EPC Primer. JAG. Nov Texas Instruments proprietary information 1

Transcription

1 EPC Primer 1

2 What is EPC? The Electronic Product Code (EPC) was conceived as a means to identify physical objects. These include, not only retail products but also containers, packages and shipments. The EPC is a short, simple and extensible code designed primarily for efficient referencing to networked information. Barcodes perform a similar function for product identification and supply chain logistics utilizing the Uniform Product Code (UPC) and its numbering superset, the Global Trade Item Number (GTIN). The EPC is equivalent to a barcode + Unique Number 2

3 EPC Initiative It all began with the MIT Auto ID Center in 1999 They established the goal of a 5 cent RFID tag Formulated the concept of The internet of things United the manufactures, retailers and technology providers to use RFID in Supply Chain applications Broke through two major RFID barriers (tag costs & standards) and moved into mainstream with the formation of A subsidiary of UCC / EAN Chartered with RFID/EPC standard adoption in retail supply chain 3

4 EPCglobal Organisation EAN Board of Management GS1 UCC Board of Governors EPCglobal Board of Management Architecture Review Committee President EPCglobal Texas Instruments is active in both Business and Hardware groups Business Steering Committee (BSC) Technical Steering Committee (TSC) AUTO-ID Labs Policy Steering Committee (PSC) Business Action Group Hardware Action Group Software Action Group Working Groups 4

5 EPC Drivers The EPC standardization is being driven by the large users Retail giant to throw weight behind wireless tracking of goods 5 Military Edict: Use RFID by 2005 Oct. 3, 2003 : The U.S. military has spelled out a comprehensive plan to require all suppliers to use active and passive RFID technology by January The U.S. Acting Under Secretary of Defense, Michael W. Wynne, yesterday sent a memo to senior military officials spelling out an ambitious plan to require suppliers to use active and passive

6 EPC Early Adopters At meetings this week in Arkansas with its suppliers, Wal*Mart reiterated its commitment to phase-in RFID for inventory tracking across its distribution network starting in Jan 2005 and to be completed by the end of suppliers attended the meetings & all are understood to be committed to the mandate, which remains on track. (Nov 2003) Recently, METRO Group opened its first Future Store worldwide in Rheinberg near Duisburg. In the converted supermarket of Metro s Extra sales division, future technologies for tomorrow s retail trade are tested and further developed under real conditions (Apr 2003) At the IGD Supply Chain Summit, Tesco announced the results of their trials and strategy for RFID. It is looking for it s top 100 suppliers to move to case level tagging from Sept 04 to 2006; after 2006 it expects all suppliers to case level tag (Nov 2003) The U.S. military has spelled out a comprehensive plan to require all suppliers to use active and passive RFID technology by January (Oct 2003) Target Issues RFID Mandate The retailer plans to require suppliers to put EPC tags on Pallets (Feb 2004) 6

7 Early Adopter Milestones 2004: RFID pilot, refine strategy and pilot applications and infrastructure Jan 2005: Regional implementation 2005: Continued domestic expansion 2006: Rollout of next 200 largest suppliers 2006: International rollout begins Notes: 137 Manufacturers committed to comply from EPC equipped DCs, 104 equipped Stores October 2005 there will be 500 stores/clubs and 5 DCs Supplies can view data via Retail Link site Jan 2006 Stores & DCs will be Gen 2 enabled Mid 2006 No more Gen 1 tags 7

8 Early Adopter Milestones Supplier tagging expectations Nov 04: 20 suppliers ship tagged product 2005: 80 more suppliers are expected to follow Jan 06: 300 suppliers in compliance Notes: Innovation Centre is approved for compliance tests Using Philips EPC v1.19 for November 04 start 2Q 06 will migrate to UHF Gen2 8

9 Early Adopter Milestones Oct 03: Announces RFID Policy Jun 04: RFID Policy and implementation strategy finalized Oct 04: Tags will be mandatory on contracts issued after this date. Nov 05: Suppliers to fit approved passive RFID tag on cases/pallets and individual high cost items (requiring DoD s UID) Notes: Will initially accept Class-0 and Class-1 tags Already accepting tagged 2 sites Long-term will require Gen 2 EPC tags only Tags can be coded with EPC or DoD structure Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation (DFAR) Supplement allows DOD to mandate tagging for selected products. 9

10 Early Adopter Milestones 2005: Currently tagging totes with Class 1 Alien Q4 2005: Start Testing with Gen : Rollout of tagged totes and roll-cages with Gen 2. Start of case level tagging. Notes: 190 stores equipped with Tyco readers. 30 DCs to be RFID enabled. Intends to use OATSystems software. Trialling with Zebra printers. Starting item tracking program. 10

11 Early Adopter Milestones Feb 04: Announces RFID Policy Feb 04: Mandates Top Suppliers to prepare for RFID Spring 05: Pallets & cases to Select D/Cs to be tagged Spring 07: All Suppliers to fit passive RFID tag on cases & pallets Notes: Will start with one DC in the Dallas-Fort Worth Area Selected suppliers to start tagging Autumn 2004 Expand the scheme to 50 stores by June 2005 Will accept Gen 2 at DCs in Feb, stores March 2006 Suppliers can share data via Partners Online 11

12 Early Adopter Milestones Aug 04: Announces RFID Policy During 2005: Testing at selected stores and distribution centers Jan 06: System goes live May 07: All Suppliers to fit passive RFID tag on cases & pallets Notes: Suppliers sent detailed document outlining steps to be taken Participated in Accenture supported consortium to examine benefits of RFID in electronics supply chain Jan 06, 80% of suppliers will start shipping tagged carton & pallets to 2 DCs and on to 5 stores 12

13 Emerging Adopters in Europe 13

14 Perceived Benefits Inventory management EPC Drivers More accurate shipments Streamlined receiving/ picking/ forwarding. Improved labour utilization/ reduced costs Order Management Shorter lead times Reduced safety stock holding More easily facilitated recalls/returns Reduction in claims/ claims handling Better consumer data from retailers Theft and Counterfeiting Better brand management/ Protection Fewer Gray Market goods 14

15 EPCglobal Network The Electronic Product Code Network was conceived as a secure real-time means to identify objects using Networked Information. Tags Reader EPC EPCIS ONS PML The data carriers The data capture device; portable or fixed (installed), connected to a EPCIS server via a network. Electronic Product Code: the code carried by the data carrier; the globally unique pointer for making enquiries about the item. EPC Information Service: Servers which act as local repositories for EPCs and which support sophisticated, flexible middleware. Object Name Service; the distributed resource that knows where information about EPCs is held (just like DNS). Physical Markup Language; like XML, with XQL query structure to allow structured querying and reporting of EPCs. 15

16 EPC Tags & Protocols Standards and Protocols defined by the MIT Auto-ID Centre have migrated through the Hardware Action Group (HAG) to EPC Global 64-bit R/O Matrics (Class 0) Agile Reader 64-bit Worm Alien (Class 1) HAG UHF Gen 2 96-bit R/W 4Q04 16

17 Electronic Product Code The original EPC class definitions were: EPC Class Operation 0 Read Only (R/O) 1 Write Once, Read Many (WORM) 2 Read / Write (R/W) with larger memory 3 Read / Write Battery enhanced for extra range 4 Read / Write Active Transmitter Two manufacturers protocols were incorporated: Matrics Class 0 (R/O) Alien Class 1 (Worm) Matrics Alien 17

18 Electronic Product Code With Gen 2, the class definitions have been re-defined: Class Operation 1 Identity tags base definition for passive backscatter tags: An EPC identifier Tag ID Memory A Kill function Optional access password and User memory 2 Higher Functionality Tags with Extended Tag ID and User memory Authenticated access control 3 Semi-passive Tags with An integral power source Sensing circuitry 4 Active Tags Tag-to-Tag communications Active communications Ad-hoc networking capabilities 18

19 Electronic Product Code The Electronic Product Code was conceived with RFID as the technology to make the vision possible. It is the Header that defines the fields in the Electronic Product Code (epc): The header allows for different lengths of data to suit different technologies It allows for longer epc lengths to be defined (e.g. 256-bits) It ensures that existing codes (e.g. EAN/UCC GTIN codes and VIN numbers) can be mapped to the epc Type bits 19

20 Electronic Product Code The epc Manager is the manufacturer of the product. e.g., Coca Cola The Serial Number uniquely identifies each 330 ml can The Object Class is the exact type of product, most often the SKU (Stock keeping unit) e.g. Diet Coke 330 ml can, US version 20

21 Electronic Product Code The Electronic Product Code Protocols Update Following the withdrawal of the competing proposals, a joint submission, incorporating the best features of the these proposals, was re-issued as the Chicago Protocol at the end of June 2004 The Hardware Action Group (HAG), of which TI is a member, submitted comments on this specification The review committee approved the changes, a revised document was issued and the HAG voted to move the modified Chicago specification to Candidate Status' October 2004) Prototype tags and readers (Artifacts) were built to validate the specification and the UHF GEN 2 standard was ratified at year end 2004 TI began volume production in Q