In November 2003, the Global Commerce Initiative (GCI) published "The EPC Roadmap," a report that outlined the combined technology and process initiatives that have the potential to revolutionize the consumer products/retail industry. In this report, the GCI Executive Board strongly recommended the global standards-based implementation of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, supported by the use of standards-based tags, readers, tag content and information flows in the retail supply chain. In 2004, the first set of global standards were developed and established via EPCglobal, a worldwide, user-driven standards organization for the Electronic Product Code (EPC). Over the past two years, significant progress has been made on the commercial use of EPC in our industry. Examples include the standardization of new "Generation 2" technology for transponders and readers and the implementation of EPC technology by leading retailers and manufacturers in various parts of the world. These early adoptions have delivered significant benefits to both the consumer shopping experience and industry supply chain efficiency and have highlighted that great opportunities remain for further innovation and improvement in both areas. They have also shown, however, that challenges and barriers to broad implementation of EPC still exist. This report represents a joint assessment by GCI members, including representatives from both the manufacturer and retailer communities. The objective is to provide senior industry leaders with pragmatic insights on how RFID/EPC technology can help drive major changes in the industry supply chain that lead to benefits for all participants. Leading retailers and manufacturers share the ultimate vision of an EPC-enabled supply chain that brings significant service and efficiency benefits to shoppers, end consumers and businesses. The EPC-enabled supply chain will enable trading partners to meet shopper and consumer needs in ways far superior to what is possible today. This report focuses on case- and pallet-level tagging, extending from the manufacturer's distribution center to the retailer’s sales floor. It builds upon accumulated industry experience to describe detailed, practical steps for transforming key supply chain processes and utilizing EPC technology. To read the full report, download the PDF file at the top of this page. | 
