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The Electronic Product Code has been conceived as ¡§an Internet of things¡¨. The ultimate goal of EPC is that every item in the supply chain ¡V down to the individual point of sale item ¡V would be identified with its own unique number encoded in an RFID tag. Readers would capture the EPC number and constantly report the items¡¦ location, condition and status to on-site information systems or remote databases via the Internet. The EPC concept relies on an integrated approach that covers data content, software systems, mark-up languages, coding and technical standards. With such an integrated approach, companies will be able to obtain new efficiencies in their business processes through precise tracking and tracing of every single physical good and thus provides greater visibility of items in the supply chain. With more detailed and accurate information on products will improve movement in real-time, inventory management, replenishment practices, and more importantly more responsively to customer demands. |
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The EPC Number
The EPC is a number made up of a header and three sets of data.
The header identifies the EPC's version number - this allows for different lengths or types of EPC later on.
The second part of the number identifies the EPC Manager - most likely the manufacturer of the product the EPC is attached to - for example 'The Coca-Cola Company'.
The third, called object class, refers to the exact type of product, most often the Stock Keeping Unit - for example 'Diet Coke 330 ml can, US version'.
The fourth is the serial number, unique to the item - this tells us exactly which 330 ml can of Diet Coke we are referring to. This makes it possible, for example, to quickly find products that might be nearing their expiration date.
The EAN/UCC-13 code can also be mapped into a unique EPC number. The item number corresponds directly to the EPC product class. In this case, the item number "8156" corresponds to the EPC product class "8156" or "1FDC" when written in hexadecimal notation.
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