The global number of physical tracked assets is expected to reach 42 billion by 2029, a substantial 208 percent increase from the 13 billion assets tracked in 2024, according to Juniper Research report. This growth reflects rising adoption across industries.
New regulations focused on sustainability are pushing businesses to expand asset tracking beyond just location and status monitoring. Companies will increasingly use tracking to measure carbon emissions, which requires enhanced reporting and data capabilities.
Hardware vendors are essential for asset tracking, producing components like RFID tags, radios, sensors, and GPS devices that make tracking feasible. RFID tracking, for instance, involves a four-step process of data storage, signal identification, reading, and database transmission.
Technological advancements, especially in the IoT sector, have made asset tracking more accessible, affordable, and robust. Improved connectivity now enables companies to monitor assets and related data to streamline workflows and improve efficiency.
While multiple tracking technologies are in use, many have seen significant developments in recent years, enhancing their reliability and effectiveness in complex environments.
GPS devices use satellite signals and receivers to compute asset location, time, and speed, allowing for 3D positioning views. GPS systems consist of three components — space, control, and user. Commercial GPS devices can either store journey data locally (passive tracking) or transmit it continuously to a central database (active tracking). Telematics systems leverage GPS data for detailed insights into fleet operations, using tracking devices to relay information to fleet management software.
RFID technology uses radio-frequency to track assets, with advantages in tag variety and versatility. Recent developments include Ultra-High Frequency (UHF) RFID tags, which extend tracking range beyond three meters, supporting broader asset monitoring at a higher cost than standard RFID tags. UHF RFID is especially beneficial in industrial environments where it can enhance operational efficiency and productivity.
In 2024, RFID inlay sizes have been reduced, allowing tracking of smaller assets and lowering costs due to reduced material use. The smaller inlays enable easier integration into package designs, making RFID tagging more affordable and preserving package branding.
Developments in IoT have spurred wider adoption of RFID, with UHF technology particularly making RFID tracking more comprehensive across sectors. While UHF solutions come at a higher price, they are promising for settings where increased range and efficiency offer greater value.
Battery-free RFIDs have gained traction in 2023 and 2024 due to their sustainability and long lifespan. Although limited in range, their lack of reliance on batteries makes them ideal for industries like healthcare, where asset location and quality tracking are critical. Wider adoption across sectors is anticipated, particularly as sustainability reporting requirements grow.
The EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, effective January 2024, mandates that companies with over €20 million in assets report on sustainability practices. This has spurred interest in battery-free RFIDs for accurate asset tracking, with battery-less solutions becoming increasingly attractive for businesses aiming to comply with sustainability regulations.
Smaller, battery-free RFID inlays and lower-end passive RFIDs have driven down costs. Passive tags, priced between $0.08 and $20, suit low-cost inventory management, while active tags, ranging from $15 to $50, are better for high-value or vehicle tracking due to their longer range and three- to five-year battery life.
There are other considerations around 5G’s potential within the context of asset tracking. Financially, the cost of 5G tags remains high compared to simpler technology such as RFIDs, primarily due to 5G chipsets being predominantly designed for smartphones.
The average battery life for release-16 tags can be a couple of days at best, which for asset tags is highly disadvantageous compared to other technologies. For reference, technologies such as BLE, UWB or GPS have tags that are available in large volumes at lower prices, with battery lifetimes upwards of five years, making them more accessible for widespread
With the affordability and versatility of smaller RFIDs, global deployment reached 77 billion tags in 2024. RFID applications now span a broader asset range, including smaller assets, enhancing the technology’s accessibility and boosting adoption across industries.
Creating an asset tag with a QR code is relatively simple and inexpensive and can save businesses time in a number of ways. These codes have become more popular than barcodes because they are two-dimensional, so they can hold more information than one-dimensional versions.
While RFID tracking is better at scanning a higher volume of items at once, it is more expensive to install than QR codes.
