New RFID standards could change supply chain efficiency

While they are still a young technology, radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags are being used more and more as supply chain businesses realize their large number of benefits. Because RFID tags are still among a group of developing labeling trends, they aren't necessarily as well-regulated as other label types.

That's why the board of directors from the Voluntary Interindustry Commerce Solutions Association (VICS) released a list of guidelines for the identification, serialization and placement of electronic product code (EPC)-enabled RFID tags to help move towards universal label compliance among retailers and supplies, according to Modern Materials Handling Magazine.

"The VICS board's decision to adopt the guidelines for tag placement and performance and serialization gives a strong signal to the industry that all trading partners need to move beyond limited trials and consider full fledged rollouts of RFID systems at the item level," Joe Andraski, president and chief executive officer of VICS, told the source. "The improvement in inventory accuracy alone has proven to deliver more than enough to pay for the investment."

He added that the increasing number of standards that are available to help companies go through the process should result in decreased initial expenditures for the systems.

The VICS committee also said that they support the GS1 General Specification that claims brand owners are the proprietors of the serial codes for their products.

Bob Carpenter, president and chief executive officer of GS1 U.S., told the publication that this RFID initiative will have a similarly impactful and lasting effect on EPCs as UPC barcodes did in the 1970s. He said that a "standards-based approach to RFID" will be instrumental in promoting its use throughout various industries seeking to streamline processes and improve customer satisfaction.

GS1 Connect brings supply chain industry leaders together

We're big fans of GS1 and if you're a regular visitor to this blog then that's no mystery to you. If you know what GS1 is and the work it's done, then you should understand why we make it such a priority to emphasize the importance of the organization. That's why we're strongly suggesting that supply chain businesses seriously look into sending a representative to GS1 Connect 2012.

The annual conference presents a great opportunity for companies to interact with their partners and GS1 experts, and with that, they can both improve their role in their supply chain and improve the relationships they have with their suppliers, distributors and manufacturers. This year's annual event is set to take place at the Aria Resort & Casino in Las Vegas from June 4 to June 7.

Business reps will have the opportunity to attend industry-specific programs for topics relevant to supply chain companies that work with apparel, consumer packaged goods, foodservice, fresh foods, general merchandise, hardlines and healthcare, according to a pamphlet previewing the event.

"GS1 Connect brings together people and solutions that support different parts of the supply chain and connects them to a bigger picture of what is capable through an integrated approach to solving supply chain problems," GS1 Connect conference director Terry Erman said in a statement. "They get to hear from end-users like themselves, who use barcodes, e-commerce, data synchronization, and RFID to gain efficiency and visibility in their supply chain operations.  That really seems to resonate with our audiences."

Erman added that oftentimes first time attendees explain that "the light bulb went on" for them and they finally understand certain issues that seemed complicated before.

For more information, you can check out the GS1 Connect page here.

GS1 VP reflects on foodservice industry changes in the last two years

The food supply chain faces similar problems to the pharmaceutical chain in that the health of consumers is at risk if the products in either system are compromised. That's why the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and GS1 work tirelessly to make sure they both run smoothly, and if there's an issue, they see to it that the damage is mitigated as much as possible.

In 2009, GS1 introduced the Foodservice GS1 U.S. Standards Initiative to take a more preventative approach to crisis management through enhanced label tracking and traceability. One of the pioneers of the act was Dennis Harrison, vice president of GS1 U.S. In a recent interview with SmartBlogs.com, Harrison explained how the industry has changed in the last two years.

He said that the standards have helped improved operational efficiencies, which is integral considering the rising cost of goods like poultry, beef and dairy products. Additionally, there's been added pressure for companies to offer safer food since the Food Safety Modernization Act was put into place.

The foodservice industry set a goal of reaching 75 percent industry-wide compliance to GS1 standards by 2015, and according to the website, it's more than halfway there. Harrison said that this is due in part to a domino effect caused by major food providers that not only understand the importance of the standards, but have also adapted them.

"I think part of the reason for this positive energy and shift in the industry has to do with the fact that leading companies are, in a sense, pressuring each other to adopt GS1 Standards to improve efficiency," Harrison told the source.

He said that industry leading operators have been asking the organizations along their chain to follow GS1 standards, which is great for both those companies as well as the food supply chain as a whole.

New RFID guidelines should improve supply chain efficiency

Label tracking and traceability has come a long way thanks to RFID tags. Supply chain businesses will likely see even more improvements to their effectiveness and reliability in the near future as the Board of Directors of the Voluntary Interindustry Commerce Solutions Association (VICS) has recently announced new guidelines for the identification, serialization and placement of Electronic Product Code (EPC)-enabled RFID tags, according to a press release.

Under the new requirements, suppliers and retailers must work together to narrow down the best possible placement and type of RFID tag that streamlines production and doesn't cost too much for either party.

Additionally, the VICS Board of Directors has announced that it will endorse the GS1 U.S. Serialization Management Working Group approach to reinforce the GS1 General Specification, which gives a product's brand owners sole possession of the serial numbers.

"The VICS board's decision to adopt the guidelines for tag placement and performance and serialization gives a strong signal to the industry that all trading partners need to move beyond limited trials and consider full fledged rollouts of RFID systems at the item level," Joe Andraski, president and CEO of VICS, said in a statement.

"The improvement in inventory accuracy alone has proven to deliver more than enough to pay for the investment. Now that we have a growing number of standards to guide companies through the process, the initial outlay for these systems is likely to decrease," he added.

This isn't the first time that the VICS board has encouraged supply chain businesses to adhere to GS1 criteria. In the past, VICS board members agreed to endorse GS1's EPC standards that called for companies to identify, capture and share information about their inventory and processes in real time, the release states.

Who's using GS1 standards in the food industry?

Food Safety Magazine recently published an extensive but easily digestable assessment of the role GS1 plays in the label tracking and traceability efforts of food producers worldwide. As the piece describes, GS1 standards have become a unifying global language for trade partners and industry stakeholders across the spectrum in the food industry.

A number of industry groups have embraced GS1 standardization for their specific sectors, and label compliance guidelines have been drafted to provide businesses with a sense of direction when they implement GS1 standardization in their operations, according to FSM.

The piece highlighted The Traceability for Meat and Poultry U.S. Implementation Guide, which was drafted with input and consultation from major sector stakeholders like the U.S. Department of Agriculture and retailers such as Wal-Mart and Wegmans. The Traceability for Seafood Implementation Guide – a project of the National Fisheries Institute and GS1 US in collaboration with several major seafood brands – provides similar label compliance guidelines for that sector.

Ultimately, the piece is an interesting look at which corners of the food industry are making the most of GS1 standards to simplify supply chain practices and enhance label tracking and traceability. As the article points out, this movement is fairly new to fresh food companies, and was embraced out of the need to encourage safer food production, packaging and shipping.

As a result, there are still many food companies that have yet to adopt GS1 standards. There are obvious benefits to doing so – improved communication with business partners, greater ability to receive and share information on shipment locations, product ingredients and item movement along the supply line – but implementation can be a challenge. Turning to top providers of labeling solutions and software can shorten the learning curve and help companies adopt GS1 standards at a quicker and easier pace.

New York medical center to implement GS1 standards

A prominent medical center in New York's Hudson Valley announced it will adopt GS1 standards in its supply chain process through a data synchronization effort that will make use of the Global Data Synchronization Network (GDSN).

In a press release, Westchester Medical Center said it would improve its supply chain efficiency with help from DataPros for Healthcare – a data cleansing company for the healthcare sector – and 1SYNC, the GS1-certified, GDSN-member data pool.

The medical center is part of a larger medical group that is a member of the GS1 Healthcare U.S. Initiative. That initiative includes more than 130 healthcare organizations that strive to improve standardization across the industry.

"We always challenge ourselves to have the best supply-chain processes, with a sharp focus on driving waste out of the system," Roger Weems, an executive at the Westchester Medical Center, said in a press release. "One key strategy has been ensuring completeness and accuracy of our data."

More than 19,000 companies nationwide participate in the GDSN, and healthcare providers are joining at an increasing rate. 1SYNC has been a leader in that regard, connecting more medical centers, like Westchester, with the supply chain data they need to improve productivity and workflow.

Ideally, such standardization would have a beneficial impact on healthcare as a whole. Improved label tracking and traceability through the Global Trade Item Number (GTIN), for instance, allows providers to identify potentially defective or troublesome medical equipment. Similarly, the Global Location Number (GLN) makes it quick and easy to locate healthcare providers and suppliers anywhere in the world.

The GDSN uses both of those identifiers to offer users vital updates on product changes, system upgrades and other important information.

At Westchester, administrators hope adopting GS1 standards will help the center improve the quality of care it provides to its 3.5 million potential patients.
 

Restaurant group to study supply chain, traceability issues

We've talked a lot recently about label tracking and traceability concerns in the food and beverages industry. It seems consumers are taking an active role in pushing for better regulations or more enforcement at every level of the food supply chain.

Of course, these talks have cost and management implications for stakeholders in the food and beverages industry. One trade group says it would now like to study supply chain processes and measures to determine best practices moving forward.

The National Restaurant Association (NRA) announced the formation of an Executive Study Group, which aims to research "issues such as increasing commodity and wholesale food prices, sourcing of ingredients, and traceability of products," according to a press release.

Dawn Sweeney, president and CEO for the NRA, added that food safety and supply chain efficiency are both top concerns for restaurateurs. The group – composed of major restaurant executives and managers – will also look at the Foodservice GS1 US Standards Initiative as a potential jumping-off point in its discussions.

That initiative was developed in 2009 to provide direction to food industry stakeholders with issues such as label tracking and traceability as well as counterfeit labeling. GS1 said it wants at least 75 percent of the industry subscribing to these standards by 2015, and an October 2011 press release said GS1 is now halfway towards that goal. More than 1,400 food service companies have adopted the GS1 standards, up from 191 in 2009.

That's certainly encouraging progress, but as a report this week from the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) shows, label compliance remains a challenge because fraud in the industry lacks definition. Dishonest labels or packaging are only part of the puzzle when it comes to food fraud, said the report.

All the same, the more companies that subscribe to standards like the ones that GS1 has laid out, the better the overall industry may be. If you have questions about the Foodservice G1 Standard or anything else GS1-related, don't hesitate to reach out to Loftware.
 

GS1 U.S. announces details on 2012 conference

Businesses that adhere to GS1 standards for label tracking and traceability and supply chain efficiency can get the latest on the organization's latest standards, updates and regulations at the 2012 GS1 Connect Conference, which was announced November 16.

This year's event will take place June 4 to 7, 2012, from Las Vegas's Aria Resort and Casino, GS1 U.S. announced in a press release.

You may recall the gathering's previous name as the U Connect Conference, which it had been known as since its 2000 debut. The name change will also occur for the corresponding online community that was once known as U Connect Online and will now be known as GS1 Connect Online.

The annual event attracts more than 10,000 visitors each year from a wide swath of industries, including healthcare, manufacturing, apparel, food and beverage and consumer goods.

Each of those sectors can expect to have industry-specific information available at individual sessions, which are being developed by the GS1 Connect Community Advisory Board (CAB). The CAB includes representatives from businesses within each stakeholder industry. For example, Mike Sarachman, the industry standards adoptions manager at Johnson & Johnson, co-chairs the healthcare planning group.

"We are planning sessions that will enable people to learn from the experiences of not only the healthcare industry, but from the experiences of other industries that are realizing the value of appropriate standards," Sarachman said in the press release.

The conference – register for it here – may be a great way for businesses in any one of those industries to receive relevant news and information regarding label compliance and standardization in their sector. In the meantime, it can be helpful to partner with a trusted label software solutions provider to keep abreast of GS1 label compliance developments and updates.
 

GS1 Healthcare US Showcases Healthcare Supplier's Implementation of Global Location Numbers

In a recent six-page case study, GS1 Healthcare US spotlights how and why the STERIS Corporation has made the move to GS1-based data and product marking standards. In case you’re not familiar with STERIS, it is a leading provider of infection prevention and surgical products with more than 5,000 employees worldwide.

The story is an interesting one, if not a little breathless for my taste. I’m not sure why the word ‘customer’ throughout the piece carries a capital ‘C’ for example. Still, good information is provided about the perceived benefits of making the GS1 transition. Three things in particular drew my attention.

Chemical Industry: Future of Worldwide Harmonization Hinges on Getting MAD!

A timely article in Express Pharma entitled, “Enhancing REACHability,” provides a thorough accounting of the events and themes of the recently held third Helsinki Chemicals Forum which discussed current issues and future challenges of the chemical industry, chemical safety, and chemistry research. It is mostly about the ongoing evolution of REACH (registration, evaluation, authorization and restriction of chemicals) regulations for European Union member countries.  For example,