ReadEPC™: Why RFID Verification Matters & How It Protects Your Supply Chain

In today’s fast-moving retail and logistics environment, accurate product identification isn’t just a nice-to-have — it’s a compliance requirement and operational necessity. With mandates like Walmart’s RFID requirement for EPC tags, manufacturers and suppliers must ensure every Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) tag they ship is properly encoded and verified. That’s where ReadEPC™ comes in — providing reliable, GS1-compliant RFID tag verification that protects inventory accuracy, reduces errors, and safeguards your supply chain.

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What Is RFID Verification?

At its core, RFID verification is the process of reading and confirming that an RFID tag’s encoded information is correct, valid, and usable for downstream systems. Unlike simple barcode scanning, RFID works by wirelessly communicating with a tiny chip embedded in a product label. That chip carries an Electronic Product Code (EPC) — a globally unique identifier that links the physical item to your digital system.

Verification confirms that:

• The tag contains the correct EPC value

• It was properly encoded according to standards (e.g., SGTIN-96)

• The encoding matches your UPC/barcode or internal product record

Without this step, bad tags — duplicates, miswrites, or unreadable units — can propagate downstream, causing inventory mismatches, chargebacks, and compliance violations.

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Why Verification Is Essential

Companies adopt RFID for accuracy, speed, and automation — but those benefits only materialize when the tags themselves are trustworthy.

Key benefits of RFID verification include:

• Error Reduction & Compliance: Automates validation of tag data, avoiding mis-encodings and supporting mandates like Walmart’s EPC requirement

• Inventory Confidence: Verified EPC data ensures every scan reflects the correct product

• Supply Chain Transparency: Reliable encoding enables seamless traceability from manufacturing through distribution

• Operational Efficiency: Automated verification reduces manual audits and costly mis-shipments

These advantages are central to modern item verification systems that integrate RFID data with ERP and WMS platforms, ensuring products are not only tracked — but verifiably tracked throughout their lifecycle.

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Introducing ReadEPC™

Microcom’s ReadEPC™ system is designed specifically for practical, real-world RFID verification:

How It Works

Read RFID Tags Wirelessly
Connect a desktop UHF RFID reader to your PC.

Verify Tag Data in Real Time
The ReadEPC™ application reads the tag’s EPC and cross-references it with expected encoding, displaying results instantly — including product details and a visual preview.

Match to UPC Barcode
ReadEPC™ ties RFID data back to your product UPC, allowing immediate confirmation that encoded data matches the physical item.

This built-in verification is especially valuable for businesses preparing products for retail distribution, where every tag must be not only encoded, but proven valid.

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Real-World Value in Your Workflow

Imagine packing thousands of units for shipment, each requiring an RFID tag that:

• Matches internal SKU data

• Is encoded to GS1 standards

• Will be recognized by compliant retail and warehouse systems

Without verification, even a small percentage of bad tags can lead to:

• Inventory discrepancies

• Delayed shipments

• Costly recall cycles

• Operational bottlenecks

ReadEPC™ ensures that nothing leaves your facility without being verified first. It acts as the safeguard between RFID encoding and real-world performance.

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Verification vs. Simple Tag Reads

It’s important to distinguish two RFID actions:

ReadEPC™ combines both — meaning it does more than simply detect a tag; it validates accuracy and conformance.

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Why This Matters for Retail Mandates

Mandates like Walmart’s require more than just applying RFID tags — they demand properly encoded EPC data that meets GS1 standards.

Without verification:

• Duplicate or mis-encoded tags may go unnoticed

• Poor quality tags can slip through

• Downstream systems may reject inventory

ReadEPC™ provides confidence and proof that labels meet requirements before products ever leave your doors.

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Final Thoughts

In today’s competitive supply chain landscape, RFID isn’t just about having tags — it’s about trusting the data those tags contain. With ReadEPC™, you gain an easy-to-deploy RFID verification system that:

• Ensures compliance

• Protects product data

• Improves operational accuracy

• Enhances supply chain visibility

If you’re serious about RFID compliance and want verification that integrates seamlessly with your print and encode processes, ReadEPC™ bridges the gap between RFID deployment and verified performance.