RFIDTagManager for Sams Club

RFIDTagManager for Sam’s Club allows Sam’s Club suppliers to easily meet Sam’s Club’s RFID requirements for tagging products being sent to the DeSoto, Texas Distribution Center. Through point-and-click wizards, RFIDTagManager for Sam’s Club allows suppliers to setup and configure their RFID hardware and then print and encode Sam’s Club compliant RFID labels. RFIDTagManager for Sam’s Club runs out of the box in a standalone mode or through consulting services can be integrated with backend systems such as Oracle, SAP, JD Edwards and others.

DESIGN - Welcome Screen

epcSolutions has designed the wizard entirely with ease-of-use for the end-users in mind.

The welcome splash is the first screen of the Design-time wizard to pop up, and includes a list of required information that you will want to have handy for the configuration process.

· The IP and port addresses for each device you will add.

· An understanding of the RFID requirements for each trading partner (Wal*Mart, Sam’s Club DoD, Best Buy, etc.) and the locations that you ship products to.

· Product information, including SKU numbers, descriptions, and GTIN’s for the products to be tagged.

· Your subscription number for whichever RFID standards organization(s) you belong

Walking through the wizard takes you to the hardware set up screens. A basic solution kit might include a printer and a reader, either fixed or handheld. But advanced solutions could employ multiple printers and/or readers (both fixed and handheld)

DESIGN - Set Up Hardware

The first step is to configure the hardware to be used in your solution. The wizard will walk you first through the set up of your solution's printers, then fixed readers and finally all of your handheld readers.

PRINTERS

The first printer set up screen lists the brands supported by the version of RFIDTagManager that you purchase.

Next, you will select whether your printer is an RFID printer, a bar code printer or if you will be using a simulated printer to test the software.

Selection of your printer type will take you to the main printer set up screen, which asks for:

· The IP address for your printer

· The printer port address

· The location name for the printer

· The type of inlay (96-bit or 64-bit)

· The label size (e.g., 4x6)

Once all information has been entered, the printer can be saved to the configuration database. If you are employing two units of the same brand of printer, you'll be able to enter the same kind of information for the second printer at this time.

READERS

Setting up your fixed and handheld readers follow a simular course. Select the brand of your reader, then select the reader model, and you are taken to the main reader configuration screen.

You will enter the following information:

· The reader "name"

· The location name for the reader

· The reader function (e.g., validation)

· The IP address for your reader

· The reader port address

· Antennas and the power setting for each antenna

Once all information has been entered, the reader can be saved to the configuration database. If you are employing two units of the same brand of reader, you'll again be able to enter the same kind of information for a second reader at this time. Alternatively, you might proceed to the handheld reader set up screens.

DESIGN - Set Up Ship To Location

After selecting the trading partners for whom your company is meeting RFID requirements, such as Wal*Mart, the DoD, Best Buy, Target, et.al., you will be asked to check the boxes next to any addresses where you will ship RFID tagged products.

The wizard already includes the addresses of all locations that are RFID-enabled facilities for each respective retailer or organization.

The selected locations will be used to populate the labels printed for your products.

If you are not meeting specific guidelines set forth by one of the larger organizations currently pushing RFID, you can still enter a Ship To: location by checking the "Other Locations" box of the "Which RFID Requirements Must You Meet?" screen.

The "Other Location" option allows you to enter information for a trading partner that you are collaborating with to launch an RFID solution, either as part of an experimental phase, or as part of a business case.

DESIGN - Set Up Partner Requirements

Meet the Requirements of Current Trading Partners

After selecting the organization you ship to that requires RFID tagged products, and select the address(es) of the RFID-enabled facilites that you ship to, you will select the product shipping scenarios that effect you. In the current version of RFIDTagManager the Wal*Mart, Sam’s Club, DoD, and Best Buy requirements are pre-built into the software.

Potential shipping scenarios are broken down into two buckets: case scenarios and pallet scenarios.

In a typical case shipping scenario, a company might ship single item/standard assortment full cases to Wal*Mart. Another option might be the shipment of custom cartons with multiple SKU's.

For different the pallet scenarios, a company might ship homogenous pallets stacked with a single SKU for some products, but also ship multiple SKU's on a single pallet in certain situations.

Set Up Collaborative Efforts With Other Partners

You may be interested in testing RFID through pilots with a different company than those initiating RFID requirements. If you are not meeting specific requirements, after selecting the “Other Location” option and entering the location's address, you will be able to select some standard case and pallet scenarios supplied by the wizard.

DESIGN - Existing Vendor Label Import

If you ship product to Sam’s Club, then you have seen this shipping label before.

RFIDTagManager additional ease-of-use functionality includes the ability to continue using the labels you are already using in your supply chain operations. Using your existing label vendor you can construct an EPCglobal-compliant label in a matter of minutes. Familiarity adds to the ease of use.

Barcode labels already designed for current shipping processes using your existing label vendor can be quickly fed into RFIDTagManager to facilitate ease-of-use and reduce process inconsistencies.

And to make things even easier, epcSolutions has created Label Vendor specific RFID Label Library with EPC-compliant labels pre-formatted for your use. All you need to do is select the correct label for the customer you are working with and walk through the RFIDTagManager wizard to complete your new RFID label.

epcSolutions' Label Library
Another option is to take advantage of the epcSolutions Label Library, in which case a pre-formatted label is selected to fulfill the template requirements laid out by the trading partner a company is shipping to. Labels are set up for cases and pallets.

DESIGN - Set Up ASN

The next screen in the set up wizard allows for setting up an advanced ship notice (ASN) that will be automatically generated for each order being sent to a corresponding trading partner.

The ASN will include all EPCs--cases and pallets--associated with each order, providing a greater means for reconciliation of shipments on both ends of the supply chain, as well as speedier completion of the invoicing process.

All control numbers are entered for the ASN: the associated transaction sets, the groups, and the interchanges. Characters are also selected (from drop down menus) for the EDI Segment Terminator, Element Separator and Sub-Element Separator.

DESIGN - Set Up Ship From Location

You will enter the "Ship From:" location for the facility that you tag your products with RFID labels and ship to your trading partners. This location will often be a warehouse or distribution center, but could also be a manufacturing plant where products are tagged on the manufacturing line.

The address is entered, with fields that cover internationally situated facilities.

If you are a government vendor (for example, shipping to the DoD), then you will enter your D-U-N-S number, the unique nine character number provided by Dun & Bradstreet (D&B).

*Note on the DUNS:

The DUNS Number is site-specific and division specific. Therefore, each physical location of an entity will have its own DUNS Number. Further, each separate division or branch of an entity will have its own, unique DUNS Number. Through DUNS Number linkage, these unique DUNS Numbers will roll up to the Headquarters or Office level that oversees the branch or division.

DESIGN - Set Up Product Data

The final step in the Design-time wizard is setting up the product information for each product that will be shipped with an RFID tagged label. SKU's (both internal and external trading partner identifiers), descriptions and GTINs (Global Trade-Item Number) for cases and pallets are entered using the assigned numbers for each product class.

RFIDTagManager supports entering the product order information either manually or by importing a CSV order file from another application.

CSV Order Files Can be imported into RFIDTagManager if they are saved in the correct format. See the Appendix to see a formatted CSV file.

After inputting data for each required field, the product is saved and an additional product may be entered.

With the final step of the Design-Time process completed, you are now ready to print and apply labels--the final stage of the Create-and-Validate methodology. A summary screen will show all information that was entered through the wizard, and if everything is correct after review, then you will exit Design-Time configuration wizard and proceed to Run-Time.

*A note on the GTIN: the GTIN is the key reference number to enable efficient & accurate order management, managed globally by GS1. EPCs are linked to the GTIN and will not replace the GTIN. Each serves a different function. An EPC improves logistics tracking and inventory management capoabilities in many instances, but an EPC is commissioned at time of manufacture/shipping which doesn’t allow it to replace the GTIN for order management.

RUN - Monitor & Manage Network Devices

Often, the first thing that you want to know when you enter Run-Time is: "Is everything working properly?" RFIDTagManager allows you to monitor all devices that were configurated as part of your network through the Design-Time wizard. Green lights indicate a functioning device, red lights mean that there is a problem.

Monitor Printers
RFIDTagManager has a graphic interface that allows you to see the current status of all previously configured RFID Printers. You can see which printers are ready to print and which one has problems. RFIDTagManager shows which printers are online and if the ribbon and printer is functioning and the label rolls are full.

Monitor and Control Readers

RFIDTagManager has a graphic interface that allows you turn on and off all readers, adjust readers’ antenna settings and see the current status of all previously configured readers.

RUN - Order Import

Auto-Import Orders

Orders can be entered manually from a Purchase Order and Bill of Lading documents, or imported from a specified location. Click on an order file in the order file directory and the pick list will be populated with the appropriate order information, including the required products and the quantities.

Imported orders appear in the Order tree during Run-Time and can be manually deleted once the labels have been printed.

RUN - GTINManager Data Sync

Store Product Data with GTINManager

RFIDTagManager has a product manager function, GTINManager, that enables users to store and update product attribute data.

If the GTINManager feature is enabled it is possible to enter and store product attributes in a central repository that can ensure accurate data is associated to all RFID-linked business processes.

RUN - Tag Encoding & Label Printing

Initialize and Print Compliant RFID Enabled Labels

Using epcSolutions' easy to follow wizard meet your customer’s RFID requirements quickly and easily.

RFIDTagManager guides you through the steps needed to generate labels in the format required by retailers and organizations. RFIDTagManager allows you to configure compliant RFID labels for Wal-Mart, DoD, Best Buy, and other organizations requirements in minutes.









During Design-Time, RFIDTagManager directs users through the product shipping scenarios that affect them so RFID labels are only printed for products that need RFID. Now, during Run-Time, those products can be selected manually or automatically (if you have imported an order).

Once the printers, labels, products, company subscriber information and scenarios are setup printing RFID labels is easy. Orders can be manually entered or imported from any application in a CSV file.

RUN - Tag Validation & Verification

Validate RFID Enabled Labels With a Reader

The mantra that epcSolutions focuses on is Create-and-Validate. Now that the tag has been created, using an RFID reader to read the tag will ensure that each RFID tag is valid before it leaves the tagging facility. If you ship unreadable labels to Wal*Mart, they are going to be returned.

After RFID labels have been printed and applied to boxes they may be damaged in the application and handling process. RFIDTagManager Business View gives users an easy tool to validate tags with a reader.

The EPCs of all labels that were just produced in the last printing will automatically populate the columns of the Business View.

When the tagged product pass by a reader RFIDTagManager compares the label’s EPC with the EPCs from the labels printed in the last printing. This ensures the EPC has been encoded properly and eliminates the chance of products containing bad tags from leaving the facility.

RUN - Reports

Generate Tag Reports

RFIDTagManager can compile Tag Reports of all RFID-enabled labels created by a printer within a user defined time period. Reports can be saved as a CSV file that can be exported to other applications and read in Excel.

RUN - ASN Generation

Auto-Generate ASNs

Once validated, the EPCs created for each case and pallet label in an order are inserted into an Advanced Ship Notice and automatically sent to your trading partner. Provides added reconciliation controls.

Wal-Mart, DoD or other retailers have already required Advanced Ship Notices to be sent out when an order is shipped so that the EDI transaction document reaches the receiving docks before the order arrives. As RFID tags are included on more orders trading partner customers are starting to require EPC data to be inserted into ASNs.

This screen allows ASNs to be built with the EPC data inserted.

About epcSolutions

epcSolutions, Inc. is the leading provider of RFID compliance software to the Wal*Mart and DoD supplier community. epcSolutions’ GS1Net3 application suite implements the GS1 System, a series of standards designed to improve supply chain management. The GS1 System includes: BarCodes - Numbering and bar coding; eCom - EDI (Electronic Data Interchange); Global Data Synchronization Network (GDSN) - data synchronization; EPCglobal - RFID (Radio Frequency Identification). The “Any Asset, One Network” application suite allows users to manage all four asset types found in a typical business: Work in Process, Finished Goods/Inventory, Fixed Assets and People.

Visit www.epcsolutions.com

Phone: (703) 757-4470
email: info@epcsolutions.com