RFID military compliance solution from Avery Dennison

A new service bureau offering called the RFID Military Compliance Solution from Avery Dennison Retail Information Services enables vendors to quickly and cost efficiently meet Department of Defense mandates for affixing RFID labels containing unique identification codes to cartons and pallets, and for issuing advance ship notices.

The mandates affect vendors shipping hard goods, apparel, footwear and other specified commodities to DoD distribution centers in Susquehanna, Pennsylvania and San Joaquin, California. The RFID label requirement is in addition to existing DoD requirements for identifying cartons and pallets with bar-coded Military Shipping Labels (MSL). The MSL labels, which are produced by vendors with in-house label printing systems or sourced from service bureaus such as Avery Dennison Ticket Express, contain destination and other key shipping data. They are applied to easily accessible carton and pallet locations.

By way of the RFID Military Compliance Solution, Avery Dennison RIS supplies vendors with a supplemental RFID label that is encoded with a unique identification code to meet the DoD mandate. The code is also printed as a bar code and in human readable characters. During the shipping process, the supplemental RFID label is affixed to cartons and/or pallets in proximity to the MSL label.

The RFID labels are available to vendors through the RFID Military Compliance Solution at an attractive price. Minimum orders are as low as 500 labels. To order the labels, vendors need only supply their CAGE (Commercial and Government Entity) code, and the quantity and mix of carton and pallet labels they require. Vendors who are registered with Avery Dennison RIS typically receive shipment within 72 hours.

‘In a market where RFID label costs can be substantial, Avery Dennison RIS consistently offers highly attractive pricing,’ noted Mischa Reis, Avery Dennison RIS marketing director – RFID. ‘Suppliers that ship only small to medium quantities of cases to the DoD will especially benefit from our hardware-free solution. In addition, eligible members of the American Apparel and Footwear Association (AAFA) will receive an even better price as part of the “RFID Savings Program” we signed with the AAFA.’

RFID Ticket Express Platform and Quality Control

The RFID Military Compliance Solution is based on the field-proven Avery Dennison RFID Ticket Express service bureau platform, which has a reputation for delivering high quality RFID labels to locations worldwide. The organization, which cites quality control as a core competency, manages DoD serial number usage by CAGE code to ensure that each label is unique. 

Advance Ship Notices

The DoD RFID mandate includes a requirement for issuing an Advance Ship Notice (ASN) to associate the unique identification encoded on the RFID tag with applicable product information at the case and pallet level. At the time of shipment preparation, vendors scan or key MSL data along with the unique number from the supplemental RFID label into the DoD DD250 web based purchase order management system

Avery Dennison supplemental RFID labels measure 4 x 2 inches and utilize Avery Dennison Class 1 inlays. Once the DoD transitions to Gen 2, vendors will receive the same labels, just with a Gen 2 inlay inside – no changes required on the vendors’ side.

Vendors wishing to print and program RFID labels in house to satisfy DoD mandates can choose from a variety of Avery Dennison RFID-enabled label printers, along with formatting software and base stock.