Applying RFID Technology in Tracking and Tracing of Pallets in Supply Chain Management

This paper utilizes the EPCglobal architecture framework to implement pallet management. Decision makers need to know every status of products in supply chain management, i.e., the visibility of products in the supply chain. The products always use the pallets as the carrying tools transported to various locations. If we want to understand the status of the products in the supply chain, first, we have to track and trace the pallets’ transporting rout in the supply chain. This paper would use the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology with the management operations of the pallets achieving the function of tracking and tracing. EPCglobal proposes the architecture framework of the * This work was supported in part by National Science Foundation, Taiwan, under grant NSC 102-2218-E-035-006. RFID technology, and they want to achieve the global logistics for the purpose of globalization and standardization. We use EPC Information Services (EPCIS) and Discovery Service (DS) specifications proposed by EPCglobal, and apply them for the management operations of the pallets in the supply chain management. This paper would give some examples for recording EPCIS events of pallet operations in the supply chain. We use these EPCIS events to achieve tracking and tracing of the pallets. This paper would use the EPCIS events for designing and implementing a system, and show all operations in various locations of the pallets. The pallet information can be provided to the manager for the strategy of the pallet management.