What Smartrac does

Smartrac, founded in 2000 and headquartered in Amsterdam, Netherlands, is a developer, manufacturer, and supplier of RFID inlays, tags, and digital ID solutions. Its portfolio spans UHF, HF, and NFC frequency bands and includes sustainable tag options (including APR-recognized PET-recyclable labels), the AD Nanoblock small-form-factor inlay, the AD TexTrace connected textiles solution, and the atma.io Connected Product Cloud platform with an associated Digital Product Passport offering. Following its acquisition by Avery Dennison Corporation, the business now operates as the "Avery Dennison Smartrac" division, combining Smartrac's RFID engineering with Avery Dennison's materials expertise and global manufacturing footprint.

The company serves enterprise customers across retail (apparel and fashion, beauty and personal care, food and beverage), industrial (automotive, aviation, logistics, healthcare, and media and document management), with Walmart explicitly identified as a flagship customer through a dedicated RFID initiative backed by ARC-certified labeling. Core use cases include inventory accuracy, supply chain visibility, product authentication and anti-counterfeiting, cold-chain and freshness tracking, asset tracking, and consumer engagement enabled by digital IDs.

Go-to-market is primarily enterprise field sales supplemented by a channel ecosystem of converters/service bureaus (mid-market reach) and system integrators (turnkey enterprise deployments), with self-serve product advisor and finder tools layered on top. Revenue is generated through B2B hardware sales of RFID inlays, tags, and labels on a quote-based pricing model, with no publicly disclosed pricing or contract terms. The business does not disclose standalone revenue as it is now consolidated within Avery Dennison's RFID segment, which itself is reported as approaching 20% of parent revenue and growing more than 20% annually.

Name

Smartrac

Legal name

Smartrac N.V.

Website

https://smartrac-group.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Acquired

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Smartrac, now operating as Avery Dennison Smartrac, designs and manufactures RFID inlays, tags, and digital ID solutions across UHF, HF, and NFC bands for retail, healthcare, logistics, and industrial enterprises globally, complemented by the atma.io connected product cloud.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

RFID Components and Digital ID Solutions

NAICS

Instrument Manufacturing for Measuring and Testing Electricity and Electrical Signals (334515), Navigational, Measuring, Electromedical, and Control Instruments Manufacturing (33451), Communications Equipment Manufacturing (3342)

SIC

Electronic Components & Accessories (3670), Electronic Components, Nec (3679)

akta.pro primary industry

Animal Identification & Tracking Devices (Microchips, RFID, Tags, Scanners) (HLAMAFAL)

Keywords

• RFID inlays tags
• Digital ID solutions
• Supply chain tracking
• Product authentication
• Inventory management

Headquarters

HQ city

Amsterdam

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. RFID Hardware Sales: Sale of RFID inlays, tags, and labels across UHF, HF, and NFC frequency bands to enterprise customers, converters, and system integrators. Products are sold with varying specifications for different industry applications including retail, healthcare, logistics, automotive, and aviation.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Smartrac develops, manufactures, and supplies RFID inlays and tags across UHF, HF, and NFC frequency bands for identification, authentication, and tracking applications. The portfolio also includes the atma.io Connected Product Cloud IoT platform, AD TexTrace connected textiles, Digital Product Passport solutions, and sustainable RFID labels recognized for PET recycling compatibility.

Product overview

Avery Dennison Smartrac offers a unified portfolio of digital ID technologies that includes RFID inlays and tags (operating in UHF, HF, and NFC frequencies), the atma.io Connected Product Cloud platform for IoT and product lifecycle management, connected textiles via AD TexTrace™, and Digital Product Passport solutions. The portfolio also includes sustainable tag options, quality compliance services with ARC certification, and specialized tools like the Product Finder and Product Advisor. These products work together to provide end-to-end capabilities for product authentication, tracking, inventory management, supply chain visibility, and consumer engagement across industries including retail, apparel, healthcare, food, automotive, aviation, and logistics.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• RFID Inlays and Tags RFID inlays and tags operating across UHF, HF, and NFC frequency bands, designed for identification, authentication, and tracking across multiple industries including retail, healthcare, logistics, and automotive.
• Sustainable RFID Tags Eco-friendly RFID tags designed to support sustainability initiatives, including APR-recognized labels compatible with PET recycling streams.
• atma.io Connected Product Cloud IoT-enabled cloud platform for connected products that enables product authentication, tracking, inventory management, and consumer engagement through digital ID technologies.
• AD TexTrace Connected Textiles Connected textiles solution enabling tracking and authentication of textile products throughout their lifecycle, from manufacturing to consumer use.
• Digital Product Passport Digital documentation solution that creates a verifiable record of a product's history, origin, and attributes for compliance and transparency purposes.
• AD Nanoblock Compact square RFID inlay designed for space-constrained environments, providing powerful RFID performance in a small form factor.
• Quality & Compliance Services Quality assurance and compliance services including ARC-certified RFID labels for Walmart and leading retailers.

Quantifiable outcome

• RFID revenue growing over 20% annually at Avery Dennison, approaching 20% of total company revenue
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Avery DennisonflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Smartrac's RFID business was acquired by Avery Dennison, creating the combined Avery Dennison Smartrac division. This strategic acquisition integrated Smartrac's RFID technology portfolio with Avery Dennison's materials expertise and global manufacturing capacity, positioning the combined entity as a leading RFID and digital ID solutions provider for retail, healthcare, logistics, and industrial applications.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Impinj: Impinj is the leading provider of RAIN RFID ICs and endpoints, and a direct competitor in the UHF RFID inlay/tag ecosystem. It competes with Smartrac on enterprise RFID tagging for retail, logistics, and supply chain visibility, and is also a potential chip supplier.
• Alien Technology: Alien Technology manufactures UHF RFID inlays and tags and competes head-to-head with Smartrac across retail apparel, asset tracking, and supply chain applications. Both firms supply ARC-qualified inlays to large retail customers.
• Zebra Technologies: Zebra offers RFID inlays, readers, and complete enterprise asset-tracking solutions. It competes with Smartrac in retail and logistics RFID deployments and is one of the largest integrated RFID solution providers globally.
• SML Group: SML is one of the largest RFID tag and label providers serving global retail apparel brands. It directly competes with Smartrac for ARC-certified inlays supplied into major retailer tagging programs.
• Tageos: Tageos manufactures passive UHF RFID inlays and tags with a strong sustainability focus. It competes with Smartrac in apparel, retail, and supply chain RFID tagging, especially in the EU.
• Checkpoint Systems: Checkpoint Systems provides RFID-based retail loss prevention, inventory, and supply chain solutions. It competes with Smartrac in apparel and retail RFID tagging and operates a vertically integrated tagging platform.

Emerging players

• Identiv: Identiv provides NFC and HF RFID inlays for IoT, authentication, and supply chain applications, overlapping with Smartrac's HF/NFC portfolio. It has a more specialized focus on security and identity than Smartrac.
• Wiliot: Wiliot develops battery-free, Bluetooth-connected smart tags that compete with passive RFID in certain retail/food freshness use cases. Smartrac already has a sustainability partnership with Wiliot (APR PET label), positioning it both as partner and adjacent disruptor.

Broad incumbents

• Honeywell: Honeywell is a broad incumbent in industrial automation, mobility, and scanning, with a sizable RFID reader and tag business. It is a competitor for enterprise RFID deployments in logistics, manufacturing, and healthcare.

Others

• NXP Semiconductors: NXP supplies NFC and HF RFID chips that Smartrac and its competitors integrate into inlays. While not a direct inlay competitor, NXP's chip roadmap is a critical upstream enabler for Smartrac's product portfolio.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/AveryDennisonVideo
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/smartrac-technology
• Xx.com/SMARTRAC_NV
• Facebookfacebook.com/SMARTRACTECHNOLOGY

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Smartrac