Today at Retail Systems 2003 Conference & Exposition, Microsoft Corp. announced it will join AutoID Inc., a joint venture of the Uniform Code Council Inc. and EAN International, which will develop and oversee commercial and technical standards for the Electronic Product Code (EPC) Network.
Microsoft will work closely with AutoID to take product and item identification to the next level across manufacturing and retail supply chains. Central to fulfilling that mission is radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, which combines the benefits of the silicon chip and radio frequencies. The technology has been widely lauded for its potential to provide an unprecedented level of product visibility across the supply chain. If widely adopted, RFID-enabled systems will have the capability to greatly reduce human error from data collection, reduce inventories, improve product availability, identify and reduce loss and waste, and help ensure safety and security.
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