At last week’s RFID Journal Virtually LIVE! 2020 conference and exhibition, RFID Journal announced the winners of its 14th annual RFID Journal Awards. The awards, sponsored by the RFID Professional Institute, recognize companies that have distinguished themselves by their successful use of radio frequency identification (RFID) or Internet of Things (IoT) technologies, or by their introduction of a valuable new RFID or IoT product or service.
Each year, RFID Journal selects an independent panel of judges to evaluate entries and choose the winners. The goal is to recognize the leaders in the RFID and IoT field, and to foster the adoption of such technologies by highlighting the best deployments and product offerings. The finalists for this year’s awards were announced in March (see Finalists Unveiled for 14th Annual RFID Journal Awards), and the winners were selected in six different end-user categories:
Best Retail RFID Implementation
- Grupo Boticário, which deployed an RFID solution to boost traceability and address other challenges in its supply chain (see Grupo Boticário Plans RFID Deployment).
Best Manufacturing RFID Implementation
- Volkswagen do Brasil, which employs a real-time tool-monitoring system to track parts arriving from third-party automotive suppliers.
Best Health-Care RFID Implementation
- Johnson & Johnson, which uses RFID to improve its orthopedic loaner set replenishment process (see RFID for Orthopedic Implant Management Offers Standardized Solution).
Best Logistics/Supply Chain RFID Implementation
- Lockheed Martin, which utilizes RFID to improve accountability in its everyday operations, as mandated by the U.S. Department of Defense (see Lockheed Martin Advances the “Flightline of the Future” Through Asset Visibility).
Best RFID Implementation (Other Industry)
- The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, which employs RFID to reduce the time, money and workload involved in managing assets and conducting inventory counts (see U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Tracks IT Assets).
Best Use of RFID to Enhance a Product or Service
- SportCor, which developed a smart electronics core that can be embedded in balls and other sports equipment to provide highly accurate sports data analytics (see RFID Powers Smart Balls, Luggage Tags).
In addition, RFID Journal presented the Best New Product award to EM Microelectronic for its em|echo-V product-authentication solution, which combines Near Field Communication (NFC) and passive UHF RFID in a single chip, creating an all-in-one tool for supply chain management, consumer engagement and product authentication (see Best New RFID Products of 2020: METRC’s Wearable Passive UHF Reader and EM Microelectronic’s em|echo-V Dual-Frequency Chip).
Furthermore, RFID Journal’s editors gave this year’s RFID Special Achievement Award to Dr. Tali Freed, a professor of industrial and manufacturing engineering, for her leadership at the PolyGAIT-RFID Research and Development Center (see Drone RFID Read Rate Near 100 Percent for Inventory or Asset Management).
Next year’s RFID Journal LIVE! event and RFID Journal Awards ceremony will be held in Phoenix, Ariz. For more information about upcoming online and face-to-face conferences, visit RFID Journal’s events page.