ISO 17364:2013

INTERNATIONAL ISO
STANDARD 17364
Second edition
2013-03-01
Supply chain applications of RFID —
Returnable transport items (RTIs) and
returnable packaging items (RPIs)
Applications de chaîne d’approvisionnements de RFID — Éléments
restituables de transport (RTIs) et éléments d’empaquetage
restituables (RPIs)
Reference number
©
ISO 2013
© ISO 2013
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ii © ISO 2013 – All rights reserved

Contents Page
Foreword .v
Introduction .vi
1 Scope . 1
2 Conformance and performance specifications . 1
3 Normative references . 1
4 Terms and definitions . 3
5 Concepts . 5
5.1 Differentiation between this layer and the preceding layers . 5
5.2 Unique RTI and RPI identification . 7
5.3 Other identification requirements . 9
6 Differentiation within this layer . 9
7 Data content .11
7.1 Introduction .11
7.2 System data elements . .12
7.3 Tag structure .12
7.4 Protocol control (PC) bits .14
7.5 Data elements .15
7.6 Traceability .16
7.7 Combined RTI/RPI and transport unit data .16
7.8 Unique item serialization .17
8 Data security .17
8.1 Confidentiality .17
8.2 Data integrity .17
8.3 Data preservation .18
8.4 Interrogator authentication .18
8.5 Non-repudiation/audit trail .18
9 Identification of RFID labelled material .18
10 Human readable information .18
10.1 Human readable interpretation .18
10.2 Human readable translation .19
10.3 Data titles .19
10.4 Backup .19
11 Tag operation .20
11.1 Data protocol .20
11.2 Minimum performance requirements (range and rate) .20
11.3 Environmental parameters .20
11.4 Tag orientation .21
11.5 Packaging material .21
11.6 Shock loads and abrasions .21
11.7 Tag lifetime .21
11.8 Minimum system reliability .21
11.9 Air interface .22
11.10 Memory requirements for application .22
11.11 Sensor interface, if applicable .22
11.12 Real time clock option .22
11.13 Safety and regulatory considerations.22
11.14 Tag reusability .22
12 Tag location and presentation .22
12.1 Material on which the tag is mounted or inserted .23
12.2 Geometry of the package/tag environment .23
12.3 Working environment .23
13 Interrogator and reader requirements.23
13.1 Safety and regulatory considerations.23
13.2 Data privacy .23
14 Interoperability, compatibility and non-interference with other RF systems .23
Annex A (informative) Returnable packaging items .24
Annex B (normative) Encoding .33
Annex C (informative) Table of useful data elements for product life cycle management .43
Bibliography .45
iv © ISO 2013 – All rights reserved

Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards
bodies (ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out
through ISO technical committees. Each member body interested in a subject for which a technical
committee has been established has the right to be represented on that committee. International
organizations, governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO, also take part in the work.
ISO collaborates closely with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all matters of
electrotechnical standardization.
International Standards are drafted in accordance with the rules given in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2.
The main task of technical committees is to prepare International Standards. Draft International
Standards adopted by the technical committees are circulated to the member bodies for voting.
Publication as an International Standard requires approval by at least 75 % of the member bodies
casting a vote.
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of
patent rights. ISO shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
ISO 17364 was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 122, Packaging.
This second edition cancels and replaces the first edition (17364:2009).
This International Standard has three annexes, two of which, A and B, provide normative information,
and one which provides informative information.
Introduction
The ‘Supply Chain’ is a multi-level concept that covers all aspects of taking a product from raw materials
to a final product, including shipping to a final place of sale, use and maintenance, and potentially
disposal. Each of these levels covers many aspects of dealing with products, and the business process
for each level is both unique and overlapping with other levels.
This International Standard has been created in order to ensure compatibility at the physical, command
and data levels with the four other International Standards under the general title: Supply chain applications
of RFID. Where possible, this compatibility takes the form of interchangeability. Where interchangeability
is not feasible, the International Standards within this suite are interoperable and non-interfering. The
International Standards within the complete series of Supply chain applications of RFID include
— ISO 17363, Supply chain applications of RFID — Freight containers;
— ISO 17364, Supply chain applications of RFID — Returnable transport items (RTIs) and returnable
packaging items (RPIs);
— ISO 17365, Supply chain applications of RFID — Transport units;
— ISO 17366, Supply chain applications of RFID — Product packaging;
— ISO 17367, Supply chain applications of RFID — Product tagging.
These International Standards define the technical aspects and data hierarchy of information required
in each layer of the supply chain. The air-interface and communications protocol standards supported
within these International Standards are ISO/IEC 18000 and ISO/IEC/IEEE 8802; commands and
messages are specified by ISO/IEC 15961 and ISO/IEC 15962; semantics are defined in ISO/IEC 15418;
syntax is defined in ISO/IEC 15434.
Although not pertinent to this International Standard, the following work is considered valuable:
— ISO/IEC JTC 1, Information technology, SC 31, Automatic identification and data capture techniques, in
the areas of air interface, data semantic and syntax construction, and conformance standards;
— ISO/TC 104, Freight containers, in the area of freight container security, including electronic seals
(e-seals) (i.e. ISO 18185) and container identification;
— ISO/TC 51, Pallets for unit load method of materials handling, in the area of associated terminology,
pallet dimensions, design, and testing.
This International Standard defines the requirements for RFID tags for returnable transport items
(RTIs). RTIs are defined as all means to assemble goods for transportation, storage, handling and
product protection in the supply chain which are returned for further usage, including, for example,
pallets with and without cash deposits as well as all forms of reusable crates, trays, boxes, roll pallets,
barrels, trolleys, pallet collars and lids.
An important concept here is the use cases of such things as unitized loads, pallets and returnable
transport items. How a pallet is used can determine whether it is covered under this International
Standard as a returnable transport item or within ISO 17365 as a transport unit. If ownership title of the
pallet remains with its owner (shipper) then this International Standard is applicable. If the ownership
title of a pallet is transferred to the customer as part of a unitized load then it is considered an element
of that unitized load, and the applicable International Standard is ISO 17365.
Additionally, this edition of 17364 introduces the concept of returnable packaging items (RPIs). RPIs are
components of the RTI that must be tracked as well as the RTI itself as an asset of the owner/shipper.
Annex A provides guidance on RPIs.
Specific to RTIs is the placement of tagged packed products and products inside the RTI.
vi © ISO 2013 – All rights reserved

Owners and other users of RTIs can use this International Standard. It ensures the unambiguous and
optimal use of RTIs in the supply chain. In conjunction with the complete series of these International
Standards, a seamless application of the RTIs within the total supply chain is enabled.
INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ISO 17364:2013(E)
Supply chain applications of RFID — Returnable transport
items (RTIs) and returnable packaging items (RPIs)
1 Scope
This International Standard defines the basic features of RFID for use in the supply chain when applied
to returnable transport items (RTIs). In particular it
— provides specifications for the identification of the RTI and the returnable packaging item (RPI),
— makes recommendations about additional information on the RF tag,
— specifies the semantics and data syntax to be used,
— specifies the data protocol to be used to interface with business applications and the RFID system,
— specifies the minimum performance requirements,
— specifies the air interface standards between the RF interrogator and RF tag, and
— specifies the reuse and recyclability of the RF tag.
2 Conformance and performance specifications
All of the devices and equipment that claim conformance with this International Standard shall
also conform to the appropriate sections and parameters specified in ISO/IEC 18046 (all parts) for
performance and ISO/IEC 18047-6 (for ISO/IEC 18000-63, Type C) and ISO/IEC 18047-3 (for the ASK
interface of ISO/IEC 18000-3, Mode 3) for conformance.
When through trading-partner agreement, other specific ISO/IEC 18000 air interfaces are employed (i.e.
ISO/IEC 18000-2, Type A and ISO/IEC 18000-7) the corresponding part of ISO/IEC 18047 shall be used.
3 Normative references
The following referenced documents are indispensable for the application of this document. For dated
references, only the edition cited applies. For undated references, the latest edition of the referenced
document (including any amendments) applies.
ISO 445, Pallets for materials handling — Vocabulary
ISO 830, Freight containers — Vocabulary
ISO 8601, Data elements and interchange formats — Information interchange — Representation of
dates and times
ISO/IEC/IEEE 8802-15, 4, Information technology — Telecommunications and information exchange
between systems — Local and metropolitan area networks — Specific requirements — Part 15.4: Wireless
medium access control (MAC) and physical layer (PHY) specifications for low-rate wireless personal area
networks (WPANs)
ISO/IEC 15418, Information technology — Automatic identification and data capture techniques — GS1
Application Identifiers and ASC MH10 Data Identifiers and maintenance
ISO/IEC 15434, Information technology — Automatic identification and data capture techniques — Syntax
for high-capacity ADC media
ISO/IEC 15459-3, Information technology — Automatic identification and data capture techniques —
Unique identification — Part 3: Common rules
ISO/IEC 15459-5, Information technology — Automatic identification and data capture techniques —
Unique identification — Part 5: Individual returnable transport items (RTIs)
ISO/IEC 15961, Information technology — Radio frequency identification (RFID) for item management —
Data protocol: application interface
1)
ISO/IEC 15962:— , Information technology — Radio frequency identification (RFID) for item
management — Data protocol: data encoding rules and logical memory functions
ISO/IEC 15963, Information technology — Radio frequency identification for item management — Unique
identification for RF tags
ISO 17365, Supply chain applications of RFID — Transport units
ISO/IEC 18000-3, Information technology — Radio frequency identification for item management — Part 3:
Parameters for air interface communications at 13,56 MHz
ISO/IEC 18000-63, Information technology — Radio frequency identification for item management —
Part 63: Parameters for air interface communications at 860 MHz to 960 MHz Type C
ISO/IEC 18046 (all parts), Information technology — Automatic identification and data capture techniques
— Radio frequency identification device performance test methods
ISO/IEC 18047-2, Information technology — Radio frequency identification device conformance test
methods — Part 2: Test methods for air interface communications below 135 kHz
ISO/IEC 18047-3, Information technology — Radio frequency identification device conformance test
methods — Part 3: Test methods for air interface communications at 13,56 MHz
ISO/IEC 18047-6, Information technology — Radio frequency identification device conformance test
methods — Part 6: Test methods for air interface communications at 860 MHz to 960 MHz
ISO/IEC 18047-7, Information technology — Radio frequency identification device conformance test
methods — Part 7: Test methods for active air interface communications at 433 MHz
ISO/IEC 19762 (all parts), Information technology — Automatic identification and data capture (AIDC)
techniques — Harmonized vocabulary
ISO 21067, Packaging — Vocabulary
ISO/IEC/IEEE 21451-7, Information technology — Smart transducer interface for sensors and actuators —
Part 7: Transducer to radio frequency identification (RFID) systems communication protocols and Transducer
Electronic Data Sheet (TEDS) formats
ISO/IEC/TR 24729-1, Information technology — Radio frequency identification for item management —
Implementation guidelines — Part 1: RFID-enabled labels and packaging supporting ISO/IEC 18000-6C
ANS MH10.8.2, Data Identifiers and Application Identifiers
GS1 EPC, Tag Data Standard, Version 1.6
GS1 General Specifications
ICNIRP Guidelines, Guidelines for limiting exposure to time-varying electric, magnetic, and electromagnetic
fields (up to 300 GHz)
IEEE C95-1, IEEE Standard for Safety Levels with Respect to Human Exposure to Radio Frequency
Electromagnetic Fields, 3 kHz to 300 GHz
1) To be published.
2 © ISO 2013 – All rights reserved

4 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the terms and definitions given in ISO 445, ISO 830, ISO/IEC 19762-1,
ISO/IEC 19762-3, ISO 21067 and the following apply. For the purposes of this document, hexadecimal
characters are represented as 0xnn, where “nn” is the hexadecimal value.
4.1
product
useable content of a package
Note 1 to entry: A special case exists where the usable content is not enclosed in any form of packaging.
4.2
product package
packaging, containing one or more products (same or different), together with any protective or other
materials where required to ease handling, storage, transport, etc
Note 1 to entry: A product package may be an item packaged singularly, multiple quantities of the same item
packaged together, or a group of parts packaged together.
Note 2 to entry: Adapted from ISO 22742:2010, definition 3.32.
4.3
returnable transport item
RTI
any product for the purposes of transport, handling and/or distribution of one or more products or
product packages that are returned for further usage
EXAMPLE Pallets with and without cash deposits, as well as all forms of reusable crates, trays, boxes, roll
pallets, barrels, and trolleys.
Note 1 to entry: The term “returnable transport item” implies that the ownership title of the item, e.g. pallet,
remains with its owner (shipper), in which case this International Standard is applicable. If the ownership title
of the item, e.g. pallet, is transferred to the customer as part of a unitized load then it is considered an element of
that unitized load, and the applicable International Standard is ISO 17365.
Note 2 to entry: Freight containers, trailers and other similar enclosed modules are not covered by the term
“returnable transport item”.
Note 3 to entry: The term “returnable transport equipment” is considered to have the same definition as the term
“returnable transport item” within an electronic data interchange environment.
Note 4 to entry: Ownership does not change at time of purchase or delivery.
4.4
freight container
article of transport equipment which is
a) of a permanent character and accordingly strong enough to be suitable for repeated use;
b) specially designed to facilitate the carriage of goods by one or more modes of transport, without
intermediate reloading;
c) fitted with devices permitting its ready handling, particularly its transfer from one mode of
transport to another;
d) so designed as to be easy to fill and empty;
3 3
e) having an internal volume of 1 m (approximately 35,3 ft )
[ISO 830:1999, definition 3.1]
4.5
packaging
any material used for the containment, protection, handling, delivery, storage, transport and
presentation of goods
Note 1 to entry: Ownership changes at time of purchase or delivery.
4.6
transport package
transport packaging
any material used for the purposes of transport, handling and/or distribution of one or more products
or product packages
Note 1 to entry: Ownership changes at time of purchase or delivery.
4.7
transport unit
transport packaging containing a single product/product package or collection of product/product
packages (same or different) designed to enable these to be handled as a single transport entity
Note 1 to entry: Either a transport package or a unit load.
4.8
unitized
secured together so as to be handled as an entity
4.9
unit load
one or more transport packages or other items held together by means such as pallet, slip sheet,
strapping, interlocking, glue, shrink wrap, or net wrap, making them suitable for transport, stacking,
and storage as a unit
4.10
returnable packaging item
RPI
any material used for the “protection” of goods during handling, delivery, storage and transport that are
returned for further usage
Note 1 to entry: See Annex A.
Note 2 to entry: Ownership does not change at time of purchase or delivery.
4.11
integrity
designed such that any modification of the electronically stored information, without proper
authorization, is not possible
4.12
ISO tag
international unique identification tag
ISO/IEC 18000-63, Type C or ISO/IEC 18000-3 Mode 3 tag with Protocol Control bit 17 set at “1” indicating
that what follows is an Application Family Identifier (AFI)
4.13
EPC tag
ISO/IEC 18000-63, Type C or ISO/IEC 18000-3 Mode 3 tag with Protocol Control bit 17 set at “0” indicating
that what follows is an EPC header
4.14
monolithic memory structure
memory storage that is addressable by a single addressing element
4 © ISO 2013 – All rights reserved

4.15
segmented memory structure
memory storage that is separated into more than one element and requires multiple addressing
elements for access
4.16
conveyable
item that can be moved efficiently and safely on handling devices used to move material over a fixed
line of travel
Note 1 to entry: For the purposes of this International Standard, such material handling devices or conveyors are
considered to be continuous-loop belted systems moving packages or objects in a predetermined path and having
fixed or selective points of loading or discharge. The width of the belt, height permitted within the facility, and
weight capacity of the belt may determine whether the items are conveyable.
4.17
non-conveyable
item of such width, height or mass to preclude its movement on conveyor systems
4.18
use case
detailed description of a single activity in a business process that identifies data inputs and outputs,
performance/timing requirements, the handling of error conditions and interfaces with external applications
5 Concepts
5.1 Differentiation between this layer and the preceding layers
Figures 1 and 2 give a graphical representation of the supply chain. They show a conceptual model
of possible supply chain relationships, not a one-for-one representation of physical things. Although
several layers in Figure 2 have clear physical counterparts, some common supply chain physical
items fit in several layers depending on the use case. For example, a repetitively used pallet, under
constant ownership, would be covered by this International Standard as an RTI; a pallet that is part of a
consolidated unit load would be covered by ISO 17365 as a transport unit; and a pallet that is integral to
a single item would be covered by ISO 17366 as product packaging.
The term “supply chain layers” is a multi-level concept that covers all aspects of taking a product from
raw materials to a final product to shipping to a final place of sale, use, maintenance and potentially
disposal and returned goods. Each of these levels covers many aspects of dealing with products and the
business process for each level is both unique and overlapping with other levels.
The Item Level through to the Freight Container Level layers are addressed within the suite of standards
for “supply chain applications of RFID” (see Introduction) and are intended to enhance supply chain
visibility. The Movement Vehicle Level is the purview of ISO TC 204/WG 7.
The RTI Level in Figure 2 and the RPIs (as defined in 4.10) are the subject of this International Standard.
RTI and RPI tags can be distinguished from other layer tags by use of a group select methodology
contained in the RFID interrogator/reader. This group select function allows the interrogator and
supporting automated information systems (AIS) to quickly identify RTI or RPI layer tags. As indicated
in 5.2.2, the group select methodology is further elaborated in ISO/IEC 15961.
Key
1 primary packaging — consumer packaging — (product)
2 secondary packaging — outer packaging — (product package)
3 tertiary packaging — transport packaging — (transport unit)
4 tertiary packaging — unitized transport packaging — (transport unit)
5 pallet — (returnable transport item — RTI)
Figure 1 — Packaging
6 © ISO 2013 – All rights reserved

Layer 5
Movement Vehicle
Movement Vehicle Level
(truck, ship, train, airplane)
Defined by Transport Mode
(Movement vehicle)
Returnable Packaging Item
Layer 4
Freight Container Level
ISO 17363
Container
433 MHz or 2,45 GHz
20/40 Foot Marine and Multi-Modal Container
(8802-15-4 or 18000-7 TPA)
(Freight containers)
Returnable Packaging Item
Layer 3
RTI Level
Returnable Transport Returnable Transport
ISO 17364
Item (RTI) Item (RTI)
(860-960 MHz)
(Various 18000 with TPA)
(Tertiary packaging)
Returnable Packaging Item
Layer 2
Transport Unit Level
Transport Transport
Transport Transport
Unit
ISO 17365 Unit
Unit Unit
(Various 18000 with TPA)
(Tertiary packaging)
Returnable Packaging Item
Layer 1
Product Package Level
Prod Prod Prod Prod
ISO 17366 Prod Prod Prod Prod
Pkg Pkg Pkg Pkg Pkg Pkg Pkg
(860-960 MHz with TPA) Pkg
(13,56 MHz with TPA)
(Secondary packaging)
Returnable Packaging Item
Layer 0
Item Level
ISO 17367
Item Item Item Item
Item Item Item Item Item Item Item Item Item Item Item Item
(860-960 MHz with TPA)
(13,56 MHz with TPA)
(Primary packaging)
Components, Parts, Materials, Subassemblies, etc.
Figure 2 — Supply chain layers
5.2 Unique RTI and RPI identification
5.2.1 General
Unique RTI and RPI identification is a process that assigns a unique data string to an individual RTI
or RPI, or in this case to an RFID tag that is associated to the RTI or RPI. The unique data string is
called the unique RTI or RPI identifier. Unique item identification of RTIs or RPIs allows data collection
and management at a granular level. The benefits of granular level data are evident in such areas as
maintenance, warranties and enabling electronic transactions of record. This granularity is possible
only if each tagged item has a unique item identifier.
The information on items in the supply chain is often held on computer systems and may be exchanged
between parties involved via electronic data interchange (EDI) and extensible mark-up language (XML)
schemas. The unique item identifier should be used as a key to access this information.
The unique RTI or RPI identifier described above shall be the unique identifier as described in
ISO/IEC 15459-5. The unique item identifier (UII) provides granular discrimination between like items
that are identified with RFID tags. The unique tag ID (as defined by ISO/IEC 15963) is a mechanism to
uniquely identify RFID tags and is not the unique RTI identifier defined in this International Standard.
RTI or RPI tagging provides unique identification of RTIs or RPIs. The minimum data elements required
for unique identification are an enterprise identifier/company identification number (CIN) and a serial
number (SN) that is unique within that enterprise identifier.
This International Standard uses the following identification mechanisms for unique RTI or RPI
identification:
— unique identifier for RTIs (ISO/IEC 15459-5;
— global returnable asset identifier (GRAI).
5.2.2 International unique identification of RTIs or RPIs
The unique identifier of ISO/IEC 15459 provides identification schemes for various layers of the supply
chain, from layer 1 (products) up to layer 4 (returnable transport items). The unique identification of
RTIs or RPIs shall use ISO/IEC 15459-5. Unique identification is provided by three components:
a) issuing agency code (IAC),
b) company identification number (CIN),
c) serial number (SN),
preceded by an AFI and Data Identifier (DI). The AFI code assignments table in ISO/IEC 15961-3, Data
Constructs Register and shown below in Table 1 permits identification of the supply chain layer, i.e.
product = 0xA1, transport unit = 0xA2 returnable transport item = 0xA3, and product package = 0xA5.
,
Table 1 — 1736x AFI Assignments
AFI Assigned organization or function
0xA1 ISO 17367 product tagging
0xA2 ISO 17365 transport unit
0xA3 ISO 17364 returnable transport item or returnable packaging item
0xA4 ISO 17367 product tagging, containing hazardous materials
0xA5 ISO 17366 product packaging
0xA6 ISO 17366 product packaging, containing hazardous materials
0xA7 ISO 17365 transport unit, containing hazardous materials
0xA8 ISO 17364 returnable transport item or returnable packaging item, containing hazardous materials
0xA9 ISO 17363 freight containers
0xAA ISO 17363 freight containers, containing hazardous materials
EPC does not use AFIs; consequently, there are no AFIs used for RTIs employed in retail applications
using EPC. AFI 0xA3 may be used for RTIs intended solely for commodities other than consumer goods.
Annex B provides an in-depth discussion of the ISO approach to encoding.
To define its class (in the ISO/IEC 15459 sense), the unique identifier shall have an associated class
identifier, identified with the Data Identifier “25B”. Clause 7 addresses data content for a unique
identifier for returnable transport items. A unique identifier of returnable transport items should be no
more than 35 alphanumeric characters in length, excluding the Data Identifier (an3+an.35). See Table 2.
With mutual agreement of the trading partners this length may be extended and shall be no more than
50 characters (an3+an.50). A unique identifier of returnable packaging items (55B) can be up to 50
alphanumeric characters in length, excluding the Data Identifier (an3+an.50). See Table 3.
NOTE In view of current and future food safety legislation, differentiation between food and non-food applications
could be beneficial, if not necessary. In particular, the risk analysis of cross-contamination would be addressed.
Table 2 — ISO RTI Ull element string
Format of the license plate
Data Identifier IAC, company identification number (CIN), serial number
25B N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N . . . N
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 35
8 © ISO 2013 – All rights reserved

Table 3 — ISO RPI Ull element string
Format of the license plate
Data Identifier IAC, company identification number (CIN), serial number
55B N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N . . . N
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 35
5.2.3 Global returnable asset identifier (GRAI)
The global returnable asset identifier (GRAI) is a unique item identifier (UII) capable of providing unique
item identification of RTIs.
The GRAI, as shown in Table 4, consists of the following information elements:
The Company Prefix, assigned by GS1 to a managing entity. The Company Prefix is the same as the
Company Prefix digits within a GS1 GRAI decimal code.
The Asset Type, assigned by the managing entity to a particular class of asset.
— The Serial Number assigned by the managing entity to an individual object. The EPC
representation is only capable of representing a subset of Serial Numbers allowed in the GS1
General Specifications. Specifically, only those Serial Numbers consisting of one or more digits,
with no leading zeros, are permitted.
Table 4 — GRAI element string
Format of the element string
Application Identifier Global returnable asset identifier Serial Number
GS1 Company Prefix / Asset Type Check digit
8003 0 N N N N N N N N N N N N N X variable X
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 1 16
To define its class the unique item identifier shall have an associated class identifier, which is the
Application Identifier 8003. Clause 7 addresses data content for a GRAI.
5.3 Other identification requirements
This International Standard does not supersede or replace any applicable safety or regulatory marking
or labelling requirements.
This International Standard is meant to satisfy the minimum RTI or RPI identification requirements of
numerous applications and industry groups. As such, its applicability is to a wide range of industries,
each of which may have specific implementation guidelines for this International Standard. This
International Standard is to be applied in addition to any other mandated labelling requirements.
6 Differentiation within this layer
6.1 The layer represented by RTIs and RPIs is characterized by the following unique aspects.
— The RTI/RPI may be used more than once.
— The same RTI/RPI can be used by different users and/or for different or multiple shipments at
different moments.
The content of the RTI/RPI may consist of tagged (packed) products and/or non-tagged (packed)
products.
— The RTI/RPI has a value of its own, not directly and necessarily derived from the product that it contains.
— The possibility to have selective access to the data elements stored and/or written into the RTI/RPI
RF tag is required.
— The physical handling of the RTI/RPI includes specific steps, such as cleaning, storage, repair,
maintenance and transport.
A typical RTI/RPI pool system can be described as follows:
a) Manufacturer produces product.
b) Primary packing is added; this can also be the RTI/RPI, for instance in the case of drums and bags
for concentrated juices, water or beer.
c) Packed products are packed in RTIs (multiple and different products can be included in one RTI).
Small RTIs (crates, trays, boxes, barrels) are stored on large RTIs (pallet and/or roll container).
Possibly protected/secured/covered by RPIs.
d) RTIs are placed in transport vehicle (truck, boat, train, aeroplane) for direct transport to end user
(mostly industrial) or regrouping in distribution centre (retail). Possibly protected/secured/
covered by RPIs.
e) RTIs/RPIs are redirected and can be (partially) emptied and refilled at distribution centre.
f) RTIs/RPIs are unloaded and emptied at end-user site or retail outlet.
g) Empty RTIs/RPIs are stored (nested, stacked) and collected by the (pool) owner or shipped back to
the manufacturer of the packed product.
h) Empty RTIs/RPIs are cleaned, stored, repaired and reprogrammed for new shipment of (packed)
products.
6.2 The relevant functions in RTI/RPI management and logistics are RTI/RPI supplier, dispatcher,
receiver and service providers:
RTI/RPI suppliers own the RTI/RPI, control an RTI/RPI pool and make them available for use by
dispatchers (RTI/RPI supplier and pool operator are used as synonymous terms).
— Dispatchers use RTIs/RPIs in the distribution of their goods. Dispatchers fill empty RTIs/RPIs with
goods and hand over filled RTI/RPI to receivers. Dispatchers can be fillers, brand manufacturers,
distribution centres, consolidation points, etc.
— Receivers receive RTIs/RPIs from dispatchers and make these items available for collection by
service providers. Receivers can be retailers, distribution centres, consolidation points, etc.
— Service providers collect RTI/RPI from receiver and are responsible, in the case of items subject to
a deposit, for refunding this deposit, and make the sorted RTI/RPI available to RTI/RPI suppliers
or dispatchers.
6.3 A company can fulfil more than one of these functions, for example:
— a beverage producer can use his own crates for bottles; in this case the producer acts as an RTI/RPI
supplier and a dispatcher;
— a retail distribution centre (RDC) sends received units to its outlets; in this case the RDC acts as a
receiver as well as a dispatcher;
— an RDC can sort and collect empty crates after use; in this case the RDC acts as a receiver and a
service provider;
— a pool operator collects and sorts empty crates; in this case the pool operator acts as an RTI/RPI
supplier and a service provider.
10 © ISO 2013 – All rights reserved

6.4 Business processes such as those described below are illustrative of the applications envisioned by
this International Standard.
— Receipt: receiving goods/empty or filled RTI/RPI/unit loads for further use, e.g. transhipment,
storage, selling, recording of data, collecting, sorting or reconditioning.
— Unloading: physical movement of unit loads out of a means of transport.
— Identification: systematic determination and registration (including measuring) of objects following
this International Standard for numbering systems in order to distinguish them from each
...