Bar codes will soon be history

This July 1 and 2, Málaga, Spain, turned into the sea for all of the sector’s experts to talk about the virtues of this system. The meeting, organized by Aecoc and GS1 Spain, brought together prestigious experts such as Sanjay Sarma from MIT, considered the father of EPC on a global level. It has been more than 35 years since they were first used on a chewing gum packet, but they are going to be replaced by radio-frequency technology (Rfid), which uses radio waves to codify and store data in transponders. The EPC (Electronic Product Code) uses a chain of numbers to identify the label, product and an exclusive serial number for each article. This chain of numbers will be recorded on the Rfid chip sticker. Experts consider it a “revolution for selling places, businesses and homes around the world.” This was the message transmitted at the Innovation & EPC Forum celebrated in Málaga (Spain). Rfid labels contain a chip that send a radio signal with a unique unrepeatable identifier which will be read as the article is intercepted by the reception antennae. It will be possible to send the information read by these antennaes to the EPCglobal network and compare any database. Among other things, it will also be possible to manage an on-line stock, verify replacement positions or misplaced articles, know customer preferences and obtain unlimited complementary information associating the EPC number to a database. The EPC will allow a precise follow-up on each product without the need of visual contact, as with barcodes. This way, stores will be able to know each product’s moves and, if it was lost, at which precise moment, thanks to the simultaneous reading of all of the transported and delivered products in each movement. Seven hundred firms have become familiarized with the Rfid technology’s mode of operating at the non-profit Aecoc/GS1 Spain testing center in Barcelona.