker: Sandeep Unni, Sr Director Analyst, Gartner
Session Title: RFID Journal Awards Finalist Session: Cummins Powers Sustainability with RFID-enabled RTIs
Date: May 7, 10:25 AM
Speaker: Chuck Braidich, Director- Global Returnable Packaging Program, Global Logistics, Cummins, Inc.
Description: Global engine and power supply company, Cummins, is committed to reducing the total amount of packaging waste resulting from manufacturing operations. By employing RFID-based Returnable Transport Items (RTIs) for components and products, the firm can automatically track those plastic containers and totes as they move around the country to be loaded, transported and then emptied and re-used. Cummins also invested in providing the technology to its suppliers at no cost. The use of RFID by those suppliers was critical to gaining the supply chain visibility the company needed. Learn how RFID reduces labor costs by eliminating the need for barcode scanning or visual identification of each item, as well as providing operational benefits. Hear how Cummins is optimizing the fleet sizes based on the ability to identify where the bottlenecks are, and how long it takes assets to get from supplier to a Cummins facility, or supplier to logistics facility.
Session Title: Developing an RFID Strategy for Manufacturing
Date: May 7, 11:15 AM
Speaker: Doug Harvel, Senior IT Distribution Analyst/Consultant, RFID Consulting
Description: RFID can deliver a great deal of benefits to manufacturers in many different areas, but without coherent strategies, companies often wind up deploying the technology on a piecemeal basis, only to find that it fails to meet their longer-term needs. In this session, industry veteran Doug Harvel will explain how to create a long-term strategy that can enable businesses to choose technologies that will best meet their ongoing needs across a wide variety of applications, as well as how to prioritize projects in the near term.
Others tracks to be held during the conference include:
- Tell Me More: Innovative Use Cases in Retail
- IoT, ChatGPT? Blockchain? AI? NLP? What Do I Do with This Stuff
- Enhancing Supply Chain Resilience: What’s AI And ML Got to do With It?
- Utilizing Cutting-Edge Solutions in Healthcare, Food and Pharma
- Navigating Healthcare, Food and Retail Compliance
- Digital Doppelgangers: Powering Operations with Digital Twins and Gen AI
- DOGE Ready: Harnessing Technology to Improve Efficiency in Government and Aerospace
Training Opportunities
In addition to track sessions, LIVE! 2025 will present an advanced, one-day fast-track RFID certification course, presented by RFID4U, covering the latest equipment and relevant RFID deployment scenarios. This course will provide a solid foundation to design, install, configure, monitor and troubleshoot RFID deployment, as well as prepare participants for the RFID Professional Institute Certified Associate exam. Each participant will receive a voucher to take the exam online, after the event.
Another offering is RAIN Alliance Training, presented by RAIN Alliance, and the RAIN Alliance Sustainability and Circularity Community. As companies face increasing pressure to meet sustainability targets and build more resilient operations, understanding how RAIN technology can support these goals is essential — especially in light of evolving regulatory requirements and shifting consumer preferences toward the circular economy. Whether you’re managing projects, optimizing supply chains, or driving corporate sustainability goals, these sessions offer actionable insights and hands-on strategies tailored to your needs.
RFID Journal Awards
The awards, in their 19th year, recognize outstanding achievements in RFID and related technologies. The RFID Journal Awards honors companies that have distinguished themselves by their successful use of RFID, Internet of Things (IoT) technologies or the introduction of a valuable new RFID or IoT product or service.
These prestigious awards honor organizations and innovators who have successfully leveraged RFID and IoT technologies to transform operations, enhance efficiency, and achieve remarkable results. The awards cover seven categories this year.
- Best Manufacturing or IIoT Implementation: Recognizing the manufacturer with the most effective use of RFID, IIoT, NFC, or related technology.
- Best Retail Implementation: Honoring the retailer or brand owner with the best deployment of RFID, IoT, NFC, or related technology.
- Best Supply Chain/Logistics Implementation: This award will be given to the end-user company that has demonstrated the best use of RFID, IoT, NFC, or related technology to improve its logistics or supply chain operations, including warehouse and distribution center operations.
- Best Healthcare Implementation: Awarded to the end-user company (e.g., hospital, clinic, or pharmaceutical firm) with the most transformative use of RFID, IoT, or NFC.
- Best RFID Implementation (Other Industry): Open to end-user companies in any industry showcasing exceptional applications of RFID, IoT, NFC, or similar technologies.
- Best RFID/IoT/AI Implementation: Award recognizes organizations that have successfully integrated RFID, IoT or AI technologies to achieve transformative results.
- The Best New Product Award: The award will be given to the company that exhibits the best new RFID, IoT, NFC, or related technology product or service. To qualify for the award, the product must have been introduced after April 11, 2024.