134 ASCET
INTERVIEW Lowry Computer Products Mike Lowry explains the
Mike Lowry
CEO, President
Michael Lowry is CEO and
president of Lowry Computer
Products. He is frequently fea-
tured and quoted in widely
read industry publications
such as Business Solutions
Magazine, SCAN: The Data
Capture Report, Business
Direct Weekly, RFID Solutions
Online and Crains Detroit
Business. He also shares his
expertise by participating in
technology panels, such as
the Executive Technology
Provider Panel for Truth in
Technologies 2004 and 2005
conferences, sponsored by
the AIDC 100 organization.
Lowry Computer Products is
an EPCglobal Founding
Solution Provider.
capabilities of cutting-edge label technology.
ASCET: What is slap-and-ship labeling and what are its advantages and disadvantages?
ML: Slap-and-ship labeling is a term that has been coined by some folks in the indus-
try to describe the minimum system requirements for suppliers to meet the Wal-
Mart, Albertsons, Best Buy, Target or the Department of Defense compliance
mandate. The advantage of slap-and-ship is that first and foremost it enables
you to comply with the RFID initiatives of your major customers. Successful read
rates can be achieved by overcoming the physics of RFID for your product pack-
aging and plant environment, through tag testing, tag selection, tag location,
tag printing/encoding and tag reading. Companies such as Lowry have RFID lab
services whereby a company can send a select number of SKUs to the lab to
perform these services. By using a qualified RFID lab prior to placing any orders
for specific RFID tags and equipment, customers can be assured of a successful
quick start to their RFID compliance program. The only disadvantage is when
companies stop at slap-and-ship without experiencing the ROI thats possible.
When you move beyond slap-and-ship and integrate the data throughout
your business processes, you will enhance communications throughout the sup-
ply chain, better plan production to meet the needs of the customer and begin
to see the real financial advantages and ROI. In addition, Wal-Mart is providing
some manufacturers with the opportunity for electronic payment based upon
the automated scanning of the goods by using the new RFID smart labels.
ASCET: Do you think the barriers to widespread adoption of RFID can be overcome
within the next few years?
ML: Yes, I do. One of the key barriers was standards, and with the adoption of the
Gen 2 standard in the U.S., I think that will enable the technology to move
forward at a much faster rate. In addition, EPC has initiated a push to have the
Gen 2 standard adopted on a worldwide basis, as an ISO standard.
Also, now that we have an EPC Gen 2 standard, new tags and equipment
will be coming forward in the marketplace that will ensure interoperability
between suppliers products. Customers will have a wider choice of RFID
tags, readers and printers/encoders based upon a common standard versus
proprietary products that existed prior to the Gen 2 standard. The Gen 2
standard will also help drive down the cost of the new devices because of
the competition, as well as the volume opportunity that this new standard
will offer to the manufacturers of EPC Gen 2 products.
ASCET: Is security a primary issue with automatic data collection and wireless data
communication systems?
ML: Yes, manufacturers are certainly concerned with the integrity and protection of
their data, and consumers are concerned with a possible extension of data flow
that could reach into their personal lives. With the introduction of EPC Gen 2

tags for labeling, there will be stronger controls in place
to protect against data tampering and data access.
For manufacturers, Electronic Product Code
(EPC) Gen 2 tags can be password protected against
tampering. In order to write information to tags or dis-
able them, a password must be entered. Additional
security can be achieved by setting tags so theyll only
communicate with authenticated readers. And the
readers can be configured to require a password
before they can communicate with the tags. Along
the supply chain, passwords can be established to only
allow select business partners or internal process users
to access tag data.
In order to satisfy consumer privacy concerns
about RFID, the retail and consumer goods industries
require that EPC tags can be disabled at the retail level
so that the tag data can never again be used or
accessed. These are just some of the ways in which
security issues can be met by using Gen 2 electronic
tags for data collection and communication.
Bar codes can easily be copied, because its a
visual image. RFID data is more secure from counter-
feiters because of its uniqueness. Moreover, its con-
tactless, so if youre moving large volumes of people,
you dont have to swipe it.
ASCET: What are the latest trends and innovations in labels?
ML: In the sensor technology area, theyre looking at things
such as smart packaging that can sense temperature and
humidity, which can be very important to food and drug
supply. The military is using RFID technology in Iraq to do
a tremendous job of shipping the right product to the
right people at the right time. However, one of the things
that they found was their critical pharmaceuticals were
sometimes not kept within a proper temperature range.
Therefore, even with all the right logistics, the product is
potentially not useful. Sensor technology is going to be a
big breakthrough in situations where temperature is
important. In certain other kinds of frozen foods and ship-
ments, these types of labels can also be justified, because
you could have spoilage of an entire shipment. Even if the
product is frozen when it is received, that does not mean
that it has been frozen throughout the supply chain. With
sensor technology, lapses in temperature can be detect-
ed and recorded. The other impending breakthrough is
that GPS technology is being added to active tags (an
active tag is a tag with an associated power supply). So
now youve got worldwide location capabilities. The
labels are going to get very, very smart, and theyre going
to go beyond just being intelligent data carriers. With sen-
sor technology, the tags will be able to identify their envi-
ronment at every step in the supply chain.
Chapter 4: Fulfillment & RFID 135
We just cant do all that with bar codes. Smart
labels in the marketplace today are primarily used on
pallets, cartons and case shipping, because youre
dealing with larger volumes of items, and conse-
quently lower costs. The military, working with Savi,
has RFID with global positioning tracking on all of its
sea containers, and its been incredibly successful. The
Customs Department is currently exploring the use of
RFID for commercial container tracking security. We
will also see personal security checks with merchant
marines, truck drivers and other transportation work-
ers who transport hazardous materials, including
gasoline trucks, or other materials that could poten-
tially be used by terrorists as bombs. Identity and
tracking information will be stored on ID documents
and labels that can verify that the people transporting
goods are in fact who they are supposed to be, and
that there has been a background check prior to these
folks performing their duties.
ASCET: Are there other breaking technologies or processes
that are interesting to you right now?
ML: The FDA is seriously studying recommendations for the
use of RFID technology for drug anti-counterfeiting at
the item level. The FDA estimates that up to 40% of
pharmaceuticals shipped from countries such as
Argentina, Colombia and Mexico may be counterfeit.
Two hundred thousand bottles of Lipitor valued at $55
million were recalled in the U.S. in 2003 because they
contained fake pills. If the FDA does issue pharmaceuti-
cal RFID item-level mandates on certain products, this
will be the first item-level mandate for EPC. Item-level
labeling could push the EPC label usage into the billions
of labels per year.
The airline industry is actively involved in RFID
baggage handling initiatives. Delta plans to spend $25
million to get an approximate $100 million a year sav-
ings due to the costs associated with lost baggage.
The auto industry is using RFID labels to comply with
the Tread Act for tire tracking that Congress passed
because of the rollovers associated with defective tires
produced at certain manufacturing plants. The FDA is
also considering the use of RFID for new food safety
requirements. The food industry is looking at active
RFID with sensor technology for cold chain integrity of
perishables. This application could instill a new level of
confidence to retailers, by assuring that proper tem-
peratures were maintained for temperature-sensitive
items in their supply chain.
As you can clearly see, adding intelligent elec-
tronics to the label enables us to go beyond where bar
codes have taken us to date. RFID technology could be
even more ubiquitous than bar codes in the future.