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Loftware Premier Plus RFID
Loftware Premier PLUS RFID
Support for Multiple Standards for the Encoding of RFID Data
Loftware® is currently engaged in over 20 RFID pilot programs
Loftware® is currently focusing on EPC compliance marking and labeling through its Loftware Print Server™ technology. The immediate problem for most companies is simple compliance with the Wal-Mart supply chain initiative to mark product at the case and pallet level with EPC tags. Most industry experts agree that a majority of RFID marked goods will need to continue to supply barcodes in order to support the existing auto ID infrastructure within the supply chain. Just as the Loftware Print Server™, supports compliant symbologies, the Loftware® RFID module will support multiple standards for the encoding of the RFID data.
Loftware's View on the General State of the RFID Market
The Wal-Mart and DOD RFID announcements during 2003 have energized the RFID market, but have also caused uncertainty and doubt. "According to RFID News, Wal-Mart will eventually require all pallets and cases to use RFID tags compliant with the field-programmable EPC Class 1, Gen 2 spec which is still in development. Until it is ready, Wal-Mart will accept EPC-compliant Class 0 or Class 1 tags in the UHF band."
The Wal-Mart top 100 suppliers need to comply by January 2005, with all suppliers in compliance by 2006. The specifications for the RFID tags which are being discussed are maintained by EPC Global, a not-for-profit joint venture between EAN International and the Uniform Code Council (UCC). EPC Global is working "to establish and support the Electronic Product Code (EPC) Network as the global standard for immediate, automatic, and accurate identification of any item in the supply chain of any company, in any industry, anywhere in the world."
The organization and its partners have done extensive research and testing with hardware and software to sketch out this broad vision and reduce the costs of the RFID equipment and tags, but many of the advantages are expected to be years away, especially in broader retail ("smart shelf") systems beyond the supply-chain. The immediate problem for most companies now is simple compliance with the Wal-Mart supply-chain initiative to mark product at the case and pallet level with EPC tags. Pursuing further integration of RFID into its own operations and business processes will wait. RFID tag, reader, and printer manufacturers are moving to conform to the EPC hardware specifications.
Loftware's Approach
Loftware is currently focusing on EPC compliance marking and labeling through the LPS product. The interface to our customers should be seamless, using the same data-passing mechanisms they are using now to communicate with the LPS when printing labels.
Because we do not manufacture tags, readers, or printers, Loftware is not specifically concerned with the hardware portions of the EPC specs, except to ensure that the printer manufacturers we work with are compliant. However, we are studying the EPC specifications to understand the tag data structures, many of which were based on the Global Trade Item Number (GTIN) structures. We intend to construct a simplified bridge between our customer's applications, the bit-level specification of the EPC, and the raw printer code required to program the tag.
