evolution of product identification standards: from upc to gtin ...

1. Evolution of Product Identification Standards:From UPC to GTIN to EPC to RFID Richard Randall Business Advisor July 13, 2004

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3. 3 Who is QRS? QRS delivers collaborative commerce solutions to the global retail trading community. We allow companies to: Manage transaction and item flow within and between companies Comply with industry standards and retail mandates Manage trading communities As well as� synchronize and manage product data collaboratively source, merchandise and import goods With more than 14 years providing retail technology solutions, QRS is unique in its ability to allow retailers and their trading partners to connect, transact, and collaborate so they can differentiate their products in the marketplace. QRS has established the largest trading network in North America GMA (more than 500 trading hubs) and offers the most extensive source of product information (with more than 90 million items). Our roster of customers totals more than 8,000. A Sample of leading brand names in the U.S. and Europe is listed here. Other things of note about QRS: Customers include: 19 of the top 20 apparel and footwear companies 8 of the top 10 retailers worldwide 9 of the top 10 U.S. supermarkets 11 of the top 12 U.S. department stores We manage 90 million UPC�s and millions of transactions every day What do each of these customers use it for?QRS delivers collaborative commerce solutions to the global retail trading community. We allow companies to: Manage transaction and item flow within and between companies Comply with industry standards and retail mandates Manage trading communities As well as� synchronize and manage product data collaboratively source, merchandise and import goods With more than 14 years providing retail technology solutions, QRS is unique in its ability to allow retailers and their trading partners to connect, transact, and collaborate so they can differentiate their products in the marketplace. QRS has established the largest trading network in North America GMA (more than 500 trading hubs) and offers the most extensive source of product information (with more than 90 million items). Our roster of customers totals more than 8,000. A Sample of leading brand names in the U.S. and Europe is listed here. Other things of note about QRS: Customers include: 19 of the top 20 apparel and footwear companies 8 of the top 10 retailers worldwide 9 of the top 10 U.S. supermarkets 11 of the top 12 U.S. department stores We manage 90 million UPC�s and millions of transactions every day What do each of these customers use it for?

4. 4 What�s new with QRS? Since we last met� Introduced two new Product Information Management (PIM) software solutions QRS IMPACT� QRS QuickSync� June 17th announcement QRS to be acquired by JDA

5. 5 History of the Barcode and the UPC

6. 6 Components of a UPC

7. 7 GTIN-14 Usage The first digit of a GTIN-14 is a level of packing indicator A higher level pack of a single UPC can be assigned a �Case GTIN:� Where the root of the Case GTIN is the lower level UPC Where the first digit of the Case GTIN is not �0� or �9�* And the checkdigit has been re-calculated appropriately A case or higher pack level may be assigned a new UPC (Pre-Pack UPC), or if case is homogeneous (only 1 UPC in the case), then a �Case GTIN� (where the first digit is not �0� or �9�) can be assigned to the case �9� is reserved for variable weight/measure items

8. 8 Clarification on �Sunrise 2005� & GTIN Technically, the UCC�s Sunrise 2005 states that all North American retailers should be able to handle the EAN by January 1, 2005 However, while making changes to systems and hardware, should go all the way to 14-digits for the GTIN Technically, no �sunrise date� for supporting the GTIN-14 has been issued Note: The consumer level unit will always be marked with the UPC or EAN symbology. Although the number may be stored in a database or transmitted in EDI in a 14-digit GTIN format, the consumer unit will always be marked with the applicable UPC or EAN format. In general, POS hardware and software will not need to be modified to support the GTIN-14 format.

9. 9 The GTIN �Family� Global Trade Item Numbers include: Existing UPC (UCC-12) EAN (EAN/UCC-13) EAN/UCC-8 SCC-14 (ITF-14) New (2005 Sunrise) GTIN-14 (EAN/UCC-14)

10. 10 �Item� Data vs. �Instance� Data An �item� is represented by a UPC/EAN/GTIN An individual copy of an item, is an �instance� of that item To identify individual �instances� of an item, they need to be serialized � each instance gets assigned its own serial number Necessary for RFID to work � if RFID only had the UPC imbedded, how could the RFID receiver identify whether there were 1,000 instances of an item, or whether it just heard the same one item 1,000 times?

11. 11 RFID isn�t new Over 60 years old � used by the British in WWII to identify their aircraft More recently, has been used to track: Soldiers in war zones Patients in hospitals Airfreight parcels Toll roads & bridges (FasTrack San Francisco, E-ZPass New York, etc.) Benefit of RFID over UPC/Barcode RFID is radio versus UPC/Barcode which is optical � can process items in bulk rather than scanning each individually Then why hasn�t it caught on? Cost Volume of data Competing standards

12. 12 Industry Direction: GTIN?EPC?RFID GTIN � Global Trade Item Number Format supports EAN-8, UPC-12, EAN-13 and Case-GTIN-14. Used to identify an item. EPC � Electronic Product Code Is a GTIN with a serial number (or SGTIN) plus some additional data attributes. Used to identify an �instance� of an item. RFID � Radio Frequency Identification A radio transmitter chip attached to items for identification purposes. Chip is programmed with the EPC. Format of a 96-Bit EPC/RFID:

13. 13 How �move� item data?... Historically

14. 14 How �move� item data?... UCCnet

15. 15 How �move� item data?... UCCnet

16. 16 How move �instance� data? First, have to know item data Then, could move item data in Ship Notice (ASN) Or, could wait until the actual individual items are received and simply �read/hear� them then (but could not query on their status until received) Or, have a �global router� to direct you to individual �instance� databases The last alternative is what is being promoted by the UCC, and their affiliate EPCglobal

17. 17 How move �instance� data?... EPCglobal

18. 18 Why do we need an �instance� data network? We don�t Unless we want� Refrigerators that tell you when you have a carton of milk about to expire You want a washing machine to set the cycle and temperature automatically based on the contents You want to know if an individual item has a safety recall Net is, it is a necessary foundation for future applications

19. 19 So, where are we with RFID? Wal-Mart top 100 vendor piloting on cases/pallets Driving standards and solutions Forrester estimates at a cost of $9M per vendor per year Standards will evolve and chip prices will come down Privacy issues to be resolved What is �real� business benefit? Many years off before RFID at product level for average consumer goods � will probably be earlier adoption in high ticket goods, that are already serialized, such as cars, appliances, consumer electronics, etc. Have to effectively manage item data before moving to instance data and RFID

20. 20 Q & A For more information � Web: www.qrs.com Phone: 800.UPC.TALK (800.872.8255) E-mail: Sales sales@qrs.com Support cshelp@qrs.com Careers careers@qrs.com Alliances alliances@qrs.com Richard Randall, QRS Business Advisor: 510-215-3765 rrandall@qrs.com