From NFC to UHF: Market Trends Set the Course

Arjun Aggarwal: When SIVA IoT was founded, our focus was on exploration and discovery. We initially focused on NFC, but the market eventually shifted, and UHF took the leading role.

Today, we've found a balance: UHF is our primary technology for high-volume applications, while NFC is critical for value-creation. Features like encryption, dual-frequency capabilities, and large memory make NFC ideal for specialized applications.

Arjun Aggarwal: Today, we are working to integrate RFID with other IoT technologies by developing solutions like flexible BLE labels and hard-shell tags. Our approach is to create an open ecosystem, ensuring our customers aren't tied to a proprietary platform and can maintain control over their data. We are also continuously expanding our offerings with new sensor-based products and other IoT functionalities.

Arjun Aggarwal: While we're proud of our brand's success over the past 10 years, what truly makes us proud as a team is our active product development pipeline. We're excited to see these innovations come to fruition and solve real-world problems for our customers.

Arjun Aggarwal: We started by building a solid foundation at our RFID facility, bringing in a strong Product Management team and skilled production colleagues. We also invested in new machinery and provided hands-on training. The addition of our R&D head brought immense RF expertise, which strengthened our product development, testing, and quality control.

With these fundamentals in place, we expanded our sales and marketing efforts, beginning with our first European sales colleague in 2017 and growing to a team of approximately 75 colleagues today.

Arjun Aggarwal: The most important lesson I've learned is that real-world performance is all that matters. Customers will always choose the best-performing tag, even if it's slightly more expensive than a competitor's. Our product development is guided by this ethos, ensuring we consistently deliver reliable, high-quality products that our customers can count on.

Arjun Aggarwal: Our core philosophy is that our customers' success is our success. This isn't just about selling a product; it's about building long-term trust through honest advice and transparent communication.

We only make promises we can keep, and we've found that this transparency is what truly builds customer loyalty. For instance, we've sometimes advised a customer to choose a more affordable solution if it fully meets their needs. This approach has proven that being a reliable and trustworthy partner is the best way to ensure customers return to us.

Arjun Aggarwal: SIVA IoT is positioned as a leader in quality and reliability. Our vertical integration allows us to maintain strict quality control throughout the entire production process. We also pride ourselves on our practical, no-hype approach to marketing. Customers value our honest datasheets and appreciate that we provide straightforward, reliable information rather than inflated promises.

Arjun Aggarwal: Product development is arguably the most crucial function at SIVA IoT, and it is entirely customer-centric. We initiate the process by actively listening to our customers' pain points and identifying gaps in the market.

This meticulous approach, which can take months or even years, requires deep expertise in materials, adhesives, and toolmaking. The result is the creation of highly valuable and difficult-to-replicate solutions that provide a significant competitive advantage for our customers.

Arjun Aggarwal: Over the past decade, the RFID market has seen a dramatic increase in adoption. This growth has been driven by improvements in hardware and chip sensitivity, which have made the technology more affordable and accessible for deployment across a wider range of industries.

Today, the market is shaped by the continuous emergence of new use cases and applications as RFID proves its ability to solve increasingly complex challenges for businesses.

Arjun Aggarwal: Our core strategy is to stay relevant to our customers. This involves a multi-pronged approach. We plan to launch more R&D-driven products, upgrade to the latest chip technologies, and expand our sales network into new regions by bringing on new channel partners. We are also focused on increasing our production capacity to meet both new and unexpected market demand.

Arjun Aggarwal: I see the biggest hurdles stemming from the increased market complexity post-Covid and the rise of geopolitical tensions. This has led to the emergence of localised production, creating overcapacity. The result is rising costs and fiercer competition, which is further exacerbated by protectionist measures like US tariffs. For SIVA IoT, our strategy to navigate this is to remain flexible and occupy clear, specialized niches in the market.

Arjun Aggarwal: Our competitive advantage lies in our deep commitment to our customers. We believe in a partnership approach, where we provide the level of dedication we would want from our own suppliers. This commitment is evident in our swift response times, the high quality of our advisory services, and our customer-centric product development. These core principles are the hallmarks of SIVA IoT and are the foundation of our success.

Arjun Aggarwal: Looking back, I’d take bolder calculated risks earlier in the company’s journey. There were opportunities where we were cautious, but taking some of those leaps sooner could have accelerated growth and market leadership. This taught me to balance prudence with proactive experimentation.