Foshan Develops EPC/RFID Adoption Program

[Hong Kong] GS1 Hong Kong has partnered with Wal-Mart and the Trade Bureau of Chancheng District Foshan on a new program designed to help spur RFID adoption among manufacturers and other businesses in Foshan, a city in the western part of China's Pearl River Delta (PRD) region.

According to the Federation of Hong Kong Industries (FHKI), there are about 60,000 Hong Kong-based manufacturing facilities operating in the PRD, a leading economic region in mainland China.  The partnership mains to equip Foshan, which boasts numerous manufacturers of household and electronic appliances, with the necessary RFID and EPC infrastructure, as well as the knowledge and skills to leverage that infrastructure, according to the three partners.

The demand for RFID tags is estimated to grow to more than 600 million in the next five years, says Hu An Quan, the director general of Foshan's Economy and Trade Bureau of the Chancheng District.  According to Quan, the demand for RFID interrogators and antennas is expected to grow to about 11,000 in that time.  As part of the partnership, Wal-Mart will share the RFID implementation experience it has gained thus far with its suppliers in Foshan, while also providing support to those suppliers' trading partners.  GS1 Hong Kong will help facilitate the information sharing and offer the use of the Hong Kong Supply Chain Innovation Center, a technology center in the Hong Kong Science Park in Shatin used to showcase RFID, EPC and supply chain management solutions.