Australian activites

National EPC Network™ Demonstrator Project (NDP) Extension

The National EPC Network Demonstrator Project (NDP) Extension built on the findings of the initial NDP pilot which tracked the exchange of ownership and the movement of products from manufacturer to retailer.

Download a copy of the NDP Extension report.

View more information about the initial NDP pilot.

The goals of the NDP Extension were to demonstrate how existing Gen 2 RFID technologies and EPCglobal standards can be used today, to facilitate electronic proof of delivery (ePOD) and paperless delivery; and to show how returnable assets, in this case pallets, can be successfully tracked and managed using EPC/RFID.

Objectives:

Achieve ePOD and paperless delivery
Investigate data management and integration requirements when introducing EPC/RFID technology
Develop commercial pathways for EPC/RFID service provision
Promote interoperability of EPC/RFID solutions through the use of global standards

Consortium members:

Pallet supplier: CHEP/NEC
Customers of the pallet supplier: ACCO Australia, Capilano Honey, Franklins/Westgate Logistics, Procter and Gamble/Linfox, and MasterFoods
Service providers: Retriever Communications, Telstra
Project Managers: RMIT University and GS1 Australia

The project was supported by the Australian Government through the Information Technology Online (ITOL) program of the Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts (DCITA).

Read the GS1 Press Releases in relation to this project.

National Demonstrator Project Pilot

GS1 Australia together with CSIRO lead a consortium of eleven Australian companies in a unique pilot project which sought to implement the entire EPC Network across a complete supply chain. The project received funding from DCITA through their ITOL program and was completed in July 2006. The project report was launched at the GS1 Australia’s Impetus conference and is freely available to Australian industry.

The project demonstrated benefits for all partners within the supply chain, adding to what is already understood about the savings for retailers. The sharing of learning's also meant savings in time and money for Australian companies.

The pilot involved tracking the exchange of ownership and the movement of products through the supply chain from manufacturer to retailer. Its scope was to demonstrate that the EPC Network could deliver efficiencies right along the supply chain with improved visibility being of benefit to all, not just to direct trading partners.

The National Demonstrator Project successfully demonstrated that:

A single set of global standards reduces time and saves money
Cross-functional teams make implementation easier and give participants greater benefits
Internal knowledge is critical to success
The EPC Network's benefits apply to all organisations and increase with greater trading partner participation

The pilot established that the EPC Network could be implemented and that a single set of global standards is key to reducing costs and providing additional benefits through greater efficiencies, visibility, information timeliness and accuracy. The project highlighted potential business benefits for each type of participant within the consortium.

Downloads

Click the link below to download a copy of the complete pilot report.

EPC Network Australian Demonstrator Project Pilot Report
download [format: pdf - date: July 2006 - size: 1300kb]