Bar Codes and RFID by Paula Giovannetti

   Radio Frequency Identification Tags have been referred to as “electronic bar codes” -
   an appropriate nickname.  After completing an RFID class, one attendee commented,
   “I get it.  It’s like reading a bar code for free!”  Considering the expense of EPC
    Information Systems, RFID hardware and the tags themselves, it is certainly not
    “free”.  But the point is RFID will eventually provide us with a better bar code.  Will it
    replace bar codes?  Given that we can read three million bar codes without an error,
    but have never considered removing the human readable portion, it is unlikely that
    RFID tags will go solo for a long time.  Bar codes will be our backup.   In fact, the
    standards committees working with RFID have been very careful to insure that the
    data decoded from an RFID tag is exactly the same as the data read from the bar
    codes we use today. 

 Exchanging Data in EDI:  RFID Vs. Bar Codes   

   What changes with the data exchanged in EDI when the Global Trade Item Number
   (GTIN) or Serial Shipping Container Code (SSCC) comes from an RFID tag? 
   Absolutely NOTHING!  Recently the EPC Technical Development Team created a
   working group called the Message & Process Sub Team.  The EPC TDT sits between
   EPCglobal, Inc. and the GS1 Global Standards Management Process.  Participation
   was encouraged from retail, grocery, healthcare and the U.S. Department of Defense.
   At our first teleconference we talked about how we will exchange Electronic Product
   Code (EPC) information in electronic business transactions.  The EPC is the data
   structure used to exchange things like Serialized Global Trade Item Numbers and
   Serial Shipping Container Codes in RFID.  We are trying to synchronize the
   conventions used for X12 EDI (VICS Retail and UCS Grocery), EANCOM EDIFACT
   and XML Business Messages. 

   At our first meeting we established that the GTIN and SSCC data decoded from
   an RFID tag is no different than the data read from a bar code.  The GS1 (EAN.UCC)
   data structures are the same, regardless of the data carrier.  We are initially focused
   on the exchange of information in the Ship Notice / Deliver / Despatch Advice.
   Basically, with the SSCC, nothing will change.  The same is true of the GTIN portion
   of the Serialized GTIN.  EPCglobal, Inc. has a Fast Moving Consumer Goods team
   working on the use case for exchanging individual serial numbers for each GTIN in
   an electronic business document (EDI).

   I am Chairman of the EPC TDT Message & Process Sub Team, so please contact
   me with any questions or comments.  paula@ecworkshops.com