The original vision was for EPC technology to be used on all types of products, not just consumer products. Having a single numbering scheme would make it easier to track goods not just within an industry but across industries as well. Goodyear, for instance, sells tires to automakers and to Wal-Mart, and it would be better to use one numbering scheme to track all their tires. But many industries have their own numbering systems, and EPCglobal has developed a “translation engine”—a software system that converts EPCs into industry-specific numbers and back again. Many industries are moving toward adopting EPC technology, including apparel, defense, computing, electronics and pharmaceuticals.
