War hero.

The article discusses the role of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology in transforming the distribution and tracking of goods in the supply chain. Responding to concerns that terrorists could use cargo containers, in early 2002 the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) trade group launched the Secure Trade in the APEC Region program. In a demonstration project, RFID sensor seals, known as e-seals, were applied to conventional bolt locks on shipping container in Thailand. The containers were tracked throughout their routes using a real-time, Web-enabled software application. In the U.S., RFID is being propelled along the behest of two irresistible forces, the U.S. Department of Defense and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. Both are mandating that major suppliers comply with various requirements for tagging and tracking goods by 2005. A similar efforts is underway in Europe under the mandate of the German retailing company Metro Group. In the summer of 2004, the department is racing to complete a final policy for the use of passive RFID and electronic product code (EPC) compliant tags. A defense federal acquisition regulation rule governing materials purchased by the department will cover the application of passive RFID to the case, pallet and the unique identification of items at the packaging level, and will apply to solicitations issued after October 1 with delivery dates on or after January 1, 2005. Wal-Mart has a January 2005 target for its top 100 suppliers to place RFID tags on cases and pallets destined for Wal-Mart and Sam's Club locations in the Dallas/Forth Worth metropolitan area. In April 2004, eight product manufacturers began testing EPC at select Wal-Mart Supercenters and one regional distribution center.