An Overview Of The EPCglobal Network

This paper presents a general overview on the EPCglobal^® Network proposed by GS1, a global and non-profit organization. Recent advances in RFID technology allowed its crescent use, as well as its close relation with a novel paradigm, the Internet of Things, which proposes the integration of objects of the quotidian use to the Internet. A research started in the late 1990s at the AutoID Lab at the MIT, resulted in the creation of several enumeration schemes, which enable an individual identification of products and elements along a supply chain. These enumeration schemes follows the Global Standards proposed by GS1. The Electronic Product Code, a number coded following one of these standards, recorded on a RFID tag attached to a product, enables data information exchange among companies and their business partners. In order to foster this technology even more, a framework architecture known as the EPCglobal^® Network was proposed. In that framework, only roles, interfaces and a common vocabulary are specified, leaving implementation details for end users. Information Systems constituted by data repositories and discovery services, fed by trace information automatically recorded during the movement of items along the supply chains may fulfill the requisites of traceability and logistic demands.