MILITARYSECRETS DECODED:

How You Can Trackand

Locate Equipment and AssetsLike the Military

TABLE OF CONTENTSIntroduction 2

Auto ID Systems – Choosing Barcode, RFID, or Both 3

Total Accountability 4

Turnkey Asset Tracking Systems 6

Track and Trace 8

About A2B 9

1

2

INTRODUCTIONOver the past 10 years, the US military has undergone a major transformation

in asset tracking and supply chain visibility. It’s one of the most complex

supply chains in the world, with hundreds of millions of assets being tracked

and managed every day.

One of the main reasons that the military is so effective at managing their

equipment and assets is because they’re under strict rules and regulations.

Failure to comply with increasingly stringent processes and quality standards

isn’t an option.

At A2B, we’ve seen both large and small businesses lose track of their most

valuable assets and, as a result, lose time and money because of duplicate

purchases, lost or stolen equipment, and failed audits. With our state-of-the-art

technology, you can manage your assets with military precision and efficiency.

In this eBook, we’ll discuss how your business can decode military secrets

by understanding barcode and RFID technology, total accountability, turnkey

asset tracking systems, and tracking and tracing your items at the drop of a hat.

3

AUTO ID SYSTEMS – CHOOSING BARCODE, RFID, OR BOTHNo matter where you fall on the scale, from production to disposition, it’s

important to ensure item readiness for supply, usability, and inventory audits.

RFID and barcode technology has advanced to the point where just about

anything can be tracked, regardless of the size, shape, or type of asset.

Incorporating an automatic ID system into your business operations will

make your company more efficient and increase your mission readiness and

profitability by improving your operational performance and providing you with

necessary data that will help you make better decisions across your enterprise.

Barcode, RFID, and turnkey asset tracking

systems can manage inventory and track

serialized and non-serialized items and

assets with military precision using the

same systems the U.S. military and the U.S.

Department of Defense use to manage their

warehouses and supply chains and keep

track of supplies and equipment in support

of deployed U.S. troops. Now you can put

A2B expertise to work at your company

and effectively leverage barcode and RFID

technology to identify, mark, track, and trace

assets, parts and equipment through every

step of your operation from inventory to movement along the supply chain.

A2B has a long history of helping the military stay in compliance and keep

track of its assets on and off the battlefield. A2B technology helps the military

to track and manage spare parts and other critical equipment and supplies

in real time, allowing the military to deliver materials to the battlefield at the

right time and place. The military also uses RFID technology to keep supplies

secure by placing tags on equipment and supplies to alert authorities if an

unauthorized person has opened or moved an item. A2B technology also helps

businesses keep track of, manage, and inventory all their assets.

4

A2B has worked with every branch of the U.S.

military, as well as defense and commercial

enterprises, to deliver barcode and RFID

technology that identifies and tracks critical

items and assets throughout their life cycles.

A2B’s barcode and RFID technology enables

businesses like yours to precisely manage

production, inventory, and supply chain

logistics that are essential to their long-term

competitiveness and preparedness.

And it’s not just the military that uses

barcode and RFID technology to keep track

of equipment, supplies, and inventory. State and federal governments,

education and research institutions, museums, corporations, healthcare,

transportation, and telecommunications all use A2B technology to keep

control over, move, track, and manage their supplies, inventory, and

equipment.

Now you can put A2B’s state-of-the-art technology to work at your company,

allowing you to minimize loss, avoid duplicate purchases, and locate items

easily. A2B helps the military stay in compliance and keep track of their

assets. A2B can help your company track and manage your assets, which

will lead to increased efficiency, transparency, and profitability across your

enterprise.

Having constant visibility into your asset data will help you capture and

manage assets from point A to point B. If you’re responsible for your

operation’s assets, there’s nothing more important than knowing what you

have, where it is, and how to access and locate it. This means capturing

your asset data accurately from the beginning and effectively managing

your assets from the time they enter your facility to the time they leave your

facility—and even when they’re traveling to their next location. In addition

TOTAL ACCOUNTABILITY

5

to tracking your asset’s location, barcode and RFID technology allows you

to follow their value, their movements, and their condition. Having this type

of visibility over your assets will make your company more efficient and

increase your profitability.

Imagine a customer calling to find out when the widget they ordered will

be delivered. With barcode and RFID technology, you can tell them with

confidence their widget’s value, location, and condition, along with the day

and time when they’ll be receiving their widget. Think about how this total

accountability will positively affect your mission success and bottom line.

A2B can help track location and movement, access real-time data, perform

inventory quickly, and collaborate across your enterprise.

At A2B, we’re experts at tracking assets and inventory in highly regulated

environments, which demand accuracy and precision. For instance, A2B

provides the US military the technology to leverage the Item Unique

Identification (IUID) standard which involves the use of 2D barcode for

tracking assets. You can put A2B’s expertise helping the military to keep

track of its assets to work at your company, helping your business to keep

track of and manage all of your assets in a similar precise fashion. A2B

Tracking’s Asset Management solutions puts the power of data management

in your hands, giving you real-time access to your assets and allowing you

to make better business decisions, expedite planning, and avoid duplicate

purchases and costly shipping mistakes. We start with automated solutions

for data capture, then manage that data from the time the item enters your

facility to the moment it leaves and as it moves throughout the supply

chain, using comprehensive cloud-based tracking software, labels, industrial

hardware, mobile applications, and a broad range of services. With A2B

Tracking’s Asset Management you can:

> Track movements of your asset from the moment it arrives at your

facility to the end of its life cycle.

> Access data on your assets anytime and from anywhere with

cloud-based tracking software.

> Inventory your assets from anywhere, quickly and accurately.

> Collaborate with departments across your enterprise, improving

performance and efficiency.

6

The supply chain is getting increasingly complicated and, if you’re moving

supplies around the globe, your company is becoming more vulnerable

to large and small supply chain disruptions. Businesses need to develop

strategies for managing supply chain disruptions. A2B helps you track

your assets through an increasingly complex supply chain by allowing

you to effectively follow the movement of your items and trace their path,

permitting you to minimize theft, diversion, and loss. This type of real-time

tracking also eliminates duplication of inventory, and ensures accountability

throughout your enterprise. You’ll see savings in labor and time because you

can track your inventory faster and more accurately. You’ll be able to track

items that in the past have been hard to reach and track manually. Whether

your assets are stationary, moving around your facility, being transported

between buildings, or moving across the supply chain by train, boat, or truck,

you’ll know what you have, where it is, and how to locate and access it.

With A2B, we can provide you with a turnkey system that has all the

components you need for an end-to-end, in-house barcode or RFID solution,

including:

> Scanners and Mobile Handheld Computers

> Software to Create Bar Codes and RFID Tags, Manage Data,

and Track Assets and Items

> WAWF and IUID Registry Submission (If You’re the US Military or

a Supplier to the U.S. Military)

> Thermal Transfer and RFID Printers and Laser Engravers

> 2D Data Matrix Verifiers

> Label and Plate Materials

A turnkey asset tracking system from A2B can be tailored to your company’s

exact requirements and will deliver the capacity you need to track your

assets. A2B looks at your company’s unique business model and asks about

your pain points, then finds affordable solutions to manage your assets.

Our complete solution includes tracking software, asset tags, industrial

hardware, mobile computing applications, and a broad range of professional

TURNKEY ASSET TRACKING SYSTEMS

7

services to sustain the long-term benefits of automated asset identification,

making your business smarter, more efficient, and increasing your profitability and

mission readiness.

Our Item Unique Identification (IUID)

systems provide fully electronic,

paperless auto ID technology that

enables IUID compliance and asset

management across your enterprise,

similar to the technology A2B provides

to the military to help them stay in

compliance and track all their assets.

The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD)

and all defense contractors must

account for all critical DoD assets using

IUID barcode labels and plates. For the

DoD and its contractors, achieving a

consistent approach to IUID compliance is critical to its success. IUID compliance

helps commercial businesses to get paid on time, to meet their contractual

obligations, and allows them to avoid costly errors such as lost or stolen items,

rejected shipments and a failed audit. A2B keeps the military in compliance.

In fact, CIO Review Magazine recently recognized A2B as one of the top-20

companies focused on delivering innovative and cost-effective solutions to the

U.S. Department of Defense, ensuring mission readiness, and helping to close a

critical gap between human and technology resources now and in the future. A2B

is the largest U.S. Department of Defense IUID program partner and a leader in

enterprise-class solutions for identifying, marking, and tracking critical assets in

highly regulated environments.

Put A2B’s turnkey asset tracking technology to

work for your company, and track and manage

your assets with military precision. A2B’s turnkey

system can easily integrate into your existing

workflow using today’s advanced cloud-based

networking technology to provide fast and accurate inventory, reduce your

overhead costs, generate and maintain precise data, and help you make better

management decisions.

8

TRACK AND TRACEWith U.S. military operations located in areas of the world that are less than ideal

on the national security scale, having the ability to track and trace critical assets

is of utmost importance. However, it’s just as important for your business. In this

section, we’ll discuss the importance of tracking your assets during all stages of

the process and how A2B makes it possible to do so.

A2B helps you effectively track and trace your items through a complex supply

chain that’s becoming increasingly vulnerable to large and small supply chain

disruptions. With A2B’s technology, you’ll create a unique identity for each of

your assets that will allow you to track their movement, custody, condition,

value, and create a complete and reliable audit trail. You can locate items by

unit, case, pallet, or container. This will enable precise and efficient asset

movement and recall while ensuring items are authentic and not tampered with,

allowing you to minimize theft, diversion, and loss. It will also prevent counterfeit

products from entering the supply chain. Counterfeit products can erode brand,

undermine security, and deplete your company’s revenues.

Putting your hands on the right assets when you need them will save you time

and money in product recalls and returns, and ensure that you have the materials

and supplies you need, when you need them. A2B technology will allow you to:

> Track your asset’s movement throughout your facility and the

supply chain.

> Expedite recalls and confirm an item’s authenticity.

> Achieve asset transparency and drive organizational accountability

throughout your enterprise.

> Integrate track-and-trace capabilities down to the component level

both on- and off-premises.

Our real-time track and trace capability also prevents duplication of inventory,

creates asset transparency, and ensures accountability throughout your

enterprise. Track and trace capability will save you time and labor because you’ll

be able to track your inventory faster and more accurately regardless of whether

those assets are fixed, moving through your facility, or being transferred to

another location.

9

ABOUT A2BWe help businesses, government agencies, the military, and other

organizations gain total control of their inventories and supply chains

using our proprietary, cloud-based asset tracking and data management

software, which incorporates today’s advanced barcode and Radio

Frequency Identification (RFID) technology. It allows us to provide a precise,

data-centric solution that generates, updates, and leverages unique item

information to better manage assets, optimize their utilization, and save

money. We also facilitate compliance with various industry and military

standards, and integrate automatic identification and data capture (AIDC)

systems seamlessly into enterprise processes and diverse workflows.

A2B offers a range of barcode and RFID tags, readers, barcode labels,

and integrated tracking software to give you visibility into your inventory

and assets. We work with world-class hardware manufacturers to deliver

affordable and reliable integrated solutions that are designed to help you

minimize loss, avoid duplicate purchases, and locate items within the

custody of your department or enterprise.

www.a2btracking.com • (800) 733-7592 • sales@a2btracking.com