The RFID Lab, in turn, spun off by research activities carried out at the Department of Industrial Engineering of the University of Parma, in the field of RFID-based systems to manage the supply chain in the Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) and in the Fashion Industry.
Starting from 2002, several research projects were undertaken at the University of Parma with the aim to explore the potentials of RFID for traceability, a mandatory EU requirement in the food industry as well as its impact on supply chain processes in the FMCG. Specific knowledge and capabilities have been devised as results of several research projects, in collaboration with corporations and governmental bodies, such as GS1 Italy and the Italian Ministry for Technological Innovation.

The Lab is currently located in a 1,500 sqft area at the Department of Industrial Engineering of the University of Parma. The lab was the first Italian facility to be cleared by the Italian Ministry of Defense with a temporary site license to operate RFID equipments in the UHF 865-868 MHz spectrum, according to ETSI 302 208 regulations. Research activities carried out the RFID Lab are very broad-based and reflect different interests in both theoretical and applied areas. Major topics concern Business Process Reengineering (BPR) and the evaluation of RFID impact on logistics and supply chain processes in the food industry, as well as in the FMCG supply chain.

Together with the University of Arkansas' RFID Research Center (USA) and the University of Bremen's LogDynamics Lab (Germany), RFID Lab is one of the founders of the Global RF Lab Alliance (GRFLA), a network of the world's top laboratories studying RFID technologies. Announced at the RFID Journal LIVE! 2007 in Orlando (Florida), GRFLA will provide a mechanism for coordinating research and sharing information among research centers.