Ongoing digital transformation within factories and the shift to Industry 5.0 standards is driving the need for automated, cloud-based solutions that can facilitate error-free serialization and traceability workflows. Regulations like the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) and the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) 204 are influencing the implementation of serialization mandates in the pharmaceutical and food and beverage sectors. Additionally… Learn more

On Wednesday, August 21st, smart data capture provider Scandit announced its acquisition of the technology of MarketLab, a Polish image recognition and AI software company specializing in the retail industry. Scandit’s solutions run primarily on consumer-grade devices, usually smartphones. MarketLab’s shelf audit automation solution SmartEye, similar to Scandit’s ShelfView, offers fixed camera-based data capture on store shelves… Learn more

Walmart, the world’s largest retailer also known for its commitment to technology innovation, announced plans to implement Electronic Shelf Labels (ESLs) in 2,300 of its U.S. stores by 2026. The retailer initiated this move… Learn more

Earnings season is in full flow and the VDC team has been tracking results from several leading market players across AIDC, enterprise mobility, and machine vision. Q2 2023 was a rough quarter all around, with market leaders expecting continued weakness through the end of the year. As a whole, large projects have temporarily dried up and the run rate business has taken a hit for vendors and distribution partners alike. Learn more

Earnings season is in full flow and the VDC team has been tracking results from several leading market players across AIDC, enterprise mobility, and machine vision. Q2 2023 was a rough quarter all around, with market leaders expecting continued weakness through the end of the year. As a whole, large projects have temporarily dried up and the run rate business has taken a hit for vendors and distribution partners alike. Learn more

Automation is critical today for enhancing manufacturing productivity and in meeting customer expectations for product quality and traceability. Manufacturers are leveraging a variety of solutions as need for accurate on-package information grows, accelerated by requirements around coordination, synchronization, and consistency in data access/use across globally distributed locations. VDC’s recently concluded primary research on coding and marking solutions — which are used at every level of packaging to print batch numbers, lot numbers, logos, MRP, expiry date, barcodes, etc. — highlights several interesting insights on this highly fragmented marketplace. Learn more

Peak Technologies is one of the market leaders in the AIDC space, offering digital supply chain solutions utilizing enterprise printing, labeling, mobile data collection and a full suite of lifecycle and managed services. Peak focuses on end markets such as manufacturing, wholesale distribution, e‑commerce, transportation, and logistics and retail. In April 2021, Peak Technologies was acquired by Sole Source Capital, a private equity firm that thematically invests in fragmented, high-growth industrial subsectors. Sole Source seeks founder-owned businesses or corporate carve-outs that will benefit from the team’s operating and M&A capabilities. Sole Source Capital has a strong operating heritage that enables it to execute a buy and build strategy with significant downside protection. Learn more

Loftware, the global market leader for barcode labeling software, announced its acquisition of UK‑based PRISYM ID in January. With this, the company further extends its position in the life sciences vertical, which has always been a key area of focus. PRISYM ID offers label management solutions for clinical trials, medical devices, and pharmaceuticals. Learn more

On Thursday, September 23rd, VDC’s Richa Gupta will co-present a webinar with Loftware’s VP of Global Product Management, Josh Roffman, where they will discuss the importance of barcode labeling accuracy and consistency to manage growing supply chain complexities and enable error-free traceability. Learn more

VDC Research recently published a comprehensive report as part of a custom thought leadership engagement for Newcastle Systems, a leading mobile powered workstation vendor. Learn more

On June 17th, 2021 Brady Corporation, a global leader in safety, identification, and compliance solutions announced that it has acquired The Code Corporation for $173 Million. Learn more

On May 18th, Zebra Technologies made significant news in Machine Vision and Industrial Barcode Scanning with a five‑part announcement. Learn more

Loftware and NiceLabel announced on January 12th the combination of their two organizations and, with it, have significantly altered the landscape for labeling solutions. Learn more

The retail landscape continues to face key challenges around inventory management and accuracy where enterprises are looking towards automation to drive productivity. The lack of accurate inventory management and stock availability has cost retailers sales and consumer satisfaction in their in‑store shopping experience. Learn more

Change is afoot and the pressures facing retailers are driving them to re-evaluate their infrastructure, especially with their point-of-sale (POS) solutions. Taking stock of their operations, many retailers are moving towards administering new types of code onto their consumer products. LEarn more

Zebra Technologies announced its intent to acquire privately held Temptime Corporation for an undisclosed sum. Temptime is an industry leader in the development of remote temperature monitoring solutions, with a particular focus in the healthcare industry. Learn more

The idea of autonomous mobile robots (AMR) and collaborative robots (cobots) in the warehouse have gained traction as machine vision, sensor, and motion technology advances. AMRs and cobots are designed to augment employee work flows making work processes easier and more efficient. Employees have growing concerns that robots will displace their jobs in the manufacturing sector as automation continues to grow; however, the reality is that there are many labor shortages in these sectors where employers seek to deploy robotic labor. Learn more

Supply chain traceability is often a time-consuming and costly challenge for food producers. When food bacteria outbreaks such as E coli and salmonella infest any portion of a grocer’s produce, they are forced to throw out an entire batch for a lack of a quick and accurate method to easily identify where it originated from and discard the infested produce. Consumer trust and brand protection are integral to this process where retailers would rather be safe than sorry. Learn more

As companies shift towards relying more on intelligent robots in their work flows, the concern for human job replacement and robot autonomy rises. The increase of ecommerce has intensified order fulfillment requirements, which pushes enterprises to need faster order processing and delivery speeds. While the implementation of collaborative robots (cobots) have many benefits in terms of streamlining order fulfilment work flows, the full impact on human job replacement has yet to be determined. Learn more

MODEX is the premier tradeshow for supply chain and logistics solutions, powered by the MHI and held biannually in Atlanta, GA where industry leaders in AIDC and robotics display their latest technology. This blog will detail the latest announcements and provide commentary on the newest innovation unveiled at MODEX 2018. Learn more

As a global leader in enterprise labeling solutions with over 5000 customers in over 100 countries, Loftware Inc. aims to extend and synergize its global capabilities with its acquisition of UK based company and artwork management solutions provider, GAP Systems. This combination of enterprise labeling and artwork management solutions is poised to drive innovation and offer singular enterprise platform for labeling and packaging artwork requirements. Learn more

Checkpoint Systems Inc. (a division of CCL Labels), a leader in electronic article surveillance (EAS) and RFID solutions for the retail industry, announced two new product offerings at the recently concluded NRF conference in New York. Thus, this blog will detail the latest products and the company’s outlook for the retail space in 2018. Learn more

VDC recently published a white paper in collaboration with mobile data capture vendor, Scandit. This piece analyzes the unprecedented challenges facing retailers with brick-and-mortar store locations today and their need to make strategic investments in technology solutions in order to compete effectively for customers and revenues. Shoppers today seek instant gratification and their exposure to a variety of different platforms and brands has dramatically altered their retail-related expectations. Learn more

VDC recently published a white paper in collaboration with mobile data capture vendor, Scandit. This piece analyzes the unprecedented challenges facing retailers with brick-and-mortar store locations today and their need to make strategic investments in technology solutions in order to compete effectively for customers and revenues. Shoppers today seek instant gratification and their exposure to a variety of different platforms and brands has dramatically altered their retail-related expectations. Learn more

The Asian logistics market has seen a flurry of activity this past week from an AIDC standpoint with market leaders Honeywell and SATO both making strategic announcements to address opportunities within it. This blog details the strategic investments and alliances forged by these conglomerates with an eye on the future. Learn more

AIDC vendors today face intense competition in the barcode printer and scanner hardware markets. This has them adopting non-traditional approaches to maintain and grow their market share, and generate higher shareholder value. In recent months, incumbents and emerging participants alike have launched initiatives on the channel development front with an aim to address client and prospect engagement opportunities. Learn more

VDC recently published Interim Findings for our upcoming 2017 Mobile Barcode Scanning Solution Report. The following blog highlights some of our thoughts on this market and its potential.
Handheld barcode scanning is no longer restricted to the traditional pistol grip form factor or rugged mobile devices. Mobile barcode scanners including companion scanners, sleds, ring scanners and barcode scanning software platforms saw strong demand globally in 2016 and will generate more than $150M in revenues by 2021, according to VDC’s latest research on the topic. Learn more

Zebra Technologies announced its Q2 2017 earnings on August 8, beating analyst expectations on EPS by $0.03 and revenues by $18.07M. The company saw an improvement over Q2 2016 across all regions with its various product lines; this included 9% sales growth in North America driven by an especially strong performance in mobile computing, 4% increase in EMEA, and an 11% rise in Latin America brought on by exceptionally strong data capture, printing, and supplies sales. Learn more

Customers want a range of choices not only in products they are looking to purchase but also in the shopping channel. Omnichannel enablement today is therefore becoming increasingly critical to secure purchases and brand loyalty. Technology leaders BT, Intel, Nexgen Packaging, RetailNext, SATO Global Solutions (SGS), and Valmarc Corporation have come together to form the Acuitas Digital Alliance (launched in 2016), which is aimed at transforming the in-store retail experience by enhancing buyer behavior predictability, inventory visibility, and stock accuracy. It combines analytical concepts and the Internet of Things (IoT) to improve overall retail in-store efficiencies. Learn more

I returned to Boston earlier today after spending an interesting two days at the 2017 GS1 Connect conference in Las Vegas, Nevada. I had the opportunity to present a session titled “How Retailers are Using Inventory Accuracy to Streamline Operations” with a representative from Target (Kevin O’Dare, Lead Business Partner). Here we talked about the importance of in-store inventory visibility to help facilitate a seamless and consistent omnichannel shopping experience for customers while at the same time elevating their retailer/brand loyalty levels. Read more

Customers want a range of choices not only in products they are looking to purchase but also in the shopping channel. Omnichannel enablement today is therefore becoming increasingly critical to secure purchases and brand loyalty. Technology leaders BT, Intel Labs, Nexgen, RetailNext, SATO Global Solutions (SGS), and Valmarc Corporation have come together to form the Acuitas Digital Alliance (launched in 2016), which is aimed at transforming the in-store retail experience by enhancing buyer behavior predictability, inventory virtualization, and stock accuracy and visibility. It combines analytical concepts and the Internet of Things (IoT) to improve overall retail in-store efficiencies. Learn more

We recently published market estimates and forecasts as part of VDC’s 2017 coverage of the global market for Mobile Thermal Printers. The market grew nearly 2% from 2015 to 2016, per our research. E-commerce fulfillment and retailers’ omnichannel initiatives are transforming supply chains and how they operate. Retail, Transportation & Logistics, and Commercial Services segments are the biggest adopters of mobile printing solutions, and will continue to be the main segments driving growth for the mobile printers market through the forecast period (2017–2021). Learn more

VDC recently published a report analyzing Machine Vision as a growth opportunity for AIDC participants. The following blog highlights some of our thoughts on the market and its potential. In the enterprise, cameras have historically been associated with machine vision solutions such as Smart Cameras and PC-Based Machine vision systems that leverage industrial cameras & software applications for advanced machine vision applications. However, camera technology has over the years expanded to traditional AIDC markets through the introduction of camera-based imager engines. Imager engines today have overcome previous performance limitations including decode snappiness, ambient light performance, depth of field, and price, all of which has helped the technology do what laser scanners can and more. Learn more

We recently published market estimates and forecasts as part of VDC’s 2017 coverage of the global market for Handheld Barcode Scanners. The market contracted nearly 2% from 2015 to 2016, per our research, with vendors generating close to a billion dollars for the segment during the year. Revenues from the laser scanner category declined 20%, in keeping with the overarching trend of migration to camera-based imaging. 2D imager-based scanner sales were up more than 7% in USD terms. From VDC’s perspective, it has been interesting to see the transition from 1D to 2D scanning take place with this form factor, especially from the standpoint of the changing dynamics of the global competitive landscape. Learn more

Retail store closings have dominated headlines these past few weeks with several major brick-and-mortar chains announcing significant changes to their existing landscape. Retailers today have a heightened focus on creating a meaningful, engaging, and consistent shopping experience for their customers across all channels of operation. In keeping with this theme, VDC’s Richa Gupta, Director of the AutoID & Data Capture (AIDC) Practice, will be presenting on the topic “How Retailers are Using Inventory Accuracy to Streamline Operations” as part of the Apparel and General Merchandise Track at the GS1 Connect^® 2017 conference on June 20, along with Kevin O’Dare, Lead Business Partner at Target Corporation. Learn more

Retailers with physical storefronts face mounting pressure today. Department store chains nationwide are closing hundreds of stores, e‑fulfillment is on the rise, and changing consumer habits are forcing many brick-and-mortar retailers to re‑evaluate their operations and move towards a more omnichannel sales model. Brick-and-mortar retail still accounts for over 90% of overall revenues. Despite that, retailers are feeling the pressure to create meaningful and highly engaging in-store experiences that align with shoppers’ expectations in order to facilitate customer conversion Consumers’ access to non-traditional retail channels, including online shopping (both desktop and mobile), and click‑and‑collect, has transformed retail and logistics, perhaps forever. Learn more

Zebra Technologies announced its Q1 2017 earnings on May 8, beating analyst expectations on EPS by $0.07 and revenues by $17.25M. The company saw an improvement over Q1 2016 across all regions with its various product lines; this included double-digit sales growth in EMEA and Latin America and a 5% growth in North America. Strong demand from retail and e-commerce customers contributed to success this quarter that exceeded Zebra’s guidance range. Learn more

To tackle the challenges of data management and security in the supply chain and address new regulations surrounding centralized interoperable database implementation, there is rising interest in the blockchain. Today, IBM unveiled the IBM Blockchain at InterConnect 2017 — A blockchain as a service offering for the enterprise. Known to most as the underlying technology supporting Bitcoin digital currency transactions, a blockchain is a digital ledger that uses cryptography to allow participants (each with a unique signature) on a network to use the ledger and record transactions to enable granular traceability. Learn more

VDC recently published a report focused on OEM Barcode Scan Engines. The following blog highlights some of our thoughts on this market and its potential. The global OEM scan engine market grew 6% year over year from 2015 to 2016 and is expected to grow to $362M by 2020, according to VDC latest study. VDC defines OEM barcode scan engines as products that are embedded in devices to enable and facilitate enterprise-grade barcode scanning. Learn more

Two major issues that face retail stores every year are the low matching accuracy of inventories and potential revenue lost from inventory shrinkage. According to Bill Hardgrave, dean of Auburn University's Harbert College of Business and the founder of the RFID Lab, current accuracy of retail inventories range from 30 percent to 60 percent. In terms of shrinkage, $45.2 Billion was lost last year in the United States alone according to the 2016 National Retail Security Survey conducted by the NRF. Learn more

This interview is part of an ongoing Q&A series VDC conducts with AIDC solution providers where they share their views on their company, products, and state of the market. We had the opportunity to catch up with Samuel Mueller, CEO and Co-Founder at Scandit to learn about the company and its recent initiatives. Learn more

VDC recently published a report focused on Dimensioning Solutions. The following blog highlights some of our thoughts on this market and its potential. The market for dimensioning solutions (also known as cubing solutions) is expanding. For years, these solutions were used for dimensioning products and parcels for efficient storage, package sizing, and quality checks and have recently come to gain greater attention beyond the transportation and logistics industry. According to the new report from VDC Research on enterprise requirements for dimensioning solutions, 55% of respondents across the manufacturing, retail, wholesale/distribution and logistics industries indicate currently using dimensioning solutions to support applications from inventory management, to order management and shipping in hubs across supply chains including distribution centers, manufacturing shop floors, warehouses, retail back of stores, and offices. Learn more