EPC/RFID – one of the fastest growing AutoID techniques – part 2
The use of state-of-the-art information technologies has revolutionized the organization and execution of transport and logistics operations. In today’s intensely globalized supply chain, efficient logistics management and transport optimization are gaining increasing importance. This is because excellent communication and coordination are absolutely essential in a world where components and products cross more borders than ever before.
To effectively support logistics areas, IT systems must enable easy communication with various contractors. A crucial role in the process of improving communication in supply chains is played by EPC/RFID, i.e., Electronic Product Code/Radio Frequency IDentification, based on identification technology using radio waves to recognize objects marked with an EPC (Electronic Product Code) in conjunction with automated internet-based logistics data exchange.
The GS1 organization deals with the commercial use of EPC/RFID technology on a global level. In Poland, the GS1 organization is represented by the Institute of Logistics and Warehousing (ILiM), which has been conducting research on the application of RFID technology for years.
The standard coding scheme for specific information in an EPC tag is one of several elements of the EPCglobal network, which allows for the automatic identification of any logistics and unit loads in the supply chain in any enterprise, in any industry, anywhere in the world.
GS1 EPCglobal IncTM is an international organization that is part of GS1, created to develop the EPCglobal network, which operates based on the concept of the Electronic Product Code – EPC and represents a combination of Internet technology and widely used radio frequency identification (RFID).
A company ordering specific goods from a manufacturer can, thanks to the EPCglobal network, observe when the ordered goods left the factory, when they appeared in the distribution center, and when they were shipped to the store. This is possible because each individual package of goods is uniquely identified by a product class number (for example, a bottle of mineral water) with simultaneous identification of the serial number of the specific package.
The product code is stored in a tag that can be located on the outside or inside of the packaging. The information stored in this code is a sequence of digits that uniquely define a given object (product, collective packaging, or pallet). Thanks to the use of a standard coding scheme using global GS1 system identifiers, it is possible to obtain identifiers that are unique on a global scale. The advantages of GS1 system markings and their binary recording allow for unlimited coding of any form of packaging anywhere on the globe.
RFID labels can be found in many items: from bus tickets to cards used to pay for highway tolls. Microelectronic devices can automatically process data contained on RFID labels when brought close to readers that activate them, receive their radio signal, and exchange data with them.
Applications of RFID techniques focus largely on technical features such as tags, labels, readers, printers, etc. Currently, many pilot implementations of EPC/RFID technology are already underway worldwide. In the USA, as in Europe, the main players are large retail chains. It is worth mentioning the German Metro or the British Tesco here.
Example benefits include increased product reliability, improved energy efficiency and easier recycling, paying road tolls without having to stop at toll booths, shorter waiting times for luggage at the airport, and a reduced ecological footprint of products and services.
EPC/RFID is one of the fastest-growing automatic identification techniques. And there is no doubt that it is a solution of tomorrow that will lead enterprises into a completely new reality, just as barcodes once did. The establishment of global electronic product code standards, further improvement of RFID technology, and the reduction of implementation costs have accelerated its practical use.
The article comes from the “Logistyka” magazine 5/2011.