GS1 Europe Launches Supply Chain Transatlantic Traceability Infrastructure Project

June 10, 2009 // Published as a news service by IHS

The project focuses on the deployment of a supply chain traceability infrastructure based on existing concepts, technologies and standards, according to GS1.

The infrastructure consists of several service platforms allowing the European Union (EU) and U.S. government to increase the safety of the global supply chain and reduce opportunities for organized criminals to take advantage of its complexity, experts said.

Recurrent problems such as counterfeiting, diversion and product recalls increased in recent years and the TTI project is designed to allow the EU and U.S. governments to collaborate to increase transparency and reduce these types of cases, according to GS1.

The organizers of the TTI project will finalize the functionality requirements, concepts, business, organization and governance models, as well as pilots (proof of concept) using barcode, data matrix and radio frequency identification (RFID) technology by the end of 2009 in order to begin implementing its operational activities in 2010, experts said.

The TTI project will consist of designing, building and demonstrating a secure network of traceability in a transatlantic supply chain.

The TTI will be conceived to be usable on any product that can be serialized using barcode, data matrix or RFID. Further, it will be designed to allow tracking and tracing of any kind of object/product from vessels, containers, food, pharmaceuticals, automotive and airplane parts, according to GS1.

GS1 is collaborating on the project with BT Group, Hewlett-Packard, International Business Machines (IBM), Microsoft and the Auto-ID Labs.

The EC will acknowledge the TTI as an industry-to-industry pilot project within the context of EU/U.S. cooperation on RFID and will notify the Transatlantic Economic Council about this project, experts said.

More information about the TTI is available from GS1.

Source: EPCglobal.