Because it does not require line of sight for scanning, cases and cartons tagged with RFID powered by GS1 Standards can be automatically processed for accuracy, allowing trading partners to share this accurate information in an open and interoperable manner along the supply chain.
Having full visibility into the supply chain means you can track every product at any touchpoint, which is critical in today’s supply chains. Using radio waves, RFID transmits data to a tag reader to capture product data easily without requiring a line of sight. RFID tags have different frequencies, but the most common frequency for supply chain operations is ultra-high frequency, also known as RAIN RFID.*
When powered by GS1 Standards, RFID can accurately capture unique and actionable identification. The unique identification of products, cartons, cases, and more provides organizations with a common language, making it possible to unlock benefits at manufacturing, distribution, point of purchase or consumption, and any stop along the supply chain.
Benefits of RFID Powered by GS1 Standards
RFID provides visibility and insight into real-time information about inventory levels and products’ locations. By enhancing cycle-count accuracy, it can significantly reduce out-of-stock/out-of-shelf instances and minimize shrinkage.
Inventory Management
Interoperability
Consumer Experiences
With the ease and quickness offered by RFID, organizations have additional opportunities to improve the experience for consumers with cashierless checkout, product authenticity, and recalls.
More About RFID
GS1 Standards for RFID
The GS1© Electronic Product Code (EPC©) is a syntax for unique identifiers assigned to products, unit loads, locations, or other identifiable entities. The syntax is defined in GS1’s EPC Tag Data Standard (TDS), which provides a standards-based means of identifying products and even product attributes.
These GS1 Standards enable RFID to work in a way that seamlessly leverages its capabilities and its potential return on investment for both large and small companies across various industries.
Apparel and General Merchandise
Already established as a way to improve inventory management, RFID continues to expand into new use cases and categories. As brands and retailers continue to invest in this technology, using GS1 Standards to encode and place tags can help answer the simple question, “Where’s my stuff?” — and more.
Foodservice
Offering an automated means of accurately capturing item, carton, and case data—including extended attribute data like batch/lot, date, or net weight—using RFID powered by GS1 Standards supports fast and accurate data capture and inventory tracking, adding visibility to your supply chain.
Healthcare
- Guides & Tools
- Key Insights
- Success Stories
- Education & Training
Guides & Tools
Cross-industry
GS1 Database | Search & Lookup by GLN, Prefix, GTIN, UPC
Try using Verified by GS1—our global solution to data quality challenges—to query our global registry of GS1 identification numbers. Use this tool to search by product, look up location/party details, verify company information, and validate your data against a global platform.
Cross-industry (GS1 Global)
EPC Encoder/Decoder
This interactive application translates between different forms of the Electronic Product Code (EPC), following the EPC Tag Data Standard (TDS) 1.13.
Key Insights
Success Stories
Foodservice
Golden State Foods Delivers Visibility With a Side of Innovation
As one of the largest diversified suppliers to the foodservice industry, Golden State Foods values providing the highest-quality products as well as delivering the last mile to some of the world’s most iconic brands. Learn how they deliver this value through the seamless fusion of data and standards to enable a more automated digital experience for every participant in the supply chain.
Healthcare
Fresenius Kabi Becomes First to Tag Vials of Medication Using EPC-enabled RFID Tagging
To tag each container of medication with an EPC that carries the globally unique product code, unique serial number, expiration date, and batch/lot number, Fresenius Kabi had to ensure the tags would have to comport with the dielectric properties of the drugs, not impede manufacturing speed, and eventually be brought to scale across the company’s extensive portfolio of pharmaceuticals.
Apparel and General Merchandise
Global Retail Sporting Goods Leader Finishes First With RFID
Decathlon made the decision to grow into a sporting goods behemoth by researching, designing, manufacturing, marketing, and retailing its own branded apparel, equipment, and related sports merchandise. Having to manage logistics, inventory, labeling, and tracking of the thousands of products it produced, Decathlon looked for a game changer to overcome these challenges and streamline the complexities efficiently.
Apparel and General Merchandise
Small Apparel Brand Achieves High Levels of Order Occuracy With RFID
Headquartered in Clemson, South Carolina, Southern Fried Cotton is a small apparel brand with 30 employees. When a major retailer requested that Southern Fried Cotton uniquely identify its products, the company set out to make this happen—not only for its retailers but also for the benefit of its own operations.
Apparel and General Merchandise
Herman Kay Satisfies Customers and Optimizes Business Efficiencies With RFID
Taking a customer-first approach, Herman Kay partnered with GS1 US and several solution providers to implement RAIN RFID and GS1 Standards at every step of their internal fulfillment process—optimizing operations and increasing internal confidence levels that the right garments, in the right sizes and colors, have been delivered to the right customers.
Education & Training
Collaborate With Industry Leaders
With a GS1 US© Industry Initiative membership you can join quarterly discussions with industry leaders on GS1 Standards and RFID technology supporting supply chain and inventory management operations.
*What is RAIN RFID?
Radio frequency identification or RFID is a technology that enables the sharing of data encoded in RFID tags via RFID scanners. The term RAIN RIFD specifies use of the UHF frequency band, which leverages the GS1 air interface protocol to communicate with tags.
GS1 refers to “RAIN RFID” tags in this document whenever making reference to UHF RFID tags. NOTE: Within the UHF RFID technology space, GS1 only endorses RAIN RFID implementations that are encoded per GS1’s EPC standards (which is a subset of all RAIN RFID implementations).