RFID has found its place in the supply chain
The major RFID projects launched over the past several years by governments and various major retail groups have mainly focused on improving supply chain processes.
Because of the contactless bulk reading capacities offered by RFID technology, significant increases are expected in the productivity and quality of inventory management, receipt and shipment tracking/control, and order preparation processes. All those involved in the supply chain are affected – manufacturers, logisticians and distributors – as these processes are common to manufacturing facilities, warehouses and stores alike.
To optimize the traceability of logistic flows following the shipment and receipt of goods, the neoPack® RFID shipping station is the ideal solution. It can manage your shipment orders, produce RFID labels for your logistics units, and generate and send Transport and RFID information flows.
In addition to its RFID capacities, neoPack® RFID is also a comprehensive, top-of-the-range shipping station. Derived from the neoPack® V2.5 shipping solution, neoPack® RFID integrates all of the necessary functionalities for managing shipments in complex and demanding production environments.
neoPack® RFID, a solution based on the EPCglobal® standard developed by GS1
The EPC (Electronic Product Code) is a unique identification code born of RFID technology. It was created by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the USA, with the support of GS1 EPCglobal®, notably to replace the traditional EAN barcodes found on products and to improve the overall traceability of objects. In addition to the benefits inherent to RFID, the EPC offers the added advantage of being able to manage a great deal of additional information, like the date of manufacture and the places of origin and of destination of each object.
By using this code as a basis for identifying products, logistics units, containers and places, GS1 EPCglobal® has established a standard defining the norms governing everything from the content of EPC codes to the RFID data capture layers and information exchange protocols. EPCglobal® is the first RFID standard whose main objective is to allow all those involved in the consumption chain – manufacturers, distributors and consumers – to implement and remain informed of the traceability of a product.
The neoPack® RFID station is compliant with this standard for the traceability of logistics units.
The shipping labels produced by neoPack® RFID for each logistics unit include both a SSCC-18 barcode and a RFID tag encoded with the SSCC-96 EPC code.
Moreover, in addition to the data flows generated for carriers, the station produces EPC data flows for their integration within a EPC-IS database, a core management tool for traceability events in the EPCglobal standard.
A bundled solution based on a service contract and delivered ‘ready for use’
neoPack® RFID is a bundled offer including shipment management software, equipment and on-site and remote support services. The equipment – PC, RFID thermal printer and desktop printer – is guaranteed and covered by an on-site maintenance agreement for the duration of the contract.
Every neoPack® RFID comes with the data exchange service enabling orders to be sent every day to carriers and the management of updates for software installed on the station via the secure Neopost Data Center. No technical architecture maintenance is required for you to communicate with your stations; all data passes through our servers to be delivered to you in the format of your choice via your preferred communication link.
A white-label solution
In order to become YOUR solution, the neoPack® RFID software package undergoes a customization phase. The software is customized with your Transport standards and colors: brands, products, labels, manifests, routing files, EDI files, various management rules, customized postcode files, etc.
On-site and remote services
neoPack® RFID stations include numerous Services, such as:
- Station preparation and configuration
- On-site installation, connection and post-installation testing of all equipment by a certified technician
- User training given by the technician at the moment of installation
- D+1 on-site maintenance from Monday to Friday
- Remote support from 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. from Monday to Friday
In France these services are operated by Mail Services, a subsidiary of Neopost ID dedicated to Customer Services. In the United Kingdom, they are handled by Neopost Limited, and in Spain by Neopost Mailing and Logistics Systems.