Ranesh Bajaj, Director, Vinsak India shares with Priyanka Rathi Verma the company’s offerings in this space.
Digital Change is occurring throughout every business and Industry and IoT has occupied the center stage. It seems everyday a new company announces some IoT enabled product. The possibilities of what can be achieved using IoT seems endless and Label Industry is also trying to add a new dimension to its product segment by using IoT at its forefront.
THE INTERNET OF THINGS (IoT) is a giant network of connected things. It can be People-to-People, People-to-Thing or Thing-to-Thing. Imagine your newly purchased water heater has a tiny image of smart phone on it and when you hold your phone against the image it immediately promotes you to download an application which enables you to switch ON your water heater from anywhere. The application also allows you to understand all the features and functions of your water heater. It even connects you to the after sale services outlet and may be even more.
What made all this possible –‘The Smart labels’.
Smart labels defy all the boundaries of traditional print methods and can be classified as anything that can add value to the product functionality enhancing the consumer experience and creating brand loyalty. Very conveniently label manufacturers and converters have accepted and adopted Biosensors and RFID, the two major activators of smart Labels and are changing the face of Industry and market scenario. The major drivers carrying the cart of smart labels forward are the convertors, graphics ink suppliers and the suppliers of electronic materials.
Mr. Ranesh Bajaj, Director, VINSAK India shared his views with Ms. Priyanka Rathi Verma, Executive secretary & Head Marcom & P.R-ALPS (Association of Label Printers & Suppliers) on Intelligent labeling and how the emerging technologies are about to change the consumer experiences in coming times ahead.
Ms. Priyanka Rathi Verma (PRV): What is your take on the New Emerging Technologies transforming business space dramatically?
Ranesh Bajaj: New emerging technologies are the backbone of a surge in rising profits & competition in any industry be it printing, packaging, automotive, IT etc. The first mover will always have a positive impact. The next revolution which will be IoT (Internet of Things) & AI where machine parts can actually communicate with each other, some live examples are ALEXA & Google assistant where the speaker using AI technology can do a host of everyday things including switch off lights or book a table at a restaurant or purchase movie tickets.
PRV: What are your views on Smart Labels and what value will it bring to us?
Ranesh Bajaj: Smart Labels are the next huge business opportunity for ALPS members and label convertors. These are currently able to give a Unique ID to every product or device giving it provenance and also leverage the connect to offer customer experience during the entire life cycle of the product. While RFID allows a smart label to be connected to the internet without a need to communicate via a “line of sight’, 2 D bar codes are currently finding use in lower cost solutions where a huge amount of data can be carried in a small area on the label and still make it interactive. The main applications for the labels could be to maintain the entire device over the internet, the device ordering spare parts & consumables by themselves, use of cloud & block-chain database for storing transactions, use of sensors for self-controlling temperature etc. With the Advent of Smart contracts , the demand for Smart labels on IoT will multiply in the very near future and it is important that convertors latch on to this opportunity asap.
PRV: What does VINSAK offer in this space?
Ranesh Bajaj: We at VINSAK have launched a new “Fasicuchain” product which is now being implemented at leading brands globally and will offer convertors a readymade market for smart labels as well as the opportunity to join a consortium Block Chain with a global reach. These are exciting times to be in the label converting space.