Fourth Annual Department of Defense Summit

By HaLeigh Boutin

The fourth annual DoD RFID Summit is right around the corner, and is bringing the latest in Department of Defense RFID policies and mandates. Everyone from DoD suppliers and distributors, to RFID technology vendors should make it out to the Hilton Washington in Washington, D.C., from April 3rd - 4th.

Since the 2004 memorandum was released to establish policy for the use of RFID, the DoD has continued to expand and explore the use of the technology. Thanks to RFID, materials transported to forces in Iraq and Afghanistan have been successfully tracked through the supply chain.

The Principal Assistant Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Logistics and Material Readiness), Alan F. Estevez, will be sponsoring the summit. Estevez says: "This is our official platform to share the latest updates to the DoD RFID Policy and to showcase our ongoing progress implementing RFID in the DoD supply chain." Associated sponsors for the event include EPCglobal and the Material Handling Industry of America.

Focus topics will include:

Implementation plan, a review of the roadmap targeting distribution functions within the Defense Distribution Depots and aerial ports, scheduled implementation timeline including requirements for suppliers based on classes/commodities, locations, and procurement methods, and technical details for RFID compliance.

There will also be a showcase of RFID technology providers including exhibiting companies such as Alien Technologies, Avery Dennison, Nashua Corporation, Psion Teklogix, Motorola, UPM Raflatac, and Zebra, among many others.

Keynote speakers include Lorna Estep, Deputy Director for Supply, Air Force Materiel Command; Richard Cantwell, Vice President, Procter & Gamble; and Mike Rose, Vice President, Industry Adoption of RFID, Johnson & Johnson. Visit www.dodrfidsummit.com for more information on this conference.