Industry Profiles

U.S. Companies in Japan
A string of U.S. companies have already identified the global advantages of expanding their business to Japan and have done so by joining their technologies with those of Japanese companies. 

VeriSign, Inc. – Mountain View, CA
• Business:  Provides intelligent infrastructure services for Internet and telecommunications networks
• December 2004 – Announced agreement with NTT Communications, who will use VeriSign’s EPC Starter Service to connect local RFID networks to the EPCglobal Network
• "Many companies in Japan across a variety of industries recognize the importance of starting early to develop new business processes that capitalize on RFID data.  We believe that working closely with VeriSign, with their significant experience in this developing market, will help us accelerate our efforts." -- Yuichi Morita, senior manager of innovative IP architecture center, NTT Communications (VeriSign press release)

Sun Microsystems Inc. – Santa Clara, CA
• Business:  Provides solutions for RFID implementation and management
• July 2004 – Established RFID Design Center in Japan
• August 2005 – Unveils RFID File Cabinet System for Japanese market co-developed with Nippon Signal
• Intended for managing physical files using RFID-enabled file cabinets

AeroScout Inc. – San Mateo, CA
• Business:  Provides active RFID location tracking solutions that utilize standard Wi-Fi infrastructure
• April 2005 – Announced it was selected by NEC System Integration & Construction (NESIC), a subsidiary of NEC, to provide Wi-Fi-based Active RFID systems to the Japanese market
NESIC is targeting 5 billion yen ($46.6 million) in sales of AeroScout products by 2008
• Oracle Japan recently announced that it is offering a location tracking system that integrates the AeroScout Wi-Fi location capability
• "AeroScout Japan's recent successes are indicative of the growing demand for Wi-Fi-based location solutions in the Japanese market." – Andris Berzins, VP of marketing and business development (AeroScout press release)

Savi Technology – Sunnyvale, CA
• Business:  RFID software solutions for supply chain asset management, consignment management, transportation and security management solutions
• June 2005 – Software solutions utilized in Japan’s International Trade Field Trial
• "Japan's field trials are an international model of how government and private industry can work together to improve the management and security of the global supply chain." – Mark Weidick, CEO of Savi Networks LLC, a company recently formed by Savi Technology (Savi Technology press release)