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Peter Collins, President of A2B

There’s an old saying that says: “Once you’re over the hill, you pick up speed.” UID and RFID are over the hills of doubt and resistance, and indeed they are picking up speed. Compliance has evolved enormously since the concept of tracking serialized assets was first introduced by the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics back in 2003. We have seen the DoD and its suppliers go from doubt and resistance, to vague interest, to an understanding of the benefits, to willing participants and co-creators of this methodology for realizing unheard of efficiencies in the military and beyond.

Needless to say there is plenty of expertise to go around here at A2B. So from time to time you will be hearing from me or one of our experts who will keep you posted on relevant UID, RFID and AIT topics.

Our intention is to help you stay abreast of unfolding requirements and understand what they mean to you. We also want you to count on us for data management education. And we also want to assist you in sorting through compliance options, including marking choices and software system considerations.

Peter Collins, President of A2B


Peter Collins

President of A2B Tracking Solutions, Inc.


Stop and think before you Seek and Apply

A2B Tracking - Wednesday, January 06, 2010

Here are the steps you will need to follow for Seek and Apply marking: Identify your inventory of items. Locate the items.  Place a Data Matrix bar code on each item.  Make sure the labels and plates stick.

That sounds simple enough, right?

Now let’s scale that image a little bit.  Let’s say you have identified 10,000 items in inventory.  For some of the items, you have a basic handle on their location, but how do you get to all of them with the right label or plate?  What kind of material is required for each item?  Where will that label or plate get manufactured?  Will the item data required to manufacture that label or plate be accurate if coming from the system of record?  What happens if there is a mismatch between the item data and the existing nameplate when you show up to mark the item?  Now multiply that one scenario by 10,000.

Decisions that you make early in the Seek and Apply approach to item marking have many downstream implications.  We’re going to focus on Seek and Apply considerations in the coming postings.  Meanwhile, consider this.  A2B has had a significant amount of exposure to legacy items for the military in the past year.  At least 20% and possibly as much as 35% of the item data from the system of record has proven to  be wrong or inaccurate.  If you do the math that means 2,000 to 3,500 records in that database example above won’t match what is on the nameplate.  How will that impact your approach to Seek and Apply marking?

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