DoD Wants Your RFID Shipments: Five Steps To Compliance By Scott Decker and Bret Kinsella, ODIN technologies

Well, it's finally here. DoD suppliers are now being asked to ship items that include RFID tags. While the proclamations from 2003 and 2004 wound up in a series of predictable government delays, in 2006 RFID is here. Since November DFARs language has been creeping into DoD contracts. The expectation? Suppliers must apply RFID tags to pallets and cases of select items and forward advance ship notices (ASN) to DoD including the order and RFID data.

How are you going to ensure you can apply RFID into your shipping and wide area workflow procedures (WAWF)? If you are just planning your RFID deployment now, you are in luck. Others such as GTSI have already paved the way and provided a road map for successful RFID compliance.

Why a DoD RFID Mandate
The DoD issued the RFID mandate to optimize its supply chain and improve its ability to support the warfighter. Throughout history, providing a robust supply line to military forces in the field has been a critical element of military success – and a significant challenge. The utilization of RFID tags reflects a move to improve asset visibility within the DoD supply chain. This will facilitate better and quicker decision making in the field and reduce material handling time.