GS1 Standards Autumn Event 8-12 October 2012 – Dublin, Ireland Building Standards to Deliver Business Value Name of Session: RFID Bar Code Interoperability Guideline Time of Session: Tuesday 7.45 Who May Attend: Everyone Speaker names: Michael Sarachman Ken Traub Andrew Osborne
Anti-Trust Caution GS1 and the GSMP operate under the GS1 anti-trust caution. Strict compliance with anti-trust laws is and always has been the policy of GS1. The best way to avoid problems is to remember that the purpose of the committee is to enhance the ability of all industry members to compete more efficiently. This means: There shall be no discussion of prices, allocation of customers, or products, etc. If any participant believes the group is drifting towards an impermissible discussion, the topic shall be tabled until the opinion of counsel can be obtained. The full anti-trust caution is available in the Community Room if you would like to read it in its entirety.
Meeting Etiquette Meetings will begin promptly at designated start times Avoid distracting behaviour: Place all mobile devices on silent mode Avoid cell phones Avoid sidebar conversations Speak in turn and be respectful of others Be collaborative in support of the meeting objectives
Agenda Interoperability Challenges Michael Sarachman Guideline Overview Ken Traub Benefits Andrew Osborne On-going Initiatives Michael Sarachman
Background BarCodes & EPC Interoperability Work Group Kicked off – November 2009 Business Requirements Analysis Document issued August 2010
Background – Business Requirements Identified 26 requirements delivered via three initiatives: Implementation Guideline 6 requirements Update EPCIS standards 2 requirements GS1 company prefix length determination solution 7 requirements Final 11 out of scope or previously resolved Guideline Objectives Clarify encoding, decoding and handling of GS1 Keys and attributes using BarCodes and EPC RFID
RFID Bar Code Interoperability Guideline Guideline ratified 21 September 2012 Available at GS1 Knowledge Center RFID Bar Code Interoperability Guideline BarCodes & ID Keys Section
Guideline Overview
Guideline Scope Enterprise Resource Planning Warehouse Management Supply Chain Traceability Point of Sale
Guideline Scope Three Best Practices: Design business-level applications, databases, and messages to be independent of the data capture method and the data carriers used. Confine the use of data carrier-specific representations to the lowest levels of implementation architecture. Adopt best practices for implementing translations between data carrier-specific representations and application-level representations.
Data Carrier Independence “Plain” GTIN and Serial Number 80614141123458 6789 Business data GS1 DataMatrix Bar Code containing GS1 Element String (01) 80614141123458 (21) 6789 Gen2 RFID Tag containing EPC Binary Encoding 3074257BF7194E4000001A85 Data Carrier-specific encoding of business data
Application-Level Syntax Key concept: Use application-level syntax at the business application level (not carrier-specific syntax) Right: <gtin>80614141123458</gtin> <serial>6789<serial> Wrong: ]C10180614141123458216789 3074257BF7194E4000001A85 Biz App Biz DB Data Capture SW
Application-Level Syntax Characteristics Accommodates every possible value of a GS1 Identification Key without limitation, and so it is capable of representing a key read from any data carrier. Does not include additional information that is specific to a particular type of data carrier. Provides only one possible way to represent each distinct key value within the syntax. Therefore, an application can determine whether two values refer to the same real-world entity by a simple string comparison, with no additional normalization or parsing required
Application-Level Syntax What it can hold Example “Plain” Any value of a particular GS1 Key (the context establishes which key) 80614141123458 Used in: eCOM, GDSN GS1 Element String Any value of any GS1 Key (or compound) 0180614141123458216789 EPC URI Any value of any identifier representing a distinct object (GS1 key or otherwise) urn:epc:id:sgtin:0614141.812345.6789 Used in: EPCIS
Carrier-Specific Syntax Example Carrier-specific Aspects Bar code scanner output ]C10180614141123458216789 Symbology identifier Same GS1 Key yields different output depending on symbology (e.g., UPC-A vs DataMatrix) EPC Tag URI urn:epc:tag:sgtin-96: 3.0614141.812345.6789 “Filter” value and other RFID-specific controls Size-related restrictions Same GS1 Key yields different outputs depending on size and control info EPC Binary Encoding 3074257BF7194E4000001A85 All of above, plus: RFID-specific binary compression
Interoperability Principles Design business applications, messages, and databases to accept data from any data carrier accept the full range of data values defined by GS1 Standards; do not carry data carrier-specific restrictions to this level Business applications, messages, and databases should only use application-level syntax: “Plain” key GS1 Element String EPC URI
Serial Number Issues Leading zeros can lead to errors: 7, 07, and 007 are all different serial numbers according to GS1 Gen Specs But some applications don’t respect this MS Excel is a well-known example; it treats a GS1 serial number as an ordinary number Avoid the problem by not assigning leading zeros Variable-length serial number leads to variation in bar code size QA and packaging design often rely on fixed size symbols Avoid the problem by assigning a fixed-length serial 96-bit RFID tags are limited in serial number capacity Avoid the problem by staying within allowed range Putting it together, the most interoperable serial number allocation policy is: 10000000000 – 99999999999; or 100000000000 – 274877906943 But applications should accept any valid serial number and never add or remove leading zeros
Enterprise-level Applications Filtering & Collection Engine Architecture Principle: Confine the use of data carrier-specific representations to the lowest possible level in the architecture EPCIS Query Interface To/from external parties eCOM (GS1 XML / EANCOM) Interface GDSN Interface Enterprise-level Applications EPCIS Capture Interface Human Interfaces Various app-specific Interfaces Data Capture Application Application-level Data Capture Workflow Carrier-specific ALE Interface Filtering & Collection Engine Bar Code Scanner Output LLRP Interface RFID Reader RFID Air Interface Bar Code Symbology RFID Tag Bar Code
Translations TDS §7 Pure Identity EPC URI GS1 Element String urn:epc:id:sgtin:0614141.812345.6789 GS1 Element String 0180614141123458216789 “Plain” Key 80614141123458 6789 Bar Code Reader Output ]C10180614141123458216789 Printed Bar Code EPC Tag URI urn:epc:tag:sgtin-96:3.0614141.812345.6789 EPC Binary Encoding in RFID Tag 3074257BF7194E4000001A85 Length of GS1 Company Prefix needed in this direction Bar Code Specific RFID Specific Application-level Syntax Business Applications Data Capture Facilities GS §3, §5.10.2 GS §7.9 GS §5, ISO Specs TDS §14 TDS §12 Printer-specific commands
Guideline Scope Three Best Practices: Design business-level applications, databases, and messages to be independent of the data capture method and the data carriers used. Confine the use of data carrier-specific representations to the lowest levels of implementation architecture. Adopt best practices for implementing translations between data carrier-specific representations and application-level representations.
Member Organization View
This is the UK
GS1 UK Established in 1976 Independent, neutral, not for profit association ~ 55 (FTE) staff based in central London >26,000 members 2011/12 turnover of approx £8m (~€10m) 23
In Principle Carrier Independence RFID/ Bar code co-existence Seamless transition Application level syntax One system not two: correcting perceptions
From GS1 “House” The Global Language of Business Improving efficiency & visibility in supply and demand chains GS1 Solutions Point of Sale, Inventory Mgt, Asset Mgt, Collaborative Planning, Traceability Global standards for item identification Global standards for electronic business messaging Global Standards for global data synchronisation Global Standards for RFID-based identification Common Identifiers: GTIN, GLN, GRAI, GSRN, SSCC, GIAI, GDTI Attribute data: eg Best before date, Deliver to location, batch number…… Global & Local Services Global Standards Management Process, Global Registry, Learn…. Help desk, events, facilitation, training guides and publications… Representation, community adoption…. Data Pool, Quality Assurance Services….. 25
To GS1 System Architecture
Demand for the Document Overwhelming? Real?
Our small members
GS1 UK Solution Provider Programme GS1 UK Strategic Partner Strategy development Thought leadership GS1 UK Industry Partner Drive adoption of GS1 standards-enabled solutions and services Develop and grow new market opportunities Implement industry deployment programmes GS1 UK Solution Associate Support adoption of GS1 standards-enabled solutions and services At Strategic Partner Level, we will be working with organisations that won’t necessarily be commercial entities. These could be the likes of Cambridge and Cranfield University, the DoH etc. At this level of partnership the focus will be on strategic development of industry requirements and shaping our standards for the future. The next tier is GS1 UK Industry partner and this will replace the current “solution partner” level. As an Industry Partner, we will work proactively with you. There will be clear alignment with what we are doing within our Industry Programmes, in our key focal sectors, i.e Healthcare, Retail and Food Service. We will tell you more about our industry programmes later so you are clear on what our plans are for this year. Solution Associates will replace the current Solution Provider level and this tier of the programme is more applicable if you are not working in our focal sectors or have no alignment in your commercial strategy with our industry programmes for this year.
GS1 UK Solution Provider Programme GS1 UK Strategic Partner Industry recognition and status Agreed common strategic goals and supporting programmes Approval from the GS1 UK Supervisory Board GS1 UK Industry Partner Mutually beneficial objectives Accreditation in at least one area of GS1 standards GS1 UK Certified Solution GS1 UK Solution Associate All members must adhere to GS1 UK core values and principles as detailed in the GS1 UK Partner Programme Code of Practice
Summary Based on principles Grounded in reality Practical advice
Ongoing Initiatives
Company Prefix Solution Project launched August 2012 Objectives Develop and launch tool that enables smooth interoperability Support applications not continually connected to Internet
GS1 Company Prefix length determination Provide a software tool to end-users that extracts the GS1 company prefix (and its length) given any string that begins with a GS1 company prefix GCP, Item Ref. and Check Digit 061414107346 or (01)10614141073464 Parsing Tool (available to end users) works offline 0614141 Length = 7 GCP length summary file Periodic check for updates using GEPIR (internet connection required) Receive updates
GCP Range Solution GCP Range file published to Internet MOs send GCP range data to GO GO collects GCP range data and compiles single file End users & solution providers download file
GCP Tool Project Update Status Project team formed & meeting bi-weekly Requirements developed – drafting functional specifications Next Steps Prepare pilot program Collect and consolidate GCP ranges from 5 to 8 MOs 2-3 Solution Providers test GCP length programs using pilot data table Publish pilot report in December 2012 Plan ongoing system development and testing Contacts for more information Henri Barthel Michael Sarachman
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