Find by Numbers

By January 2007, all Defense suppliers will have to tag pallets and crates with radio frequency identification devices. Logisticians hope RFID will improve the department's ability to manage its $77 billion inventory of things. The Pentagon also is taking steps to identify individual items with numbers. Defense's Unique Identification program is tattooing a variety of goods and components with a bar code that can hold much more information than current designs. Also, the items receive a "globally unique number" that identifies only them, says Rob Leibrandt, deputy program manager for UID.

Global identification numbers are a complementary technology to RFID, he says. Whereas RFID can tell you where an object is or what's in a crate, the UID number tells you what it is, when it was made, who made it and how long it has been in use-information that Leibrandt and his colleagues call "the pedigree." For instance, if a particular series of aircraft engine parts fails, instead of pulling that part out of every aircraft, maintenance crews could check planes that have the part by checking for its UID number.

Defense is applying UID numbers to all items worth more than $5,000. Additionally, Leibrandt says, parts or items important enough to track throughout their lives will get numbers.