Asia's first logistics RFID live test in HK

GS1 Hong Kong has last week initiated the 'RFID/EPC Live Test in Global Logistics' at the Hong Kong Science Park.

The RFID/EPC live test was launched in close collaboration with the GS1 EPCglobal Transportation & Logistics Industry Action Group (TLS IAG).

EPCglobal is a subsidiary of the global not-for-profit standards organisation GS1, and supports the global adoption of the Electronic Product Code as industry-driven standards to enable accurate, immediate and cost-effective visibility of information throughout the supply chain.

Organised by GS1 Hong Kong, the Innovation and Technology Commission and the Science and Technology Parks Corporation, the major objective of this initiative is to share with the industry the know-how and value of deploying RFID/EPC technology for transport and logistics businesses.

GS1 Hong Kong is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to the design and implementation of global standards and solutions to improve the efficiency and visibility in supply chains. It is currently the only organisation that is authorised to issue and administer GS1 System of Standards, including barcode, B2B e-commerce services, Global Data Synchronisation (GDS) and Electronic Product Code/ Radio Frequency Identification (EPC/RFID) in Hong Kong.

Through its role in the development and adoption of RFID/EPC in Asia, GS1 Hong Kong aimed to draw on an extensive technical and business experience in the transport and logistics industry.

The GS1 EPCglobal Transportation and Logistics Industry Action Group (TLS IAG), comprising representatives from global companies, is exploring the benefits of EPC and RFID for the industry and the visibility data it supports to enhance business processes and customer service.

Existing standards reviewed

More specifically, the TLS IAG has organised three phases of its GS1 EPCglobal Transportation and Logistics Pilot Programme which have accumulated valuable information and insights to be shared at the RFID/EPC Live Test in Global Logistics event in Hong Kong.

GS1 EPCglobal standards are a set of industry-driven standards which have been developed to meet user's requirements enabling the identification of objects, data capture and sharing of information among partners throughout the supply chain. These standards were developed within the framework of EPCglobal.

The GS1 EPCglobal Transport and Logistics RFID Pilot Programme was launched to review existing global standards against 'real life' transportation and logistics services processes.

A primary focus of this activity was to determine if the standards support business objectives as defined by multiple industry participants utilising the Electronic Product Code (EPC) and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) to create value through increased visibility across stakeholders, countries, and continents.

A unique feature of the 'RFID/EPC Live Test in Global Logistics' was that the participants were presented with five thematic test cases: RFID/EPC in global logistics, in passive tagging, at container level, in container tracking, and in enabled sensors.