Midland, MI - December 15, 2005
The Dow Chemical Company recently announced that it has joined EPCglobal US, a neutral, not-for-profit organization leading the development of industry-driven standards for the Electronic Product Code (EPC) to support the commercialization of radio frequency identification (RFID). This marks an important step in support of Dow's RFID/GPS deployment efforts. In addition, Dow is in the process of launching a comprehensive set of projects which align under Dow's recently developed Corporate RFID/GPS Strategy that will substantially advance Dow's RFID/GPS capabilities.
"Joining EPCglobal US enables us to take our use of RFID/GPS technologies to the next level, contributing to the development of industry standards for RFID and helping drive increased usage of RFID/GPS to enhance the efficiency and security throughout the chemical industry supply chain," said Dave Kepler, corporate vice president of Shared Services and chief information officer of The Dow Chemical Company.
EPCglobal US serves more than 550 subscribing companies in the United States to help foster the adoption of EPC.
"We are pleased to welcome Dow to our growing community," said Mike Meranda, president of EPCglobal US . "The EPC is revolutionizing the use of RFID technology, making it even easier for companies to track and trace materials throughout their supply chains. There is significant multi-industry participation today, and Dow's joining of our community will continue to strengthen our work in the manufacturing sector, and enable us to work together to accelerate the deployment of standards to benefit the chemical industry."
According to Paula Tolliver, global director of RFID Strategy for The Dow Chemical Company, Dow has piloted and implemented several applications of RFID/GPS technology. "We have been pleased with the pilot results - improvements in work processes, asset utilization, inventory control, security, order fulfillment and other areas," said Tolliver. To date, four applications of RFID/GPS technology have been successfully implemented and are delivering results for the company in their key focus areas.
For example, RFID/GPS and barcoding technologies allow Dow to track cylinders at the individual cylinder level throughout its global supply chain network. Improvements in asset utilization, inventory control and product stewardship result from Dow's ability to track and trace product information throughout the supply chain, from manufacturer to distributor to customer.
"Knowing the location and condition of products in transit contributes to increased safety and security during the order fulfilment process. But it is just one piece of the puzzle," said Tolliver. "We will also be integrating RFID/GPS into larger processes and systems to increase process effectiveness, improve service to our customers, lower our cost to serve, and enhance the safety and security of product delivery in the global chemical industry. We have defined a comprehensive plan to build out our RFID/GPS capabilities over the next 10 years but we will focus our efforts initially on a few key priorities."
About The Dow Chemical Company
Dow is a leader in science and technology, providing innovative chemical, plastic and agricultural products and services to many essential consumer markets. With annual sales of $40 billion, Dow serves customers in 175 countries and a wide range of markets that are vital to human progress: food, transportation, health and medicine, personal and home care, and building and construction, among others. Committed to the principles of sustainable development, Dow and its 43,000 employees seek to balance economic, environmental and social responsibilities. References to "Dow" or the "Company" mean The Dow Chemical Company and its consolidated subsidiaries unless otherwise expressly noted.
About EPCglobal US
EPCglobal US™ is a subsidiary of GS1 US™ (formerly the Uniform Code Council, Inc.) serving subscribers in the United States to help foster the adoption of the EPCglobal Network™ and related technology. The EPCglobal Network combines Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology, existing communications network infrastructure, and the Electronic Product Code™ (a number for uniquely identifying an item) to enable accurate, cost-efficient visibility of information in the supply chain. The end result helps organizations be more efficient, flexible, and responsive to customer needs. For more information about EPCglobal US, please visit www.EPCglobalUS.org.
For Editorial Information:
Gina Borgman
Gibbs & Soell, Inc.
(847) 519-9150, ext. 134
