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The European Pallet Association and GS1 in Europe successfully complete first phase of RFID/EPC pilot to uniquely identify EURO pallets
London & Brussels, 25 November 2008 – GS1 in Europe, a collaboration of 44 European GS1 member organisations that are part of the global not-for-profit standards and solutions organisation, today announced the successful completion of phase one of the European Pallet Association (EPAL) EPC/RFID pilot programme. The objective of the pilot was to develop a business plan to clarify the use of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags in standard EPAL wooden pallets (EURO pallets), specify a corresponding network and discover the technical and organisational requirements for implementation. EPAL has recognised significant benefits in implementing RFID/EPC technology to uniquely identify its pallets including improved supply chain efficiency, asset visibility and pallet security.
Following the completion of the EPC/RFID pilot involving all GS1 EPCglobal standards, EPAL has identified opportunities to improve the control of production and repair of EURO pallets, authenticate individual pallets, reduce the number of counterfeit pallets and improve supply chain efficiency. It is also looking at streamlining the administration and information exchange of users within the EPAL system, a cross sector open pallet exchange pool.
There are currently over 500 million wooden EURO pallets in circulation, which are standardised and certified by EPAL. Under the pallet association’s control and license, more than 60 million new pallets a year are produced in 30 countries with over 1,000 repair centres worldwide.
“We are very satisfied with the results of the pilot programme. The EPC/RFID technology, the tag concept and the IT infrastructure have been approved and are seen as a very good solution for EPAL,” says Harry Jacobi, CEO of EPAL. “The second phase of the project will answer all the remaining questions and will help us to prepare a roll-out.”
“The results of the EPAL EPC/RFID pilot program are very promising and we are looking forward to the pre-rollout phase. Nevertheless, there are still open issues to solve such as the number of tags fixed on a pallet for optimal reading, the date stored on the tag, the handling of the GS1 Serial Shipping Container Code (SSCC) and others which need to be solved within the next six months in order to enable a full rollout,” says Stephane Pique, EPC/RFID European Director of GS1 in Europe. “There is a need to align our work with other pallet pools to create a standard that is beneficial to all pallet users. To address this issue, a specific GS1 EPCglobal interest group has been launched.”
A second phase and pre-rollout of the pilot program will take place in 2009. The pilot will involve additional countries and will focus on the RFID tag requirements and the development of a more detailed concept addressing process, IT and RFID infrastructure for implementation.
www.epcglobalinc.org
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February 2010 - Deutsche Messe postpones premiere of industrial tradeshows in Dubai until 2011
Deutsche Messe is postponing the industrial trade fairs CeMAT MIDDLE EAST, Industrial Automation (IA) MIDDLE EAST and Motion, Drive & Automation (MDA) MIDDLE EAST – all originally schedu led to take place in February 2010 – until 2011.
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March 2010 - Stuttgart, 2nd - 4th March
From 2 to 4 March 2010 LogiMAT, the International Trade Fair for Distribution, Materials Handling and Information Flow, is taking place in Stuttgart accompanied by an extensive fringe programme. It is the eighth edition of this annual meeting point for the intralogistics industry – the largest in Europe.
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March 2010 - France, 23rd - 26th
Transport and Logistics services, Supply chain Management, Logistics Infrastructures, Logistics Real Estate, Technologies and Information Systems, Materials Handling and Warehouse equipment…
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April 2010 - Cleveland, 26th - 29th
NA 2010 (The 2010 Material Handling & Logistics Show and Conference) will bring together manufacturers, consultants, third party logistics providers, publishers and system integrators to demonstrate their equipment, systems and services to tens of thousands of industry professionals from around the world, seeking productivity solutions.
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May 2010 - Barcelona, 25th - 28th
Barcelona, 23 November 2009. As part of its constant desire to improve the service it offers exhibitors and visitors as well as provide a bigger and better service, the International Logistics and Material Handling Exhibition (SIL) has updated its website.
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June 2010 - Guangzhou, China, 2nd - 4th
In China, cold chain logistics industry is in its infancy, While cold chain market share on both sides of the Atlantic has already reached 80 - 90%-that in Europe and Russia is 50%, in developing countries in general is 10 - 20%-only 20% of freight moving in China goes refrigerated.
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November 2010 - Eindhoven, 10th - 11th
It is with justified pride that Bureau Bosman BV is introducing Groothandel & Logistiek’s new trade show name. From now on, Groothandel & Logistiek will be called: Bedrijf en Logistiek, the trade show for goods-in, storage and goods-out. The eleventh edition will take place on November 10 and 11 in the Exhibition Building in Eindhoven.
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November 2010 - Birmingham, 16th - 19th
Quartz Publishing & Exhibitions Ltd, organiser of the International Materials Handling Exhibition (IMHX), has announced that – in response to exhibitor requests – the show’s dates have moved from March to November next year.
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The Armchair Shoppers
Home shopping and multi-channel
retailing is an industry where the
customer often seems tantalisingly
elusive. That’s why, every year since
2000, the UK’s Royal Mail has
commissioned the ‘Home Shopping
Tracker Study’ to estimate the size
of the UK market, both in terms of
customers and spend.
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Norway’s first gateway
The Norwegian port of Oslo has long
been a focal point for the country’s
trade, industry and population.
Boasting a highly-agile and skilled
logistics labour force the Port is on
the cusp of a new era with major
expansion and improvement.
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A heartland pours open
Ideally located at the heart of western
Europe, the Moselle Department,
in the Lorraine region of France,
offers many advantages to companies
wishing to have a strategically located
distribution platform.
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Movement made easy
Elsewhere in the world of material handling
expertise the Dutch logistics service provider
Partner Logistics Europe B.V. has been busy
in West Flanders. The company recently put
into operation probably the largest ‘deep
freeze chest’ in Belgium.
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Forklift manufacturers react to energy crisis
“Thanks to their inherent high build quality
Flexis are straightforward to maintain and
our distributors are able to make healthy
margins on used Flexis that they put back
into the market on contract hire with
maintenance packages.”
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Legislation set to change
Highly automated warehouses
make strict demands on personnel
safety. Jarno Palo, of safety specialist
Gunnebo Troax AB believes that
health and safety legislation and
European norms, such as the
Machinery Directive, have a huge
influence in the hub, covering
everything from conveyors to cranes
and industrial robots.
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Contents Page
Logistics Business Magazine Contents Page
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