Bar code and RFID technology continue to converge. In a recent study conducted by VDC Research and revealed during a webcast this afternoon, 34 percent of bar code users are integrating RFID into their bar code solution.

“It’s very highly prevalent,” says VDC’s Drew Nathanson. VDC also did some research about the percentage of RFID transponders that also carry a bar code. In some verticals, the number was as high at 65 percent. In the manufacturing and shop floor environment, the number was closer to 35 percent. However, that number will likely grow strongly as the process for applying RFID tags moves down the supply chain to the point of manufacture.

“Convergence is happening because you have an entrenched technology, but you need more visibility,” says Nathanson. “You have an established technology that has been used for an extended period, and it’s been working fine and it still supports much of the compliance needs out there. By adopting RFID with the same solution, you are getting the best of both words. You can still leverage all that bar code information, but to have that non line-of-sight and to have more information follow the product through the value chain is such a strong driver. It’s a necessity that if you are using RFID for anything that is already using a bar code, that you have to look at these two as working together.”