Item Unique Identification

Unique Identification Marking, UID marking, Item Unique Identification or IUID, is a part of the compliance process mandated by the United States Department of Defense. It is a permanent marking method used to give equipment a unique ID. Marking is essential for all equipment with an acquisition cost of over $5,000, equipment which is mission essential, controlled inventory, or serially-controlled. UID-marking is a set of data for assets that is globally unique and unambiguous. The technology used to mark an item is 2D Data Matrix ECC 200 Symbol. UID marking can be used to ensure data integrity and data quality throughout an item's lifecycle; it also supports multi-faceted business applications.

As per the memorandum issued by the Department of Defense (DoD), UID-marking is a must for all solicitations issued on or after Jan. 1, 2005. Also the US Department of Defense has made it mandatory for all federal contractors to have UID-marking on their government furnished military and non-military equipment by September 30, 2007. Only after the products have UID-marking containing uniquely identified numbers, they are eligible for IUID Registry.

Tangible items are distinguished from one another by the assignment of a unique identifier in the form of a unique data string and encoded in a bar code placed on the item. An item unique identifier is only assigned to a single item and is never reused. Once assigned to an item, the IUID is never changed even if the item is modified or re-engineered. IUID is similar to social security numbering used to distinguish citizens of the United States from one another.

In the case of a lot or batch of items that are not individually serialized, the entire lot or batch may have a unique identifier assigned. For example, a manufacturer might place a unique IUID physical mark on the exterior of a kit or container that holds a gross quantity of mission critical items. The government would refer to this IUID at the point of acceptance. The entire gross quantity in this case is treated as a single item. In this case, the IUID is no longer useful after the items are separated, and the individual items from the batch or lot are never uniquely identified.

IUID is physically marked on tangible items or assets using a two-dimensional (2D) Data Matrix symbol with the data formatted in accordance with specified standards. The encoded data is identified by the use of data identifiers, application identifiers or text element identifiers. The choice of which identifier to use is based upon normal industry practices of the organization assigning the serialization. The formatted data is called a Unique Item Identifier (UII). The Data Matrix symbol is a machine-readable representation of the UII.

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