 |
| The Electronic Product Code |
- What is the Electronic Product Code?
- The Electronic Product Code (EPC) was created by the Auto-ID Center as an eventual successor to the bar code. The aim was to create a low-cost method of tracking goods using RFID technology. The benefit of RFID is that it doesn't require line-of-site, which means goods can be scanned through packaging and without needing people to scan items. EPC tags were designed to identify each item manufactured, as opposed to just the manufacturer and class of products, as bar codes do today.
- How does the EPC work?
- The EPC is a string of numbers and letters, consisting of a header and three sets of data partitions. The first partition identifies the manufacturer. The second identifies the product type (stock keeping unit) and the third is the serial number unique to the item. By separating the data into partitions, readers can search for items with a particular manufacturer's code or product code. Readers can also be programmed to search for EPCs with the same manufacturer and product code, but which have unique numbers in a certain sequence. This makes it possible, for example, to quickly find products that might be nearing their expiration date or that need to be recalled.
- Why is EPC technology important?
- EPC technology could dramatically improve efficiencies within the supply chain. The vision is to create near-perfect supply chain visibility—the ability to track every item anywhere in the supply chain securely and in real time. RFID can dramatically reduce human error. Instead of typing information into a database or scanning the wrong bar code, goods will communicate directly with inventory systems. Readers installed in factories, distribution centers, and storerooms and on store shelves will automatically record the movement of goods from the production line to the consumer.
- Will there be just one type of EPC?
- No. The Auto-ID Center originally proposed EPCs of 64-, 96- and 128-bits. Eventually, there could be more. The 96-bit number is the one the center believed would be most common. It chose 96 bits as a compromise between the desire to ensure that all objects have a unique EPC and the need to keep the cost of the tag down (the less information on the microchip the cheaper the cost of producing the chip). The 96-bit EPC provides unique identifiers for 268 million companies. Each manufacturer can have 16 million object classes and 68 billion serial numbers in each class, more than enough to cover all products manufactured worldwide for years to come. Since there is no need for that many serial numbers at this time, the center has proposed an interim 64-bit code. The smaller code will help keep the price of the RFID chips down initially (the simpler the chip, the cheaper the tag), while providing more than enough unique EPCs for current needs. The center foresees using a 128-bit code to cover all the items made around the world.
- What's the EPC header for?
- The EPC header is used to indicate the format of the EPC code, (i.e. the length of field partitions), and was designed to make the system flexible. For instance, the header tells the reader whether the tag has a 64-bit or a 96-bit EPC. The header also makes it possible to divide the data partitions in different ways, so a manufacturer that makes large amounts of only a few products could shift digits from the object class partition to the serial number partition.
- How can a company track items using EPCs?
- Companies have to create a network of RFID readers. In a warehouse for example, there could be readers around the doors on a loading dock and on every bay. When a pallet of goods arrives, the reader on the dock door picks up its unique license plate. Computers look up what the product is using the EPC Network. Inventory systems are alerted to its arrival. When the pallet is put in bay A, that reader sends a signal saying item 1-2345-67890 is in bay A.
- How do you know what item 1-2345-67890 is?
- The EPC by itself tells you no more about a product than a car's license plate tells you about a car. Computers need a way to associate the EPC with information stored elsewhere about the unique item. To help computer systems find and understand information about a product, the Auto-ID Center developed some infrastructure technologies that would be integrated with the Internet to allow companies to look up information associated with each item in secure databases. For more on this, see the FAQs about the EPCglobal Network.
- How do companies use the EPC data to become more efficient and more profitable?
- How companies use EPC data and the EPC Network will be up to them, just as it's up to them to decide how they want to use the Internet. But the EPCglobal is working with industry partners to provide some basic tools that will help them take advantage of the network. VeriSign, for instance, has been awarded a contract to manage the root directory for the Object Name Service. VeriSign and others will host EPC Information Services for companies. And some of the functionality of Savants is being incorporated into commercial RFID middleware. These tools will enable companies to track and trace goods, which should help reduce counterfeiting, and enable many other improvements in supply chain efficiency. For instance, retailers may provide EPC data about stock levels in stores to enable automated replenishment of products.
|
|
|
