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EPC Tag Data Standard Supports Military Code Formats
Article courtesy of Frontline RFID
July 27, 2005 -- The Electronic Product Code (EPC) tag data standard for RFID now supports the U.S. Department of Defense's existing code structures. Suppliers can now use EPC tags to comply with the DoD's program requiring RFID tags on supply shipments.
The EPCglobal Inc. Board of Governors ratified a revision of the tag data standard last month that incorporates the Defense Department's Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) code and the Department of Defense Activity Address Code (DODAAC), enabling the department's 60,000 suppliers who use those codes to comply with the agency's request to apply RFID tags on all department deliveries by January 2007.
"This is a milestone for EPCglobal and for the Defense Department's mission to ensure critical supplies are where they need them at the right time, every time," said Mike Meranda, president of EPCglobal US.
"The approval of the DoD Tag Data Construct as an EPC standard is a critical step for the Department of Defense as we implement RFID in our supply chain," said Alan Estevez, assistant deputy under secretary of defense for supply chain integration.
Representatives of the Defense Department have worked with EPCglobal's Fast Moving Consumer Goods Business Action Group since August on the revision. EPCglobal has also been working with organizations in other vertical industries to incorporate additional legacy coding systems into the standard.
"This is one way EPC technology can help not only the commercial supply chains that fill our stores, but supply chains that are vital to our nation," Meranda said.
In related news, the Army Contracting Agency Information Technology, E-Commerce, and Commercial Contracting Center has awarded blanket purchase agreements (BPAs) to several companies for passive RFID EPC-1 technical engineering services (Group 4 of five award groups).
The Group 4 companies include Anteon Corp., a Fairfax, Va.-based systems integrator; Automated Tracking Solutions in Maryland; BearingPoint; Booz Allen Hamilton; CDO Technologies; CODEPlus; Johnstown, Pa.-based Concurrent Technologies; IBM; Intecs; Intermec Technologies; Arlington, Va.-based Maden Technologies; Northrop Grumman; Savi; SYS-TEC; SYTEX (part of Lockheed Martin); Unisys; and VeriSign.
Unisys announced it would work with ODIN technologies on RFID projects. CDO Technologies has teamed with Symbol Technologies and CSC.