In this interview, AZoSensors speaks with Beontag CEO Ricardo Lobo regarding RFID's role in IoT, enhancing supply chain efficiency, sustainability, and data security for diverse industries.
Can you please introduce yourself and your role at Beontag
For the past eight years, I have proudly served as CEO of Beontag. My mission throughout this time has been to facilitate seamless communication between companies, products, and people while harnessing the potential of IoT and data communication.
Beontag combines these technologies with the vital industry of Graphic and Label Materials (GLM) to act as a powerful business enabler for a wide range of industries. Every day, my team and I are committed to enhancing the customer experience throughout product lifecycles, and during my tenure, Beontag has transformed into a global innovator, facilitating sustainable business practice for all the clients we work with. I am immensely proud of everything we have done in that time, but there is still much more we aim to achieve.
For those not familiar with Beontag, could you give a brief overview of the company and its core services?
Beontag is one of the world's leading providers of IoT solutions and graphic and label materials. Over the last 40 years, we have expanded, invested, and grown to become a truly end-to-end global business enabler, facilitating digital transformation among our customers, along with a reduced carbon footprint, improved supply chain management, and much more.
We currently have operations in more than 15 countries and a footprint in over 40 markets around the world. With diversity of application as our greatest strength, our innovation-led products stand out due to their versatility – from tire and vehicle manufacture all the way through to luxury products and retail environments and everything in between.
Could you explain the core RFID technologies Beontag specializes in? How do these technologies stand out in the RFID market?
RFID technology uses electromagnetic fields to identify and track tags attached to objects, enabling a wide variety of uses in countless settings. The data generated by radio frequency identification enhances inventory and asset management, offering real-time information on stock levels and minimizing system errors and discrepancies.
In addition, Beontag’s offering encompasses NFC (near-field communication) technology, which enables communication between devices in very close proximity. NFC enables an extra level of engagement in the value and supply chains, including via product authentication, which in turn combats grey market and counterfeit products.
The technology also improves traceability, ensuring transparency and efficiency. We also believe that by reframing RFID’s capabilities, its utility will grow dramatically, and it can become a key tool in a wide variety of sustainability use cases.
Image Credit: Beontag
RFID technology has a wide range of applications across various industries. Could you highlight a few sectors where your products have had a significant impact?
Beontag is committed to expanding communication between companies, products, and people. Overall, the ambition is to create a seamless and sustainable future across the entire spectrum of industries and sectors. Since our origins in label manufacturing, our scope has grown as we have moved to shape efficient and sustainable systems for our supply chains, transport, and payment infrastructure. We are always driving technological innovation forward – we see the distinct challenges experienced in different sectors, and our broad experience allows us to identify and overcome obstacles that otherwise might seem industry-specific.
For example, we work with Volvo in its manufacturing plants to aid in the timing of its ‘just in time’ automated line, where the production of every car starts with a Beontag RFID tag. We also offer solutions for luxury brands such as Bulgari, and our technologies have shaped new tech-powered urban ecosystems worldwide, transforming 200+ cities from Vancouver to Hong Kong and Venice’s Vaporetto system. With product innovations such as these and many more, we are constantly exploring new ways to help our customers unlock new business models and revenue streams.
The Transformative Role of Sensors in Supply Chain Management
Beontag operates in 15 countries and has a footprint in over 40 markets. How does Beontag ensure its RFID solutions meet the specific needs of these diverse industries?
Diversification is truly one of Beontag’s greatest strengths. By creating a broad base of technological solutions and industry-specific expertise across a growing number of regions, we benefit from seeing the distinct challenges experienced in different sectors. This allows us to pinpoint the connections between obstacles that otherwise could seem industry-specific.
This cross-pollination empowers us to create tailored solutions in countless sectors – including apparel, retail, luxury, payments, transportation, smart cities, heavy industries, payments, and more. We aim to continue diversifying our focus as new opportunities emerge to shape a world where sustainability, efficiency, and user experience go together.
RFID technology often works in tandem with other sensor technologies. How does Beontag integrate RFID with other sensing solutions to enhance functionality?
We truly believe in offering our customers the most appropriate solution for their needs – whether that is RFID, UHF, NFC chip, BLE (Bluetooth low energy), a blockchain-linked solution, or a digital product passport.
In some cases, for example, our RFID tags are used throughout every phase of the manufacturing process, enabling quality control, time, and resource management and so much more. For example, the time it takes to check and approve the content of a single pallet could be reduced from several minutes to a matter of seconds. But when you combine this with other elements, such as audible and visual alerts, efficiency is boosted even further.
RFID versatility is not only in how it interacts with other technologies but also in how tags can be designed and manufactured using a diverse range of materials to suit any need or industry. Specialized labels can be used for harsh industrial environments, able to withstand water, extreme heat, and significant physical handling.
Meanwhile, our BLE tags are specifically designed for high-volume asset tracking in more demanding environments, such as hospitals or indoor industrial spaces. They are straightforward to implement and feature long-life batteries with a lifetime of up to four years.
Image Credit: Beontag
Data security is a major concern with any technology that collects and manages data. How does Beontag address security and privacy concerns related to RFID technology?
We are often asked this, and it is a very understandable concern in the world we live in. RFID technology is an identifier that recognizes an object in a specific time and place and triggers an appropriate reaction. Either side of this exchange is only activated on contact, and the chip itself never stores any data, live or otherwise. RFID technology has many uses and applications, all of which involve transmitting pre-encoded stored data to a reader when asked. The tags do not collect or transmit any data from the user.
Take the example of an RFID chip embedded in an item of clothing. In the supply chain, this chip can be used to manage stock levels quickly and accurately; in stores, it can be used to enhance the purchase experience. After purchase, it could be used as proof of authenticity if needed. At all other times, it is a passive addition with no capability for recording user data.
Beontag has been a member of the UN Global Compact since 2021. How important is it for you as a company to offer your customers sustainable products while working towards a diverse and equitable work environment?
Beontag is committed to promoting sustainability, both within our operations and in the solutions that we offer. This effort combines our company’s ambitious ESG targets aligned with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
Company-wide, we have developed a 2030 roadmap that will guide Beontag’s ESG commitments and targets through the rest of this decade. This roadmap incorporates strategic acquisitions, investment in innovative technology and promoting balance in our supply chain.
We have recently published our ESG report for 2023, which showed that 78 % of our sales in graphics and labeling materials were products manufactured through sustainable means. This figure has been growing steadily in recent years, and we aim to increase it even further through the rest of this decade.
We launched our 2030 ESG strategy in Q3 of 2022, and it has already accomplished so much thanks to the efforts of our 2,000 employees all over the world. More than 50 % of our DTE products are now sourced from short-distance supply, plus we have assessed sources of clean energy generation. I am excited to take further steps to reduce our carbon footprint by driving climate-focused internal operations that enable both us and our customers to drive sustainable businesses.
What steps is Beontag taking to ensure that its RFID products are sustainable and ethically produced?
Our tracking and traceability capabilities enable our customers to better measure the sustainability credentials of any product, supply chain or inventory, for example, their corporate carbon footprint – but our sustainability efforts do not stop there.
Our sustainable product portfolio incorporates cutting-edge plastic-free technology in ECO RFID tags. By focusing on sustainable-led innovation, we share an industry-wide commitment to traceability and transparency solutions with a smaller carbon footprint and enhanced customer experience.
In 2023, we continued to leverage our internal capacities to provide more modern and sustainable alternatives to our customers. This includes reducing the use of materials wherever possible, extending product lifetime, ensuring recyclability, and including post-consumer recycled (PCR) materials to the composition of labels and tags. These are some of the positions that drive this work.
Looking ahead, how do you see RFID technology evolving in the next five years? What role will Beontag play in shaping the future of this technology?
After significant investment in growth in recent years, our investment strategy now focuses on innovation, sustainability, and R&D, which is in line with our ambition to be a world-leading global business enabler.
This ambition is attached to our most long-term investments in operational ‘centers of excellence’ in Finland, Italy, US, China and Brazil.
Our scope has grown from label manufacturing into a global technology developer that shapes efficient and sustainable supply chains, transport systems, payment infrastructures, and communication networks. Today, Beontag is at the forefront of R&D, driving technological innovation across a wide range of sectors and industries, using a vast array of hardware and software.
Is there anything else you would like to add that our readers may find interesting?
The growth of Beontag has increased exponentially in recent years with major advancements in the company. Our commitment to innovation was underscored by the inauguration of our flagship R&D center in Tampere, Finland, in January of this year. Following an initial investment of €10 million, the factory is set to drive product innovations for a range of digital tag solutions.
Also, in early 2024, we proudly opened our state-of-the-art facility in Bologna, Italy, signaling our dedication to advancing product quality and industry standards. Our team in Bologna is empowered to advance product quality and spearhead advancements within the industry.
We are also nearing the opening date for our new facility in Dayton, Ohio. We have invested $60 million in a 200,000 sq ft industrial center that will serve as a milestone in our North American expansion, which began when we acquired Technicote in 2022.
Reflecting on the last six months alone, I am incredibly proud and excited about the contributions Beontag will make to the industries we serve, pushing the boundaries of what is possible for product quality, sustainability, and affordability.
For more insight into the Internet of Things (IoT), check out this article on the use of nanotechnology in IoT!!
Where can readers find more information?
For more information, visit Beontag.com. We have just launched a new website with detailed case studies and outlines of our technology.
About Ricardo Lobo
Ricardo is a leader in the global labeling industry and is currently serving as the CEO of Beontag. Having led the Company for over seven years, Ricardo has helped develop and expand Beontag to the global business enabler we see today.
Ricardo’s mission is to drive seamless communication between companies, products, and people through his expertise and passion for the potential of IoT and data communication. His belief in improving the customer experience through transforming product life cycles and stock management is seen through his hard work and commitment to Beontag.
Disclaimer: The views expressed here are those of the interviewee and do not necessarily represent the views of AZoM.com Limited (T/A) AZoNetwork, the owner and operator of this website. This disclaimer forms part of the Terms and Conditions of use of this website.