EPCglobal Inc Ratifies Electronic Pedigree Standard.Provides Platform for Compliance for Pedigree Laws Requiring a Document-Based Approach BRUSSELS, Belgium -- GS1 EPCglobal, the not-for-profit standards organization A standards organization, also sometimes referred to as a standards body, a standards development organization or SDO (depending on what is being referenced), is any entity whose primary activities are developing, coordinating, promulgating, revising, amending, dedicated to driving global adoption of the Electronic Product Code (EPC (1) (Entertainment PC) See HTPC. (2) (Electronic Product Code) A standard code for RFID tags administered by EPCglobal Inc. (www.epcglobalinc.org). ) for supply chain excellence, today announced the ratification The confirmation or adoption of an act that has already been performed. A principal can, for example, ratify something that has been done on his or her behalf by another individual who assumed the authority to act in the capacity of an agent. of the Electronic Pedigree Document specification. The new standard was developed to help companies that are serializing products using EPC technology to comply with pedigree regulations, such as ones recently enacted in multiple states within the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. . The initial focus of the EPCglobal Electronic Pedigree Document standard was the Florida Drug Pedigree Act, but it was designed to be usable as a platform to support a wide variety of pedigree process applications. The EPCglobal standard includes an ePedigree document schema as well as an ePedigree envelope schema that companies can use as a way of holding multiple ePedigrees together in a single document for electronic transmission. Industries currently using paper-based pedigree documents will find this standard a useful tool in the fight against product counterfeiting counterfeiting, manufacturing spurious coins, paper money, or evidences of governmental obligation (e.g., bonds) in the semblance of the true. There must be sufficient resemblance to the genuine article to deceive a person using ordinary caution. and for brand protection. The new standard will enable technology providers to create solutions that can provide document interoperability The capability of two or more hardware devices or two or more software routines to work harmoniously together. For example, in an Ethernet network, display adapters, hubs, switches and routers from different vendors must conform to the Ethernet standard and interoperate with each other. across the supply chain, from manufacturers to wholesalers to retailers. "This effort marks an important step in ensuring trading partners have an interoperable way to exchange document-based pedigrees for pharmaceuticals and other products," said Chris Adcock, president of EPCglobal Inc. "We extend our thanks to the pharmaceutical supply chain professionals and solution providers who collaborated to develop and test the Electronic Pedigree Document standard. With this standard in place, supply chain participants can begin to comply with document-based pedigree regulations, like the Florida Drug Pedigree Act, without fear of serious interoperability issues." Looking to the future, the EPCglobal Healthcare and Life Sciences (HLS (Hue Lightness Saturation) A color space that is closely related to HSB, except that Brightness is called Lightness and is measured from 0 to 1 rather than from 0 to 100%. See HSB. ) Industry Action Group has begun work to define the requirements to develop a full track and trace system based on the EPCIS EPCIS EPC Information Services (EPC Information Services See Information Systems. ) standard, which is expected in the first quarter of 2007. A full track and trace approach would enable the pedigree information to be shared upstream and downstream, as opposed to the limitation of simply passing it from trading partner to trading partner in one direction only. Track and trace has significant value for protecting the integrity of the supply chain and is seen as a more universal approach that can be applied globally and across multiple industries. Refinement and definition of this alternative approach is anticipated in 2007. About EPCglobal Inc EPCglobal Inc supports the global adoption of the Electronic Product Code as a global standard to enable accurate information and visibility about products in the supply chain. More information about EPCglobal Inc can be found at http://www.epcglobalinc.org. |
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