|
RFID and Other Alternatives
The promise of RFID, in its “purest form,” is the serialization of manufactured products through an affixed antenna chip (tag) that enables the recognition of products by a tag-reader. Many view RFID as the ultimate technological means to creating an Electronic Product Code (EPC) as a universal standard for product track and trace. However, the current “per chip” high cost factor and a multitude of logistical hurdles ahead make its implementation as a track and trace anti-counterfeiting solution at the product unit-level impractical today.
A consensus has already emerged that the adoption of RFID, at a substantive level (as a second stage event), by major manufacturers is about five years away. Regardless of what the timeline is, implementation of this as an in-house capability would still fall short of unit-level track and trace applicability because of the remaining need to outfit the supply chain with an inexpensive tag-reading capability. Until the cost of RFID readers approaches that of simple bar code scanners, small retailers already beset by stiff competition and shrinking margins, will be unable to afford such equipment. Also, when you consider the existing infrastructure of supply channels – warehouses, distributors, retail outlets – the time and cost to transition to a vast new infrastructure would take at least a decade.
By comparison, SSI’s ESC™ System incorporates the EPC format consistent with long-term universal track and trace objectives, but in an encryption form. The cost to implement the ESC is minimal at the production site level, since it involves the comparably inexpensive integration of an SSI crash cart into the packaging line. The end variable cost to the manufacturer is merely pennies per labeled package and minimal monthly maintenance charges. Most importantly, the existing installed base of barcode scanners at all levels eliminates added costs. In other words, a “ready-to-go” infrastructure. Each barcode reader has the capability of interfacing with the ESC™ system. A simple software/firmware change downloaded from SSI will ensure compatibility. This installed base of scanners throughout the supply chain in virtually any industry is the single most important key to the success of SSI's effort. This allows the system to be turned on instantly and ubiquitously. A good analogy would be that SSI is to RFID as Microsoft is to Apple. Apple, like RFID, may eventually be a more advanced solution. However, Microsoft, with its installed base of software being 50 times that of Apple's, will sell far more copies of software just by virtue of that compatibility.
Similar to RFID, the SSI technology can also add to or subtract within the supply route, originating encrypted labeling information as an additional control benefit. In sum, SSI’s patented ESC™ System technology accomplishes much of the future promised features from RFID (1) at a very economical cost; (2) without new infrastructure requirements; and (3) with immediate availability for unit-level global track and trace.
Companies in pharmaceuticals and other industries in dialogue with SSI are well aware of RFID. Some are engaged in projects as an early move in the learning curve. Our strategic partner, CardinalHealth, is active in exploring the RFID process while regarding the technology as a future complement to SSI’s ESC™ System rather than a potential conflict. What does appear with some clarity is the strong possibility that as the “first-to-market” track and trace opportunity, SSI will provide it with a head-start. SSI wil have large accumulated information database, which in the future can become a universal repository for the addition of data collected by other eventual track and trace methods.
The Electronic Product Code (EPC)
Bar codes in their many formats, 1D Linear, 2D Composites, and the hybrid 1D and 2D combinations have been the accepted Auto-ID global standard. Their unique characteristics make them valuable tools in many defined applications. Barcoding further developed as it accepted the various numbering systems from different industries. Because it is in its infancy, the RFID movement does not yet have a recognized numbering standard for identification. However, there is a widely held belief that EPC Global’s Electronic Product Code (EPC) format will emerge as the adopted global identification standard.
The Electronic Product Code™ (EPC) is the next generation of product identification. EPC is a simple, compact “license plate” that uniquely identifies objects (items, cases, pallets, locations, etc.) in the supply chain. EPC is built around a basic hierarchical idea that can be used to express a wide variety of different, existing numbering systems, like EAN.UCC System Keys, UID, VIN, and other numbering systems.
SSI has combined the attributes of the accepted standards for bar codes and the serialization attribute of the EPC format, and integrated them into its patented methodology for uniquely marking any product, at any packaging level, and formatting it for any supply chain to utilize this tool to provide both anti-counterfeiting and track and trace capabilities.
This capability would be of no use if it could not be adapted to the real world production line requirements of speed, accuracy, and information capturing. Through its patented processes for printing serialized bar codes at production line speeds, SSI provides in-line nine point ANSI grading, captures product information down to the unit level, and equates that information to every subsequent packaging level. In addition, SSI formats this data and provides it to every authorized downstream supply chain member, ensuring brand security and providing an electronic pedigree.
The end result of SSI’s technology is an immediate solution to the problems of counterfeit products and traceability. What is becoming equally alluring is SSI’s position as a long-term “bridge” or an adjunct technology “back-up” to unit-level RFID. By combining the EPC format with bar code symbologies, SSI has created a system that will allow for a smoother transition to unit-level RFID, as functioning track and trace databases can be erected immediately using unit-level RFID’s most likely coding system. Furthermore, if SSI bar codes are included on RFID tags, it creates a highly efficient “back-up” to any RFID system in the inevitable event of chip failure. The optimal solution may encompass an SSI barcode printed on an RFID label for the ultimate redundancy.
Once SSI's technology is established as the market standard for track and trace and the company has developed massive databases of operating history for the various industries, there will be a logical progression in which customers look to SSI for an RFID solution that will be compatible with the databases in place. Part of SSI's strategy going forward rests on obtaining significant marketshare in track and trace that can be leveraged, through acquisition of the appropriate technology, into becoming the chosen industries' RFID solution.
Alternative Technologies
Serialized bar codes are the only anti-counterfeiting device that provides track and trace capability without requiring upgrades, enhancements, or additional cost to the existing infrastructure:
Other than SSI's barcoding system and RFID, alternative technologies are oriented toward either authentication or track and trace, but not both. SSI's system is unique in that it can work in conjunction with any authentication technology by merely adjusting the components in the crash cart.
CHEMICAL TAGGANTS
Chemical taggants are microscopic dots of detectible chemicals included in printing ink. Special equipment is required to detect the taggant and authenticate the product. Chemical taggants are anti-counterfeiting devices, but do not provide track and trace capability.
HOLOGRAMS
Optical Variable Devices (OVD), including holograms, are layers of film designed to be viewed differently at various angles to provide a variety of changing appearances. These varying appearances include color shifts, object positioning, field depths, and other strategies. Holograms require no special equipment for viewing, but the image’s appearance is completely subjective. OVD's, including holograms, are anti-counterfeiting devices, but do not provide track and trace capability.
INFRARED/ULTRAVIOLET INKS
Infrared or ultraviolet Inks are used in place of, or in addition to, the basic ink on a label. Special lights detect the portion of the spectrum where the color is located, revealing the inscription. Infrared/ultraviolet inks are anti-counterfeiting devices, but do not provide track and trace capability.
MICROTEXT ETCHING
Microtext is an authentication device that requires special equipment to make a barely detectable but complex symbol on a unit that can be observed with special cameras and equipment. It is an ideal authentication solution for small components. Microtext is an anti-counterfeiting device that does not provide track and trace capability.
PROPRIETARY BAR CODES
Proprietary bar codes can be created in various ways, from the microscopic to the visible. They have many of the characteristics of globally recognized bar codes, but require special scanners or readers that readily available in the normal supply chain. They are an effective track and trace solution in a closed loop supply chain that does not require interaction with standard bar codes or standard bar code scanners.
SECURITY PAPERS
Security paper solutions include watermarks, special taggants woven into the label, and overlays of various paper compositions. Although obvious to the eyes, they are difficult to duplicate. Security papers are anti-counterfeiting devices, but do not provide track and trace capability.
SERIALIZED BAR CODES
Globally recognized bar code symbologies use composite symbology to incorporate sufficient data, including a unique serial number, to be used as a “portable database.” Readily available, “off-the-shelf” bar code scanners can read them. This is both an anti-counterfeiting and a track and trace solution.
|
