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Home > News > Results of logistics management field trials of IC tags and EPC, the next-generation product code
- Using EPC in actual working conditions, container recognition rate surpasses 99.9% -
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| 2004.06.22 |
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Results of logistics management field trials of IC tags and EPC, the next-generation product code
- Using EPC in actual working conditions, container recognition rate surpasses 99.9% -
NTT COMWARE CORPORATION (Head Office: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President: Yuji Matsuo; hereinafter, NTT COMWARE), SUN MICROSYSTEMS K.K. (Head Office: Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo; President: Daniel Miller; hereinafter, SUN) and DAI NIPPON PRINTING CO., LTD. (Head Office: Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo; President: Yoshitoshi Kitajima; hereinafter, DNP) has concluded logistics management field trials of IC tag technology and EPC, the next-generation product code, on containers loaded with a material used in the production of beverage-use PET bottles which began October 1, 2003.
The technical and operational know-how gained from the field trials aided in improving the container recognition rate. In these field trials, a recognition rate surpassing 99.9% was achieved.
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At the DNP Kashiwa plant (Kashiwa City, Chiba Prefecture), pre-formed bottles (*1), which are used in the production of PET drinking bottles, are manufactured and then delivered to beverage manufacturers in specially designed collapsible containers and the logistics management field trials were conducted on these container units. All containers delivered from the DNP Kashiwa Plant to the Kirin Beverage Shonan Plant (Samukawa-machi, Kouza-gun, Kanagawa-ken) via an intermediate warehouse operated by the TOYO Warehouse CO. LTD. were equipped with IC tags.
In this trial, utilizing EPCglobal (*3), the next-generation product code which is becoming the global standard through the efforts of EPC (*2), as well as Savant (*4) and other technologies, only individual IDs (EPC) were given to each IC tag, and the attribute data from each container was stored on an online server.
This field trial had two purposes.
| 1. |
Evaluation of the technology |
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To evaluate the IC tag system's operability under actual working conditions by assembling each of the system elements such as system equipment, software, and the transmission environment.
(To evaluate whether system functions and capabilities are sufficient to perform under actual use, to identify problems and to determine solutions for any identified problems) |
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Evaluation of the results |
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To evaluate whether introduction of IC tag technology into a work environment leads to any improvements, and to evaluate the benefits and costs those improvements have for business.
In addition, to identify other areas not examined in the field trials where application of this technology could be expected to produce results and potentials. |
At present, due to problems concerning the reliability of the IC tag and the reader (problems which include initial defects and the durability of the IC tag, as well as outside radio-wave interference), it is difficult to guarantee 100% readability. However, several measures were taken in these field trials which allowed for a readability rate of over 99.9%. These measures are outlined below:
| (1) |
The container recognition rate was improved by increasing the number of IC tags on each container from one to two and by positioning the IC tags on both sides of the container. Also, readers were placed on both sides of the conveyer belt. |
| (2) |
The container is not read only by the reader but optical sensors which transmit a signal that would activate the readers once a container has been detected. In the event that an IC tag is not read by the reader even after the container had been detected by a phototube sensor, an indicator light is turned on and the conveyer belt is stopped. This system allows personnel to enter the data from the unread IC tag manually, which makes it possible to eliminate the accidental non-reading of the tag. In addition, it also allows for the easy extraction of defective IC tags. |
| (3) |
In general, it is optimal for the distance between the IC tag and the reader to be as short as possible. However, due to the characteristics of certain readers, there are cases where close proximity between the IC tag and the reader make reading difficult or impossible. These characteristics were taken into account when setting the distance between the two devices. |
| (4) |
Readers were chosen that contained special features such as additional processing to the back of the antenna to minimize outside interference depending on its environment (if readers do not have this type of processing, the recognition rate drops significantly). |
As noted above, by utilizing signals from outside sensors to activate the reader, this system allows personnel to enter the data manually if an IC tag fails to be read. This makes it possible to achieve a 100% container recognition rate.
In previous trials performed in closed, non-network environments, a readability rate greater than 99.9% was achieved. In this trial however, the same readability rate was achieved but in an actual working environment with a system operating in a manner almost identical to how it would operate with actual EPC applications.
In addition, the server hardware, the software operating on the server as well as the network operations were also evaluated during the field trials, not only the operability review of IC tags and readers. The results achieved during the course of the trials demonstrated the excellent performance of the middleware and business applications designed by NTT COMWARE.
In order to further increase the cost-effectiveness of the system, open source software web applications as well as databases with good market performance were also utilized. While their performance was the same as commercial software, utilization of this software over commercial software reduced the initial costs of five servers by 12 million yen.
With this application, SUN work stations (UltraSPARC-lle 648MHz) were installed as hardware at the datacenter and at each station, and the work stations operated without any problems.
One of the benefits of introducing the IC tag system into a business environment is its utility when dealing with customer complaints. One lot of pre-formed bottles is divided among a number of containers which are stored at the plant, the intermediate warehouse and the beverage manufacturer. It is particularly difficult to determine what the usage status of the products is after delivery to the customer. Consequently, when a complaint arises it is necessary to conduct a search through an examination of receipts and by telephone in order to locate the whereabouts of the same lot, a task which can take several hours. However, in this field trial it was shown that it is possible to reduce this task to an average of 10 minutes through the implementation of the IC tag system and Web applications.
In addition, the location of the container can be determined in real-time and because the data is stored in a database, it is possible to determine the time and location of a specific container over a period of time. This allows users to determine the usage status of the pre-formed bottles at the beverage maker, as well as the inventory of pre-formed bottles in container units at each point of delivery including the intermediate warehouse. It also makes it possible to identify containers that have been stored in the same location for an extended period of time. The results of this field trial suggest that this technology will have a profound impact on traceability and inventory management.
In the future, it is anticipated that this technology will be used for traceability and to increase the efficiency of logistics and product management as IC tags with recorded EPCs are placed on all products in supermarkets etc. As the cost of IC tags are currently high, this technology will first be used for more expensive products as well as the management of large quantities of product packaged in containers, palettes, cases, and cardboard boxes.
The three companies involved in this project will use the knowledge gained during the course of these field trials in the actual use of the IC tag system for the further advancement of the field of aggregate product management.
[Definition of Terms]
- *1 Pre-formed bottles
- Pre-formed bottles are test-tube shaped molded components which are the intermediate materials used in the production of PET bottles. The PET resin is melted with an injection molding machine. Then, pressure is applied and the resin is pressed into a mold. After the resin has cooled, the pre-formed bottle is removed. The PET bottle is produced by placing the pre-formed bottle once more into the mold and then applying heat and air pressure, a process known as blow molding.
- *2 EPCglobal
- The promotional organization for the EPC. Formerly the Auto-ID Center. A non-profit organization established in October 2003 by the International Article Numbering Association (EAN), the international organization for barcodes, and the Uniformed Code Council (UCC), a U.S. organization responsible for distribution codes.
- *3 EPC: Electronic Product Code
- The next-generation product code that will replace the barcode currently used for product identification. The EPC is a unique code that can hold either 64 or 96-bits of information, and allows for the identification of products by individual items.
- *4 Savant
- A middleware that is becoming a global standard through the work of EPCglobal. This server is responsible for functions including the filtering and transmission of EPC data gathered from the reader, as well as reader control. EPCglobal is currently subdividing Savant functions and standardizing the specifications Filter & Collection, Reader Protocol, and Reader Management.
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