BAIDU_CLB_fillSlot("858283");
In the past, smart tags were considered as a technology that used radio frequency identification tags (RFID tags) to transmit information. With the development of technology, smart tags that people now know not only include RFID tags, but also include more tags that can be widely used. Described as a "smart" with a plausible word, these tags have the characteristics of communication with consumers and brand owners, and these intelligent features are of great significance to brand owners.
The main function of the tag is to pass information. The traditional label provides consumers with information such as product name, function description, product composition, and production date. On the basis of smart labels, it further expands the information content and function. The author will introduce the smart label products and related technologies developed by several large companies around the world.
(I) InkSure's Traceable Labels
New York-based InkSure has developed a new technology that can determine the authenticity of a product. The technology uses a secret optical code (ie, tracer) in the label or packaging material to check the authenticity of the product. This tracer can only be detected by a programmatic professional reader with a specific combination of codes. Tal Gilat, Technical Director at InkSure explained: “This tracer is added to the production of labels or packaging materials. It should be noted that this tracer can be incorporated into any material, not just labels or packaging materials. ,Very convenient."
The brand owner can determine whether the product really comes from its production plant as long as it randomly checks and checks to ensure that the label or package contains tracers. At the time of testing, the worker only needs to place the reader on a tag or package with tracer. If the tracer is detected, the reader can display the result within 1 second; if no tracer is detected, Explain that this product is fake. This is the so-called "lock and key" mode. The tracer is a "lock" and the reader is a "key."
The tracer technology introduced by InkSure was developed with the advent of a new reader called Scan Sure. Scan Sure Reader can not only detect the label or the tracer on the package, but also can detect the barcode information, which can effectively solve the following three questions: (1) Is the barcode legal? (2) Is the barcode placed in the correct position? (3) Has the bar code been read before? Gilat explained: "If the barcode cannot be recognized by the Scan Sure reader, it means that someone has forged the barcode on the label or the package, which is a signal to identify the fake."
InkSure's tracking and traceability system, which combines bar code products with InkSure tracers, allows brand owners to systematically track product-specific information and ensure that products are circulated in the right way through the supply chain.
In the past, the traditional view was that counterfeiters favor high-yield big brand products. In recent years, this view has changed. As long as there are profits, any product may be copied. With the development of economy, the demand for generic drugs in the market has gradually increased, which means that there is a huge profit margin for the manufacture of counterfeit drugs. In addition, in addition to some large pharmaceutical companies, many pharmaceutical companies pay less attention to the trademarks of drugs, so drugs can be easily falsified. This gives the counterfeiters an opportunity. At present, InkSure's technology is mainly used in medicine, taxation, cigarettes, alcohol, fuel energy, and automotive parts.
(B) Newgistics Technology's Prepaid Return Label Technology
Now that online shopping is becoming more popular, it adds another cost - logistics fees. Currently, shipping fees have become the largest item in the USPS's operating budget, accounting for 40%.
Newgistics Technologies has developed a new type of smart tag. The bar code on this smart tag contains return transaction information such as customer number, order number, product serial number, product description, etc., so it can be applied to prepaid goods returns. Consumers can generate smart tags that can be used for return transactions at the same time they place orders, or they can be generated later by providing a series of web applications to consumers. Kevin Brown, Head of Marketing at Newgistics Technologies, said: "Once a consumer requests a return, the prepaid smart tag can be used. This smart tag is attached to the outside of the shipping package and sent to the local post office along with the package."
In addition, consumers can request USPS postal deliveries for free pickup. Newgistics Technologies Inc. collects the returned items from the post office and sends the packages to the smart processing center where they can obtain the information contained in the smart labels. Newgistics Technologies then returned this information to the seller so that the seller could eventually receive the returned product. Newgistics provides brand owners with specific data information, which helps the brand owner to grasp the dynamics during the process, thereby improving the internal management efficiency and ultimately reducing the product cost.