SML has announced the launch of the GB25U8, a new UHF RFID inlay that it says is the industry’s first product certified to GS1 Tag Performance Specification H. The release gives brands and retailers another tested option when they are building out item-level tagging programmes and need tags that match a defined performance envelope.
Spec H sits inside the GS1 Tag Performance Specifications, a set of letter-graded profiles that GS1 created so brand owners can pick RFID tags against consistent, measurable criteria rather than vendor marketing. Each specification sets out the read performance a tag is expected to deliver across free air, against different substrates, close to other tags, and at varying angles. The idea is that if a brand says it only buys Spec H certified tags, it can be confident every inlay on its packs or garments will behave in broadly the same way on the reader.
For SML, being first to market with a Spec H product is a notable claim. The company already supplies tags and inlays at scale to apparel, accessories and general merchandise brands, and has been pushing to keep pace as retailers move beyond store replenishment and towards loss prevention, self-checkout and inventory accuracy at pack level. A wider range of GS1 specifications means suppliers can match the right inlay to the right product rather than forcing one design to cover every use case.
The GB25U8 is aimed squarely at applications where GS1 Spec H performance is called for in the brand’s tagging rules. In practice this tends to mean products where tag orientation, proximity to other items and the substrate behind the tag are all variable and all need to be read reliably in store or in the distribution centre. By meeting the Spec H envelope, SML is effectively telling its customers that the inlay has been measured against GS1’s defined test regime and delivers against it, rather than against a bespoke manufacturer test.
The launch also fits a broader industry trend. GS1’s performance specifications have quietly become a shortcut in tender documents and tagging mandates, because they give supply chain and procurement teams a common language when comparing inlays. Expect more vendors to follow SML’s lead with their own Spec H certified products over the coming year as retail programmes expand and as RAIN RFID continues its move into new categories including food, beauty and home.
For brand owners already operating item-level RFID, the GB25U8 gives them a defined option to slot into their approved tag list. For brands still planning a programme, it is a reminder that matching the inlay to the application by specification, rather than by price or availability, is now the expected starting point for any serious RAIN RFID rollout.
Read more at https://www.sml.com/blogs/sml-rfid-launches-gb25u8-inlay-the-first-spec-h-inlay/