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Dual Frequency Transponder

Maintenance
Hardware

Dual frequency transponders combine automated logistics processes with direct smartphone access, thereby creating efficiency for companies.

Who needs dual frequency?

Many companies today are struggling to strike a balance: on the one hand, products must be clearly identified and efficiently managed along the supply chain. On the other hand, customers and end users want transparency and easy access to product information, preferably directly via their smartphones.

Typical problems include:

  • Mix-ups during order picking because products are almost indistinguishable from the outside.

  • Complex returns when items cannot be clearly traced.

  • End customers who do not have access to digital product information, even though it is available.

This is where dual-frequency transponders come in. They combine UHF RFID for fast, automated recording in logistics with NFC, which can be read by almost any smartphone. This creates a single data carrier that connects both worlds: industrial processes and customer transparency.

 

How does a dual frequency transponder work?

A dual frequency transponder essentially contains two chips or two interfaces in a single housing:

  • UHF-RFID (Ultra High Frequency): for long ranges and mass processes, such as goods receipt or production.
  • NFC (Near Field Communication): for short distances and easy use by end customers with smartphones.

Both technologies share a common data set. This means that regardless of whether the item is automatically recorded in the warehouse or scanned by the end customer using a cell phone, the same digital twin is always accessed in the system.

Typical practical applications

Icon Bekleidung

Fashion and textiles: UHF for quick inventory in warehouses or shops, NFC for customers to access care instructions or sustainability information via smartphone.

Icon tools

Tool and machine manufacturing: UHF for inventory management and maintenance planning, NFC for technicians in the field, who can view test certificates directly on their cell phones or display exploded drawings directly.

Icon food

Food or beverage industry: UHF in logistics for batch tracking, NFC at the point of sale for information on origin and ingredients.

Icon Medizin

Medical technology: UHF for secure tracking of sterile products, NFC for patients or doctors who can directly access important product details.

Efficient maintenance and spare parts management with dual frequency

Many companies benefit from dual-frequency transponders not only on the customer side, but also internally. Especially in service and maintenance.

The big problem: maintenance processes are often time-consuming, error-prone, and tie up valuable resources. If a component fails, it often has to be identified from a large number of items and reordered. For technicians who cannot know every product in detail, this quickly becomes an obstacle or a source of error.

This is exactly where NFC comes into play. By labeling components with dual-frequency transponders, technicians can simply scan a defective part with their smartphone. They immediately receive the exact item number and can place an order for a replacement part. Error-free and without time-consuming queries.

The result:

  • End customers benefit from faster problem resolution and less downtime.
  • Your own employees are relieved of stress because they can work accurately and without confusion.
  • Even external service partners can order directly from the right supplier via NFC, without additional interfaces or cumbersome research.

Dual Frequency not only creates a better product experience for the customer, but also measurable efficiency gains in the service process.

Dual frequency as the basis for the digital product passport

The EU is currently discussing and promoting the digital product passport. The aim is to ensure that every product is uniquely recorded digitally throughout its entire life cycle and is transparently accessible to all parties involved. Dual frequency transponders are an ideal tool for this purpose:

Manufacturers benefit because a single data carrier supports all processes from production to after-sales.

Users benefit because they have access to relevant information at any time via their smartphone, from warranties to recycling instructions.

Dual frequency transponders thus connect two worlds that were often separate until now: efficiency in logistics and transparency for the end customer. A smart building block for greater digitalization and trust in products.

Viktor Wagner

Viktor Wagner

Managing Director

Viktor Wagner has 12 years of professional experience as a consultant for digitalization at SIGMA Chemnitz. His expertise covers various areas, including RFID applications and the planning of RFID projects, the assessment of the feasibility of RFID projects, the design of solutions and the sale of software solutions.

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