Rf Id White Paper

8/12/2019 Rf Id White Paper

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ELECTRONIC PRODUCT CODE:RFID Drives The Next Revolution In

Adaptive Retail Supply Chain Execution

Real-time Inventory Visibility Requires Greater Vigilance for Data

Accuracy and Global Data Synchronization

BY JOHN RADKO AND ALEX SCHUMACHER


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Executive Summary....................................................................................................................................3

RFID-Based EPC Will Fail in Supply Chains Built On Inaccurate Data. .....................................................5

RFID and EPCsThe Basic Technology ....................................................................................................6

How RFID Works As Part of the Supply Chain .........................................................................................8

Implementating RFID and EPCConsiderations ....................................................................................10

How GXS Can Help You Realize Value From RFID ................................................................................13

Glossary ...................................................................................................................................................15

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Table of Contents

ELECTRONIC PRODUCT CODE: RFID DRIVES THE NEXT REVOLUTION IN ADAPTIVE RETAIL SUPPLY CHAIN EXECUTION


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ABOUT THE AUTHORS:


John Radko, Chief Technology Strategist for Global eXchange Services, advises the GXS

leadership team on technology and coordinates and encourages technology advancement across

the GXS product lines. Mr. Radko is an active member of EPCglobal standards organization and

contributes to many publications on the topic of supply chain integration.

Alex Schumacher, Director, Retail Industry Marketing for Global eXchange Services, is

responsible for retail value chain development through collaborative commerce solutions.

Mr. Schumacher has been working in retail supply chain management for 12 years and has

contributed to the development of data synchronization solutions in the US and Europe.

Executive Summary

A number of mandates recently issued to suppliers by major organizations across several

sectors are proof that the real-time extended supply chain is now becoming a reality. Wal-

Mart, US Department of Defense, Metro Group, Tesco, Marks & Spencer, Carrefour,

Albertsons, and Target Corp are all asking suppliers to use Radio Frequency Identification

(RFID) to track goods as they move through the supply chain.

While much attention has been focused on testing the RFID equipment in

these environments, RFID tags and readers are hardly a new technology.

What is exciting is the ability of RFID to provide accurate data about the cur-

rent location and movement of products to business managers within min-

utes rather than hours or days. All this will be possible because RFID tags

will store electronic product codes (EPCs), 64 or 96-bit numbers whose for-

mat is based on serializing current numbering schemes like the Global Trade

Item Number (GTIN), governed by the international standards body

EAN.UCC. Each RFID tag will contain a unique EPC, allowing the item to

which the tag is attached to be tracked separately from all other like items.

However, simply tracking the item is only one part of the equation. The real

power of RFID will come from the ability to associate EPCs with product

data, so that business systems know that, for instance, a case of a particular

brand of toothpaste (and not, say, a case of shampoo) from a specific manu-

facturing batch and sourced from a specific supplier has just entered the warehouse

Additionally, in simple operational terms, RFID will speed the physical movement of goods.

RFID tags can be scanned more quickly than conventional barcodes because there is no

need to unload each item or box from the crate or pallet in which it has been packed for

shipping.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

RFID will fail without data accuracy

delivered by Global Data

Synchronization.

Any RFID project must include a

strategy for sharing data with your

partners using existing and emerging

technologies.

While the near-term value of RFID is

in reduced material handling cost, the

long term benefit will be derived

from improved inventory visibility.


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For suppliers and retailers alike, the benefits of RFID could be significant:

Reduced supply chain labor costs as a result of greater efficiency in handling and

tracking items

Reduced inventory holdings (and therefore working capital requirements) as aresult of streamlining the supply chain and increasing visibility of products

Improved product availability and higher sales due to more accurate inventory

Easier recall of products in the event of a product defect

What is clear is that the capabilities of the RFID tags and readers will not be the stum-

bling block to successful implementations. RFID is a well-established technology with

roots going back more than fifty years. Hardware manufacturers have for many years

been working closely with a consortium of universities, including the AutoID Center at

the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, to develop the technology for use in the sup-

ply chain and are now running numerous successful pilots. Major customer mandates will

only accelerate investment and development of robust and reliable tag and reader sys-

tems.

But there are major issues to be tackled in using RFID and EPCs to deliver the real-time

extended supply chain. This white paper will look at those issues and consider how sup-

pliers and retailers alike can implement practical solutions to meet their needs for real-

time supply chain information.

page 4 ELECTRONIC PRODUCT CODE: RFID DRIVES THE NEXT REVOLUTION IN ADAPTIVE RETAIL SUPPLY CHAIN EXECUTION


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page 5ELECTRONIC PRODUCT CODE: RFID DRIVES THE NEXT REVOLUTION IN ADAPTIVE RETAIL SUPPLY CHAIN EXECUTION

Delivering the benefits promised by RFID-based EPCs will only be possible if

trading networks also address the issue of inaccurate data that pervades todays

supply chains, especially in the retail sector. There is little point in knowing that a

case of goods with a particular EPC is speeding its way through the system if youthink it is toothpaste when it is actually shampoo. Since the EPC is a GTIN based

number, synchronizing the meaning of the GTIN during the order management

process is critical to ensuring accurate fulfillment of that order and downstream

supply chain processes based on EPC scanning.

Therefore, prior to the implementation of RFID readers and tags, all retailers

and their suppliers must adopt the single global data synchronization (GDS)

vision being promoted by the Global Commerce Initiative (GCI) and EAN.UCC.

EAN.UCC, the standards organization for retail, has not only developed a single

standard for identifying products, the Global Trade Identification Number

(GTIN), but also an infrastructurethe Global Data Synchronization Network(GDSN)to allow the retail industry to share data more easily. When fully

implemented, GDS will allow detailed data about products from any supplier

anywhere in the world to be accessed by any retailer anywhere in the world,

through a network of locally held databases of GTINs called datapools. More

information on GDS can be found in a companion GXS white paper, Suppliers

Guide To Defining A Data Synchronization Strategy.

RFID-Based EPC Will Fail in Supply Chains Built on Inaccurate Data

GTIN Based Data for Sync

Order Management

EPC Based Data for Reference

Logistics Visibility

GTIN : 065231 00010 6

Toms Soup20 oz, Tomato Soup

Cost: $.50, MSRP $.99, UOM: EA

GTIN : 10 065231 00010 6Toms SoupCase of 24, 20 oz, Tomato Soup

Cost: $12.00, MSRP $0, UOM: EA

GTIN : 20 065231 00010 6Toms SoupPallet 18 Case of 24, 20 oz,

Tomato SoupCost: $144.00, MSRP $0, UOM: EA

EPC: 16.3.065231.00010.0000000001

20 oz, Toms Soup, Tomato SoupDate of Manufacture: 02152004Factory GLN: 006523100001, Lot #: 349230ZLine # 100, Expiration Date: 02152006

EPC: 16.3.1065231.00010.0000000001Case of 24, 20 oz, Toms Soup, Tomato Soup

Date of Packing: 02152004Factory GLN: 006523100001, Line #: 8663

EPC: 16.3.2065231.00010.0000000001Pallet 18 Case of 24, 20 oz, Toms Soup,

Tomato Soup

Date Built: 02152004Warehouse GLN: 006523100002,Storage Temp: 10C

GTIN based information is used to synchronize the order management process while the EPC is used to provide inventory visibility to

support logistics management.


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In this environment, EPCs will track specific instances of products identified by

GTINs. Yet, despite much publicity surrounding GDS many companies and

EAN.UCC member organizations are lagging in their implementation of GDS-

compliant solutions. Without accurate product data about items provided byGDS, RFID and EPC implementations will fail to improve supply chain manage-

ment.

Moreover, retailers need to be clear that GDS and EPC are complementary to

each other, rather than alternatives that deliver the same goal. The aim of GDS

is to improve the accuracy of supply-chain data so that the process from sales

order to invoice payment becomes less costly and more efficient. EPC, by con-

trast, is about tracking inventory and improving the efficiency of the physical

processes of order fulfillment and logistics. It is the two systems working seam-

lessly together that will deliver the benefits of accurate inventory visibility allow-

ing the retail industry to implement more sophisticated inventory managementstrategies such as vendor managed inventory (VMI), collaborative planning, fore-

casting, and replenishment (CPFR), and scan-based trading (SBT).

Smart players in the retail sector will see GDS and RFID-based EPCs as

inextricably linked and will implement EPC solutions that:

ensure their business systems take full advantage of the GDSN to source and share

product data with trading partners

extend GDS data stores to support EPC attributes and provide access to these

systems via EPC based queries; and

leverage existing B2B messaging technologies in order to reduce the cost of imple-mentation.

In short, the retail sector must integrate the EPC Network, the Global Data

Synchronization Network, and existing EAN.UCC messaging standards into a single infra-

structure that recognizes the importance of data accuracy in supporting both process

optimization based on automating item and price management, and collaboration

between trading partners based on pervasive inventory visibility.

RFID tags storing EPCs are a way to associate data with a physical product. Anyone han-

dling the physical item can (with the right technology) access the business data about that

itemeverything from its identity to which invoice it has been charged on. Each RFID

tag contains a microchip that stores identification datathe EPCand a wireless trans-

mitter and antenna that can broadcast that data to readers. Unlike the conventional bar-

code, readers do not have to be in line of sight of the tag.


RFID and EPCsThe Basic Technology


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As with the barcode, a set of standards is emerging to govern the EPC data structure

stored on RFID tags, so that a tag attached to a pallet by a supplier can be read and

understood when that pallet reaches the customer. The format of EPCs is governed by

EPCglobal, an RFID standards development joint venture between EAN International andUniform Code Council. EPCglobal is also developing standards for the radio frequencies

at which RFID tags will operate to ensure global interoperability of tags and readers.

STRUCTURE OF EPC: GTIN 14 DIGITS

RFID tags can be active, passive or semi-passive. Active tags include a battery that pow-

ers the antenna to broadcast a signal to be picked up by the reader. Passive tags have no

battery but draw power from the reader, which sends out electromagnetic waves that

induce a current in the tags antenna. Semi-passive tags use a battery to run the chips

circuitry, but communicate by drawing power from the reader. Active and semi-passive

tags can be read up to 100 feet (30 meters) away while passive tags can only be read

from within 10 feet (3 meters). Active and semi-passive tags are also much more expen-

sive. This means they are economical for tracking high-value goods that need to be

scanned from a distance but are not suitable for tagging very low cost items.

Electronic Product Code

01 .0000A89 . 00016F . 00169DC0Header8 bits

Indicator Digit

Determinesthe structureof the followingseries of numbers

EAN.UCC Prefix Product Number Check Digit

Domain Manager28 bits

Identifies thecompany or entityresponsible formaintaining thesubsequent numbers

Object Class24 bits

Used to identifyan object class,

which representsa group of products

Serial Number36 bits

Unique objectidentification

Decoding the number:HeaderUsed by readers to determine the type of data contained on the chip, eg., 64-bit EPC vs. 96-bit EPC.

Domain ManagerEAN.UCC Company Prefix

Object ClassCombination of Product Hierarchy Indicator (00+UPC12, or 0+EAN13) and Product Number (balance of GTIN

minus check digit)

Serial numberConsecutive number for each item produced

NOTE: The GTIN check digit is not encoded in an EPC.


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Chips in RFID tags can be read-write or read-only. Read-write chips allow the user to

encode the EPC on the tagor update itwhen the tag is within range of a reader, but

are more expensive than read-only tags. The EPC on a read-only tag is either set by the

manufacturer or can use a particular form of memory called EEPROM, which only allowsthe data to be overwritten with specialized hardware.

Because of the costs involved, the majority of tags used in the retail supply chain, at least

initially, will be passive. These tags cost between ten and fifty cents US. With Wal-Mart

demanding suppliers to use field programmable tags (read-write)allowing suppliers to

write tags with EPCsthe more expensive read-write tags are likely to be adopted by

most suppliers. In the long-term, suppliers should be most interested in re-usable tags

that can support multiple reads and writes for pallet-level tracking, although such tags are

still under development and will not be commercially available for some time.

Putting RFID tags on pallets and cases is, however, only one step in the process of getting

business data to flow alongside the physical supply chain.

When an RFID tag is attached to a pallet or case, the manufacturer needs to either pro-

gram the tag with an EPC containing the relevant code for that product or capture the

pre-programmed EPC. In either case, the EPC needs to be associated with the appropri-

ate data describing that product.

This product data is stored using Physical Markup Language, a subset of eXtensible

Markup Language (XML), devised to allow the attributes of physical items to be

described in a standard way which can be interpreted by any PML-compliant application.

The PML standard is also managed by EPCglobal, drawing on work undertaken by bod-

ies such as Le Systme International dUnits (SI) and the National Institute of Standards

and Technology (NIST) in the US.

When an RFID tag is read, the EPC code is sent to an Object Name Service (ONS) on a

local network or the Internet, which points to a server where comprehensive data about

the product can be found in PML format. That data can be retrieved and passed to a

companys inventory or supply chain applications.

Readers can be arranged and configured to capture RFID data in several

ways:

to conduct a scan of an area to identify everything in that area at that time. Such

scans could be continuous, scheduled on a regular basis or triggered by an event in

another system or by a person

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How RFID Works as Part of the Supply Chain



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to continuously scan for tags passing through a narrowly defined area (such as the

doorway to a loading dock)

handheld scanners could be used to scan for tags on individual items.

However readers are configured, they will pick up a constant stream of EPCs. Many of

these will be duplicate readings of the same RFID tag. Existing business applications such

as ERP, Supply Chain Management and Logistics applications are ill-equipped to deal with

these high volumes of repetitive data. The reader therefore needs to pass the informa-

tion to a middleware application that can manage the flow of data.

EPCglobal has adopted a distributed software architecture called Savant to

manage data being generated from reads of RFID tags. Each Savant node

will work with the others to perform a variety of functions:

Savants attached to readers will perform data smoothing, ensuring errors in read-

ing tags are corrected before the data is passed on

One Savant node in a local network of readers will co-ordinate readings to elimi-

nate duplicate EPCs

Savants will only forward appropriate data to other Savants, to the ONS or to

business applications

Because current database technologies can only handle up to a few hundred trans-

actions a second, Savant nodes will be able to provide temporary data storage until

other applications are ready to receive it

Using the Global Registry in conjunction with the ONS Directory, a retailer will be able to synchronize product data

with their suppliers using the source data pool to facilitate ordering. The EPC Network will be used to request product

information from the source data pool via ONS for items that are mis-routed or subsituted during shipping.

SUPPLIER RETAILER


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Savant nodes will also be able to monitor data and use EPC eventssuch as the

movement of the last case of a particular product from a certain areato trigger

tasks such as sending alerts to other systems.

Because EPCs identify a particular instance (a pallet, case or individual packet) of a prod-

uct rather than merely the type of product (GTIN), RFID-based EPCs allow specific

items or batches to be tracked through the supply chain. This will greatly simplify the

process of recalling a product in the event of a manufacturing fault or safety concern,

since the EPCs can be used to determine where the items or batches are in the supply

chain (which warehouse or store) and the RFID tags can be scanned to quickly identify

the physical product.

While much discussion of RFID has focused on the technology of the tags, attaching a tag

to a pallet or case is just one small step in the process, and the cost of tags, while signifi-

cant, is about equal to the cost of implementing and integrating the infrastructure to

make use of them.

If you are going to introduce RFID, you must tackle a number of practical

implementation issues. Not the least of which, is consideration of why you

are introducing RFID and EPC and what business goals you want to

achieve. Many manufacturers will adopt RFID and EPC as a result of man-

dates from retailers such as Wal-Mart. However, there are a number ofreasons why suppliers may want to invest in these technologies internally

even if they are not being pressed to do so by customers. For example,

RFID and EPC can:

reduce errors in processes that are labor-intensive and error prone, such as com-

plex picking operations. One UK-based company has been able to increase the

number of orders its associate can pick at any one time from one or two to 24, by

using RFID tags and EPCs to tell them whether items from a particular storage bin

need to be included in any of the orders they are picking

speed handling of goods. UK-based Marks & Spencer has cut the average time to

scan pallets of goods from 29 seconds using barcodes to five seconds using RFID reduce waste and loss in the supply chain, by allowing products susceptible to

counterfeit, theft, or spoilage to be tracked more closely.

The business goals will determine how you use the EPC information you gather from

tags and that, in turn, will drive where you position readers and how often you take

readings. If you have extremely high turnover of stock (a good example would be milk

processing, where warehouse stock for bottled milk is turned over daily), you would be


Implementing RFID and EPCConsiderations


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page ELECTRONIC PRODUCT CODE: RFID DRIVES THE NEXT REVOLUTION IN ADAPTIVE RETAIL SUPPLY CHAIN EXECUTION

mainly interested in tracking goods on to and off of trucksbut not much concerned

about their location within the warehouseleading you to place readers operating con-

tinuously around loading bay entrances. If you have multiple lines of stock turning over at

different speeds, you may be more interested in running intermittent reads of the whole

warehouse to improve internal inventory management.

In addition, several manufacturers are discovering that the position of the tag on a case

especially a passive tagcan affect how easily it can be read when the case is stacked in

the center of many others. The optimal position will depend on the contents of the case.

Its also worth remembering that the standards for RFID tags and readers

are not settled, as certain radio frequencies are unavailable in some countries

and tags manufactured by different suppliers send data in different ways.

Retailers will almost certainly require multi-protocol readers. Suppliers maybe able to use tags and readers from a single vendor, but may experience dif-

ficulties if they want to extend RFID to in-bound processing of raw materials.

Beyond the tag and reader technology, you need to implement software

solutions to handle EPC data. At the low-end of the market, you are likely to

be able to buy plug-in modules to packages that provide the basic functions

for Savant nodes. Providers of high-end enterprise resource planning (ERP)

solutions are already starting to launch RFID-enabled offerings for ware-

house and logistics divisions.

Installing the software is only the start, however. Savant nodes will need to

be configured to work with readers and integrated with business applications

at the process level as well as the technical level. For instance, they must

also be set up to trigger appropriate actions when specific events occur.

Determining how you want to adapt your business processes to achieve the

best ROI from RFID will be a critical first step in any RFID implementation.

In practical terms, EPCglobal also believes that each company may need to

maintain its own local ONS server to allow it to retrieve data quickly, since

the volume of requests to the ONS will be much higher than requests to

comparable services such as the Internets Webs Domain Name Service.

Clearly, the ONS needs to be resilient, with built-in redundancies, to allow

data to be retrieved even if the ONS server usually used by a particular

Savant node crashes.

The need to maintain multiple copies of ONS data, whether locally or globally also raises

the issue of data synchronization and how RFID will be linked to existing programs to

FIVE STEPS TO

GETTING STARTED

1. Build Your Team: Identify RFID pro

goals and identify executive sponsor

ship and project owner

2. Get In Sync: Complete necessary

steps to clean-up internal data and s

chronize it with your partners

3. Tag the Merchandise: Determine i

what phase of manufacturing/distrib

tion you need to apply the RFID tagand choose the appropriate solution

meet your needs

4.Manage the Data: Identify what

instance level product data is require

by you and your partners and develo

a means to capture it

5. Communicate with Your Partners:

Identify processes where you can us

the additional inventory visibility to b

ter manage your business and ensurethat your partners can provide acces

to that data


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share data more effectively between suppliers and customers. As noted earlier, RFID

efforts must mesh in particular with the GDS program currently being driven forward by

EAN.UCC.

Companies must also consider how they will maintain the product data held on EPCISs

(and again, how this will link to other data synchronization activities). EPCglobal suggests

manufacturers maintain these files. However, running a Web server (which again must

offer resiliency to allow business processes to be maintained in the event that the pri-

mary EPCIS is offline) is not an easy task and suppliers are likely to look at managed and

hosted services for this aspect of the process.

Companies will need to think clearly about where to store the data they need to support

RFID-based processes and how to effectively maintain, share and access it. Some data

may be best held in existing enterprise systems. Other data may demand the installationof new solutions, such as product catalogues, in-house or organizations may prefer to

work with a hosted service provider especially where the prime objective of storing the

data is to allow others to access it.

The industry must also tackle consumer fears about privacy. Trials of item level tagging by

Benetton and by Tesco and Gillette have been suspended following pressure from con-

sumer privacy groups over how EPC data on individual items might be used. Privacy con-

cerns are of much less concern when implementing RFID tagging at the pallet or case

level, since the tags will only be used and read within the factory or customer ware-

house, or in transit. At the consumer level, Marks & Spencer, Metro and Wal-Mart arenow all demonstrating best practices by developing privacy policies that communicate to

users exactly how data from RFID tags will be used or which commit to removing or de-

activating tags before the item leaves the store.

Finally, companies must be aware that introducing RFID poses a significant project

management challenge, because it requires companies to work with partners from

the outset. Most technologies can be introduced internally in a relatively controlled

environment, but RFID based EPC, by its nature, demands collaboration with trading

partners. Companies should not underestimate the project management effort and

change management challenges involved and should budget resources appropriatelyfor these activities.



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page

How GXS Can Help You Realize Value From RFID


At GXS, we understand the importance you place on sharing data with your supply chain

partners and EPC is no different. We have extensive experience in implementing and

operating integration solutions to enable our clients to communicate more effectively

with their trading partners while lowering costs. We can support and integrate with a

wide range of protocols, including AS2, which offers EDI capabilities over public net-

works such as the Internet, and XML. Both can be used to push data to trading part-

ners or data pools. GXS is also developing web services capabilities that are based on the

kind of pull solutions that will be needed to connect to ONS and other EPCISs.

In addition, with its specific solutions, GXS will enable organizations to

tackle the four data challenges associated with EPC:

Maintaining accurate static data such as GTINS through GDS

Forsuppliers, GXS can offer three levels of solutions to meet the needsof any size of business:

- GXS Global Product Cataloguea hosted data pool solution to manage

the process of synchronizing data with all of your trading partners.

- GXS Quick Connectmeets the needs of medium-sized enterprises

by integrating with existing applications, such as an ERP, to extract the

necessary data, cleanse and normalize it into the appropriate formats

and then upload it to a datapool

- GXS Product Information Managera full catalog management solution

that can aggregate data from multiple internal sources, create a datarepository that can be managed centrally and used to deliver data for

a number of uses, including to datapools.

For retailers, GXS can provide a retailer-specific version of its Product

Information Manager solution that allows them to hold very large catalogs

of data sourced through their datapool from multiple suppliers. This solu-

tion provides retailers with a suite of tools to allow them to integrate and manage that

data to meet their internal item management process requirements.

For EAN.UCC member organizations looking to develop country data pools, GXScan offer its extensive experience running existing data normalization and synchroniza-

tion services. We already deliver these as managed services to EAN member organiza-

tions in countries such as Canada (ECCC) and Australia (EANnet).

Maintaining accurate instance-specific data such as manufacturing batch number, manu-

facturing location, and expiration date. The capabilities of our Product Information

If CPG companies ever want to truly shi

gears from push to pull, data synchroniz

tion is crucial. It will be the foundation o

a two-way flow of product, promotion,

and sales data and the enabler for true

collaboration and emerging technologies

like RFID. The end result will be a

Consumer-Connected Supply Network

within which manufacturers and cus-

tomers will be able to forecast promotio

lift, predict consumer demand, and ident

the profitability of products and channelmore accurately.

Kara Romanow, AMR Research

Data Synchronization Has Simply Becom

a Cost of Doing Business, April 2003


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Management solutions are being extended to manage the attributes that make items

unique. Not only does this solution provide management of the data, it can also make it

available to other processes like product recall.

Capturing and maintaining historical item movement data based on reads of RFID tags as

products move through the supply chain. GXS can offer a logistics visibility solution that

integrates EPC scan data to provide insight to shipment status and facilitate supply chain

event management.

Providing access to associated data to give process context to RFID scan information

such as purchase orders, shipping documents, invoices, and other supply chain docu-

ments. GXS connection and monitoring solutions will provide the capability to associate

RFID scan information with other processes in the supply chain.

GXSs Advanced Ship Notice barcode printing solutions can be used to label casesor pallets with RFID tags

GXSs range of EDI and AS/2-based messaging services will allow EPC data to be

shared with trading partners, leveraging widely adopted messaging processes with

the network of ONS and EPCISs to provide a single Business to Business integra-

tion architecture

If you want a hosted service, GXS offers a number of solutions. If you want to run your

own RFID solution, we can provide consulting, implementation services and a variety of

software components and connectivity services to allow you to build a system that meetsyour needs.

Global eXchange Services has over thirty-five years experience serving

the needs of the retail industry with a full suite of global retail solutions.

To learn more about how our solutions can help your business meet

the challenge of RFID, please contact us at www.gxs.com or call us at

800-560-4347 or outside the U.S. at 1+301-340-5000



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page

Glossary


AS2a standard that allows EDI data to be sent over

the Internet using the http protocol.

Datapoola GDSN-compliant mechanism for tradingpartners to share and synchronize data. As well as stor-

ing product data, a datapool provides the necessary

functions and workflow to communicate with the

GLOBALregistry and with other datapools.

EAN.UCCthe global bodies regulating data standards

for product description in retail.

EPCElectronic Product Codes: a 64- or 96-bit num-

ber whose format is governed by EPCglobal, a sub-

sidiary of the EAN.UCC international standards body.Each RFID tag will contain a unique EPC.

EPCglobal, a subsidiary of the EAN.UCC international

standards body that governs the format of EPCs.

EPC Information Service (EPCIS)standardized

web services interface to data stores that provide

information related to RFID tag reads

GDDGlobal Data Dictionary: an EAN.UCC standard

that allows all the potential attributes of an item to be

defined. These attributes may include size, brand infor-mation, logistical information, and so on.

GDSGlobal Data Synchronization.

GDSNGlobal Data Synchronization Network: pro-

vides a framework that allows all datapools to interop-

erate and all trading partners to share data seamlessly.

GCIGlobal Commerce Initiative: a global industry

user group which works to identify issues which are hin-

dering the performance of supply chains and suggest

potential global solutions for data, messages, processes,

and associated requirements. These are offered to stan-

dards body such as EAN.UCC for adoption.

GLNGlobal Location Number: a unique way for com-

panies to identify themselves and even specific locations

within their sites, down to the warehouse or delivery

dock level.

GLOBALregistryprovides an index for companies

looking for product data held in local datapools, while

ensuring datapools are fully complaint with EAN.UCC

standards and that each product has a unique Global

Trade Identification Number (GTIN).

GPCGlobal Product Classification: a standard way of

categorizing products that provides a means of linking

different company classification systems and offers a

common language for collaborative business processes.

GSMPGlobal Standards Management Process: the

governing body for the development of global data syn-

chronization standards within the EAN.UCC frame-

work. Open to all industry participants and solution

providers, the GSMP provides the process for develop-

ing business requirements and global standards for tecni-

cal implementations.

GTINGlobal Trade Item Number: a unique identifier

for each product.

ONSObject Name Service, a directory, similar to the

Domain Name Service, which allows applications to get

the web address where comprehensive data about a

product can be found in PML format.

PMLPhysical Markup Language: a subset of eXtensible

Markup Language (XML) devised to allow the attributes

of physical items to be described in a standard way that

can be interpreted by any PML-compliant application.

RFIDRadio Frequency Identification: a technology that

allows data held on a microchip to be broadcast using a

wireless transmitter. Data from the RFID chip can be

read even when the chip is not in line of sight.

Savanta software architecture developed by

EPCglobal to manage the high volumes of data being

generated from reads of RFID tags that deals with read

errors, multiple reads of the same tags and so on before

data is passed to business systems.


16/16

NORTH AMERICA

AND GLOBAL

HEADQUARTERS100 Edison Park Drive

Gaithersburg, MD 20878

U.S.A.

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Times Square

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Hong Kong

Tel: +852 2884-6088

Fax: +852 2513-0650

www.gxs. com

2004 Global eXchange Services, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

About Global eXchange Services

Global eXchange Services, Inc. operates one of the largest B2B e-commerce networks in the world,

managing 1 billion transactions annually for more than 100,000 trading partners. With over 35 years

experience, Global eXchange Services provides supply chain services and software to 60 percent of

the FORTUNE 500. Global eXchange Services is headquartered in Gaithersburg, MD and is a direct

subsidiary and indirect subsidiary of GXS Corporation and GXS Holdings, Inc. respectively.

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