The pilot scheme for the use of Radio Frequency identification (RFID) tags in standard EPAL wooden pallets was carried out with GS1 in Europe, a collaboration of 44 European GS1 member organisations.
It set out to develop a business plan for using the technology in standard Euro pallets and the technological and organisational requirements for full roll-out.
According to EPAL, it has recognised significant benefits in implementing RFID/EPC technology to identify its pallets, which include improved supply chain efficiency, asset visibility and pallet security.
Following the completion of the pilot project, the association believes there are opportunities to improve the control of production and repair of Euro pallets, authenticate individual pallets, and reduce the number of counterfeit pallets. It’s also looking at streamlining the administration and information exchange of users within the EPAL system, a cross-sector, open pallet exchange pool.
Harry Jacobi, CEO of EPAL, said: “We’re satisfied with the results of the pilot programme. The EPC/RFID technology, the tag concept and the IT infrastructure have been approved and are seen as a very good solution for EPAL. The second phase of the project will answer all the remaining questions and help us to prepare a roll-out.”
“The results of the EPAL EPC/RFID pilot programme are very promising and we look forward to the pre-roll-out phase,” said Stephane Pique, European Director of GS1 in Europe. “Nevertheless, there are still open issues to solve, such as the number of tags fixed on a pallet for optimal reading, the date stored on the tag, the handling of the GS1 Serial Shipping Container Code (SSCC) and others which need to be solved within the next six months in order to enable a full roll-out.”
“There’s a need to align our work with other pallet pools to create a standard that’s beneficial to all pallet users,” he added. “To address this issue, a specific EPC global interest group has been launched.”
There are currently over 500 million wooden Euro pallets in circulation, which are standardised and certified by EPAL. Under the pallet association’s control and licence, more than 60 million new pallets a year are produced in 30 countries, with over 1,000 repair centres worldwide.
A second phase and pre-roll-out of the pilot programme will take place in 2009. The pilot will involve additional countries and will focus on the RFID tag requirements and the development of a more detailed concept addressing process, IT and RFID infrastructure for implementation.
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