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Checkpoint Systems Launches EPC Numbering Service
Checkpoint's number-management service, which is commercially available worldwide, utilizes the company's cloud-based software, built on the OAT Foundation software suite, to generate EPC numbers for tags required by suppliers or retailers. The Checkpoint-hosted server assigns numbers based on the quantity of labels required, as well as the SKUs of the items that need to be tagged and made available to an end user. The software configures the encoding scheme according to GS1's standards, and sets up a range of EPC numbers for those particular SKUs. The technology is aimed at reducing the risk of number duplication, by ensuring that two Checkpoint customers requiring tags do not receive the same number.
Checkpoint's solution, says Raj Jayaraman, the company's senior director of merchandise visibility solutions, is intended for global deployments in which multiple service bureau providers are used, with several encoding options in multiple geographic locations. EPC numbers typically include a GTIN between eight and 14 digits in length, followed by a serial number.
The firm released its number system service now, Sherman says, "in large part because of the work we've done with the retailer community and its suppliers—we found there is getting to be an acute need for folks to get their arms around the EPC numbering. "The solutions currently available—users can choose an in-house numbering system based on a spreadsheet, or a service bureau provider's bundled labeling solution to manage the numbering—are insufficient," he says, for the increased complexity of the environment, in which a product often passes from a manufacturer to a distributor to a retailer, all of whom may be working with other companies as well. "There are often hundreds of SKUs, millions of individual items," Sherman states, "and when you add in multiple label manufacturers," the need for standard EPC numbers becomes even greater.
"We've been talking to retailers about this for the last two years," Jayaraman says. The increase in the use of item-level tagging in the past year, he notes, makes now the right time. Checkpoint is currently in discussions with retailers and brand manufacturers regarding the new EPC numbering service, though Jayaraman declines to provide names. "Presently, most interest is from brands and manufacturers," he says. With the increasing prevalence of item-level tagging in the apparel industry, he predicts that more retailers will use the service as well.
"This looks like a good product hitting at a time when there is a really big need," Nathanson says, since more suppliers in the apparel retail industry are expected to begin item-level tagging with EPC tags in the coming months.
The cost for the service would depend on the number of SKUs and/or ID numbers required, Jayaraman says, adding, "We're flexible in our pricing model."
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Checkpoint's solution, says Raj Jayaraman, the company's senior director of merchandise visibility solutions, is intended for global deployments in which multiple service bureau providers are used, with several encoding options in multiple geographic locations. EPC numbers typically include a GTIN between eight and 14 digits in length, followed by a serial number.
The firm released its number system service now, Sherman says, "in large part because of the work we've done with the retailer community and its suppliers—we found there is getting to be an acute need for folks to get their arms around the EPC numbering. "The solutions currently available—users can choose an in-house numbering system based on a spreadsheet, or a service bureau provider's bundled labeling solution to manage the numbering—are insufficient," he says, for the increased complexity of the environment, in which a product often passes from a manufacturer to a distributor to a retailer, all of whom may be working with other companies as well. "There are often hundreds of SKUs, millions of individual items," Sherman states, "and when you add in multiple label manufacturers," the need for standard EPC numbers becomes even greater.
"We've been talking to retailers about this for the last two years," Jayaraman says. The increase in the use of item-level tagging in the past year, he notes, makes now the right time. Checkpoint is currently in discussions with retailers and brand manufacturers regarding the new EPC numbering service, though Jayaraman declines to provide names. "Presently, most interest is from brands and manufacturers," he says. With the increasing prevalence of item-level tagging in the apparel industry, he predicts that more retailers will use the service as well.
The cost for the service would depend on the number of SKUs and/or ID numbers required, Jayaraman says, adding, "We're flexible in our pricing model."
