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EPCglobal Hong Kong Wraps Two-Year, Multi-Company RFID Project
From November 2006 to February 2007, Esquel tagged about 800 baskets of garment pieces with Symbol UHF Gen 2 tags, using the Hong Kong EPC Network to share the RFID data with plant managers in both Hong Kong and China. The company deployed five Symbol DC600 Advanced Portal System fixed interrogators, Heung explains, at doorway entrances to processing floors and the company's warehouse.
Initially, Esquel shared its data internally only, but Heung says the firm eventually intends to share it with Chinese and Hong Kong customs organizations as well, to expedite the custom clearance processes. Esquel products must clear customs several times before being sold.
"We haven't yet shared the goods movement data with the border customs. We only did research into what RFID data could be shared," Heung says. "The overall idea is more sophisticated than just letting the border patrol use readers to capture EPC numbers." In fact, he adds, sharing data with customs may ultimately include the combination of many technologies and techniques, such as Global Positioning Systems (GPS), geo-fencing technology (which can send alerts if a vehicle leaves its appointed area), the EPC Network, electronic seals (e-seals), RFID tags and RFID readers.
The time required to move goods across borders could be reduced by letting customs officials access the Hong Kong EPC Network and view real-time data documenting the internal movement of the work-in-progress between plants. That could facilitate customs inspection and clearance processes.
In 2006, Lin says, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), as part of this EPCglobal Hong Kong network project, proved the concept that time spent at border crossings could be reduced through the use of RFID technology. "According to the [HKUST] feasibility study conducted," she notes, "the crossing time at the Hong Kong-Shenzhen border could be reduced by half through the use of EPC/RFID."
Although the pilot did not extend to Esquel's retail customers, Lin says the company is interested in providing them the RFID data when shipping products, to provide visibility into the shipment's status and expected time of delivery.
Maersk Logistics' pilot used advance shipping notices (ASNs) with EPC numbers and RFID to track jeans moving from Mark International to Maersk's warehouse, then on to a Hong Kong port terminal and, ultimately, a retail customer in the United States.
Cartons loaded with jeans were tagged with UHF EPC Gen 2 RFID labels from Avery Dennison and tracked to an unnamed large retail customer in the United States. The tags' unique identification numbers were matched with the EPC numbers listed in the ASNs that Mark International sent to Maersk. Thus, when Maersk received the cartons, it was able to use Tyco Gen 2 fixed RFID readers and Symbol RFID handheld readers to quickly identify the products before loading them onto ships. The same EPC numbers were then forwarded in ASNs to a port in Long Beach, Calif. There, RFID tags on the cartons were read by handheld interrogators, then reconciled with the ASNs. Without the EPC numbers, Heung says, logistics providers often must manually try to match each carton with the corresponding ASN—a time-consuming process that can lead to delays.
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Initially, Esquel shared its data internally only, but Heung says the firm eventually intends to share it with Chinese and Hong Kong customs organizations as well, to expedite the custom clearance processes. Esquel products must clear customs several times before being sold.
"We haven't yet shared the goods movement data with the border customs. We only did research into what RFID data could be shared," Heung says. "The overall idea is more sophisticated than just letting the border patrol use readers to capture EPC numbers." In fact, he adds, sharing data with customs may ultimately include the combination of many technologies and techniques, such as Global Positioning Systems (GPS), geo-fencing technology (which can send alerts if a vehicle leaves its appointed area), the EPC Network, electronic seals (e-seals), RFID tags and RFID readers.
The time required to move goods across borders could be reduced by letting customs officials access the Hong Kong EPC Network and view real-time data documenting the internal movement of the work-in-progress between plants. That could facilitate customs inspection and clearance processes.
In 2006, Lin says, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), as part of this EPCglobal Hong Kong network project, proved the concept that time spent at border crossings could be reduced through the use of RFID technology. "According to the [HKUST] feasibility study conducted," she notes, "the crossing time at the Hong Kong-Shenzhen border could be reduced by half through the use of EPC/RFID."
Although the pilot did not extend to Esquel's retail customers, Lin says the company is interested in providing them the RFID data when shipping products, to provide visibility into the shipment's status and expected time of delivery.
Maersk Logistics' pilot used advance shipping notices (ASNs) with EPC numbers and RFID to track jeans moving from Mark International to Maersk's warehouse, then on to a Hong Kong port terminal and, ultimately, a retail customer in the United States.
Cartons loaded with jeans were tagged with UHF EPC Gen 2 RFID labels from Avery Dennison and tracked to an unnamed large retail customer in the United States. The tags' unique identification numbers were matched with the EPC numbers listed in the ASNs that Mark International sent to Maersk. Thus, when Maersk received the cartons, it was able to use Tyco Gen 2 fixed RFID readers and Symbol RFID handheld readers to quickly identify the products before loading them onto ships. The same EPC numbers were then forwarded in ASNs to a port in Long Beach, Calif. There, RFID tags on the cartons were read by handheld interrogators, then reconciled with the ASNs. Without the EPC numbers, Heung says, logistics providers often must manually try to match each carton with the corresponding ASN—a time-consuming process that can lead to delays.
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