February 23, 2022 – Pittsburgh, PA – AIM North America (AIM NA) has selected winners for their annual awards, including ‘Organization of the Year’, ‘AIT in Government’ and this year there was a two-way tie for the title of ‘Professional of the Year.’ AIM NA extends a huge congratulations to all those who were nominated for this recognition and celebrates those who were crowned victors.  The awards were presented during a virtual ceremony which can be viewed here.  
 
The ‘Professional of the Year Award’ recognizes individuals who demonstrate both innovative and exceptional contributions to enhance the development of the automatic identification industry through work as either a contributor, collaborator, or a mentor. As noted above, there was a two-way tie. The awardees are Gena Morgan and Chris Brown.
 
Gena Morgan is GS1 US’s Vice President of Standards. Mrs. Morgan led the interoperability food traceability pilots that moved the industry to an interoperable supply chain, using GS1 standards for identification and EPCIS for event data sharing. She has more than 25 years of demonstrated history of working with supply chain technology and standards in CPG, Food Service, Pharma, and Apparel sectors.
 
Chris Brown has more than 20 years industry experience. Mr. Brown is currently the RFID Subject Matter Expert for TSC Printronix Auto ID where he monitors the physical requirements needed for RFID printers to work with various existing and emerging tag constructions.  Chris is an active member of AIM and the RAIN Alliance, participating in multiple workgroups covering topics such as cannabis, tires, pharmaceutical, healthcare, aviation, and tag data formatting.
 
The ‘AIT in Government Award’ is presented to an individual, committee, group, or organization from the government sector that have championed the successful use of AIT. The award was granted to Heather Buonomo, Director of Environment Health for the County of San Diego, for the impact she’s made in food supply chain safety. Ms. Buonomo’s efforts resulted in the passage of California Bill AB-3336; development of food delivery platforms standards to ensure accurate business information is shared. She also chairs the California Retail Food Safety Coalition focused on providing food safety in the retail space.
 
The ‘Organization of the Year Award’ is delivered to any group that continues to provide a level of outstanding contributions and service to help further industry growth and relations. TEKLYNX International is intentional about their people, processes, and products ensuring all they do aligns with their global mission to help the supply chain and manufacturers work better. They contribute to the growth of the AIDC industry through relationship building and helping companies barcode better.

“Congratulations to the award winners on their extraordinary accomplishments,” said Mary Lou Bosco, CEO of AIM North America. “We are proud to recognize these leaders for their innovation and contributions to defining today’s technology standards and empowering tomorrow’s solutions.”

For more information, biography, or photos, contact AIM NA's headquarters by email or call +1.724.742.4473.
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For additional information about AIM North America and to inquire about membership, please click here.

AIM North America UDI Work Group submits comments to  the Food and Drug Administration regarding Select Updates for Unique Device Identification: Policy Regarding Global Unique Device Identification Database Requirements for Certain Devices. The Group's comments echo those submitted by the Association for Health Care Resource & Materials Management (AHRMM), Learning UDI Community (LUC). 

Read the Work Group's comments here. 
The Work Group also recently published a paper to assist organizations in understanding how AIDC technologies and standards are being used to ensure traceability for all lines of devices.

New appointees will enhance the board’s focus on standards, interoperability, and innovation.

​August 9, 2021 – Pittsburgh, PA – The membership of AIM North America (AIM NA), the premier alliance for the automated data capture technologies industry, including barcode, RFID, IoT, NFC, and RTLS, elects three new industry leaders to the Board of Directors; as well as appoints a new Chairperson.

​Jeanne Duckett – Jeanne has been appointed Board Chairperson. In this role she will serve a two-year term for AIM NA. When she is not devoting time to AIM, she is serving Avery Dennison as their Technology Development and Printer Research Manager, where she handles various RFID, networking, and advanced technology initiatives. Jeanne is an experienced Engineering Professional with a focus in Automatic Identification, where she also holds several patents for her ideas.
 
Raghu Bala – Raghu will serve the AIM North America Board for a three-year term. He founded NetObjex and was responsible for the nationwide rollout of its IoT platform and sales strategy. Raghu has more than 30 years experience being a change agent for digital transformation, blockchain, and AI at Fortune 500 organizations. He also serves as an instructor of online MIT Sloan courses in Artificial Intelligence, and Blockchain on the GetSmarter platform.
 
Guilda Javaheri – Guilda is newly elected to the AIM NA Board of Directors and is set to hold a three-year term. At Golden State Foods, she guides overall strategy in cognitive technologies, including artificial intelligence, blockchain, digital platforms, and data-driven solutions. As GSF’s Chief Technology Officer, she is responsible for leading and delivering end-to-end supply chain solutions to quick service restaurants, retail, and convenience stores.
 
Roberto Sandre – Roberto is another newly elected official on AIM NA’s Board and will hold a two-year term. His role at Wiliot is leading the product definition and roadmap for their Sensing as a Service platform enabled by Bluetooth® stickers. Roberto held engineering and management roles throughout his career, with special focus on IoT devices in the last ten years.
 
“I am extremely honored and excited to take on the role of Chairperson for this hard-working and results driven organization. Debangana Mukherjee served as Chairperson of this Board with the utmost integrity, and I intend to pick up where she left off alongside a group of professionals, who have a wealth of knowledge and expertise working throughout this great industry,” said Jeanne Duckett, Chairperson, AIM North America Board of Directors.
 
Mary Lou Bosco, COO, AIM North America shared, “With the addition of these highly respected new board members, we are committed to continuing the rewarding work of promoting AIM North America as the premier alliance and unbiased resource for networking, education, advocacy, and standards for the automated data capture technologies industry.”
 
The current board also includes executives from Honeywell, Digimarc, CDO Technologies, and Aware Innovations.
 
For more information including bios or headshots, contact AIM North America.

Dedicated to developing interoperable technical guidance and standards.
 
June 23, 2021 – Pittsburgh, PA – AIM North America (AIM NA), the premier alliance for the automated data capture technologies industry, including barcode, RFID, IoT, NFC, and RTLS, submits comments on the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) request for commentary Supply Chains for the Production of Agricultural Commodities and Food Products.
 
The call for comments came after a Presidential Executive Order (EO) on “Americas Supply Chains” which directed several agencies to secure and strengthen America’s supply Chains. The USDA sought comments on a department-wide effort to improve and reimagine the supply chains for the production, processing and distribution of agricultural commodities and food products. 
 
AIM NA’s comments address one of the most significant challenges to achieving actionable and reliable food supply chain information that drives resilience and transparency; the absence of a clearly defined minimally viable product data set of critical tracking events and key data elements. AIM NA believes clear examples of what and how information is shared using automatic identification and data capture technologies will help eliminate errors and drive adoption.
 
“AIM NA supports USDA’s focus on resilient, diverse, and secure supply chains to help ensure U.S. economic prosperity and national security,” stated Jeanne Duckett, who serves as the AIM NA Board and Food Supply Chain work group Chair, along with her role at Avery Dennison in Transparency Initiative Development. “The Executive Order (EO) looks to enhance the accessibility, availability, and quality of critical goods and materials underlying agricultural and food product supply chains.”
 
AIM NA’s comments noted the following key points:

• Capacities of the US including food processing and safe distribution.
• Gaps in domestic manufacturing capabilities.
• Address risks posed by climate change and climate benefit.
• Address the visibility of natural, market, economic, geopolitical, human-rights risks.
• Develop domestic supplies workforce capabilities and strengthen market transparency.
• Review on the Government-wide effort to strengthen supply chains,

 
 Read our final comments and contact AIM NA with any questions. 

Dedicated to developing interoperable technical guidance and ISO standards.
 
February 23, 2021 – Pittsburgh, PA – AIM North America (AIM NA), the premier alliance for the automated data capture technologies industry, including barcode, RFID, IoT, NFC, and RTLS, submits comments on the FDA’s Requirements for Additional Traceability Records for Certain Foods.
 
These comments stem from the increasingly globalized, complex supply chains that have resulted in less visibility into food sourcing for customers and regulators.  These trends are driving the need for digital transformation through the adoption of technology to bring automation, integrity, and data management solutions to supply chain traceability. 
 
“Digital technology can enhance the ability to identify, respond to, and prevent food safety issues such as outbreaks,” stated Jeanne Duckett, who serves as the AIM NA Food Supply Chain work group Chair, along with her role at Avery Dennison in Transparency Initiative Development. “Given recent food incidents, the use of digital technology has become even more needed, as it can help to make full product data accessible throughout every stage of the food supply chain in the event of a recall” Duckett continued.
 
The proposed rule, “Requirements for Additional Traceability Records for Certain Foods” (Food Traceability Proposed Rule) is a key component of the FDA’s New Era of Smarter Food Safety Blueprint and would implement Section 204(d) of the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA).
This is excellent step on the part of the FDA to quickly implement source traceability, trace forward and implementing targeted recalls.
 
AIM NA’s comments noted the following key points:

1. Leverage on the work that FDA has already done with other consensus-based standards groups such UDI and DSCSA.
2. Use Globally Unique Identifier contained in a Data Carrier (i.e., 2D Barcode, RFID, NFC, digital watermark, etc.) attached to item and captured automatically at defined points.
3. Focus on permissioned access to data throughout the supply chain to end consumers.
4. Terms –importance of aligning on definitions for commonly used terms to promote the common understanding. 
5. Food Traceability List clarification
6. Clearly defining product recall. 

“AIM NA and our members are committed to advancing food safety utilizing new and emerging AIDC technologies that enable end-to-end traceability for the safest possible food supply chain,” shared Debangana Mukherjee, AIM North America Chair and Director of Business Development & Sales at CISC Semiconductor.
  
Read our final comments and contact AIM NA with any questions. 

AIM North America member experts share expertise as a resource to direct and guide organizations of asset tracking technologies for vaccine distribution traceability.
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February 22, 2021 – Pittsburgh, PA – The United States and other countries around the world are undertaking one of the largest, if not the largest, logistics endeavors in history. In the US alone, planning for the distribution of more than 300 million COVID-19 vaccine doses is currently underway. The implementation of asset tracking and product authentication AIDC (Automatic Identification Data Capture) technologies including barcode, RFID, IoT, RAIN, RTLS, NFC, provide increased quality control, visibility, and accuracy of the vaccine at all points along the supply chain, from manufacturer to patient.
 
Active battery powered and passive battery-less AIDC technologies enable temperature, location and damaging shock or vibration information to be monitored by vendors in real-time.  AIM North America (NA) has announced that they provide expertise in advising organizations on the best way to ensure the authenticity and traceability of all pharmaceutical products.
 
The US FDA Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) seeks to protect consumers from exposure to drugs that may be counterfeit, stolen, contaminated or otherwise compromised and potentially harmful. Serialized barcodes serve as a foundation for traceability within the channel.  AIDC technology connects the multi-faceted elements or information furthering the validation and serves as a building block for interoperability.  In combination these platforms provide full traceability of each transaction and change of ownership throughout the lifespan of the product, ensuring its safe use to the patient.
 
 “As a manufacturer of pressure sensitive materials used in labeling and packaging pharmaceuticals, we understand the necessity for tracking and tracing product from the manufacturer, through the supply chain, and to administering of the drug to the patient.  The work of the FDA Drug Supply Chain is critically important, and AIM NA and its members can provide the industry with knowledge, structure and guidance,” stated Lori Bitar, Chair, AIM NA Pharmaceutical Work Group and Market Development Manager, Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Labeling at FLEXcon.
 
AIM North America Chair and Director Business Development & Sales at CISC Semiconductor, Debangana Mukherjee, added “AIM North America members are poised to provide insight and expertise to assist the pharmaceutical industry in addressing the challenges they face until DSCSA 2023.” She continued, “Relying on global, interoperable consensus-based standards is foundational for improving processes and efficiencies within the supply chain.”
 
For more information on how you can start the conversation today, be sure to fill out our form and read through the AIM NA Digital Supply Chain Whitepaper.  

           AIM NA is taking the time to honor the winners of several of their most highly recognized awards
​                                                                              View the virtual ceremony here. 

November 18, 2020 – Pittsburgh, PA – AIM North America (AIM NA) has selected winners for their annual awards, including ‘Professional of the Year’, ‘AIT in Government’ and this year there was a two-way tie for the title of ‘Organization of the Year.’ AIM NA extends a huge congratulations to all those who were nominated for this recognition and celebrates those who were crowned victors. 
 
The ‘Professional of the Year Award’ is awarded to an individual who demonstrates both innovative and exceptional contributions to enhance the development of the automatic identification industry through work as either a contributor, collaborator, or a mentor. This year that title was received by Sprague Ackley, Digimarc’s Principal R&D Engineer. Mr. Ackley has exhibited great dedication to the AIDC industry and contributes his time to the barcode technology committees of ISO, AIM, and GS1, supporting application standards development groups in Automotive, Retail, Healthcare, Electronic, and even the Materials Handling realms. 

“We are pleased to welcome this talented group of industry experts who will add to the strength of our board, “said Debangana Mukherjee, Chair, AIM North America Board of Directors and Business Development Director, CISC Semiconductor. “They bring decades of leadership in key areas, such as strategy implementation, technology development, and market growth.”
 
As the unbiased resource for networking, education, advocacy, and standards, AIM North America members grow their business by fostering the effective use and adoption of Automatic Identification and Data Capture (AIDC) solutions in all vertical markets.

The current board also includes executives from Aware Innovations, CDO Technologies, Danzz Consulting, and Technologies ROI. 
 
For more information including bios or headshots, contact AIM North America. 

​The FDA has released the long awaited strategic blueprint for the New Era of Smarter Food Safety Initiative, an initiative designed to promote industry collaboration and adoption of technology and other modern tools to create a digital, traceable and smarter food system by 2021. The FDA strategic initiative was launched in 2019 and focuses on four major pillars:

• Tech-Enabled Traceability and Foodborne Outbreak Response
• Smarter Tools and Approaches for Prevention
• Adapting to New Business Models and Retail Food Safety Modernization
• Food Safety Culture

 
The new blueprint elaborates on the four core elements that will be driving the initiative, in addition to stating the values and principles the FDA aims to advance through their work. Building on the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), which focuses on preventing food-borne illnesses rather than purely responding by tracing back from foodborne outbreaks.  In the months since the launch of this new initiative, there has been a public meeting, as well as an opportunity for public comment on the FDA’s design and approach.
 
AIM North America supports these efforts to create a safer, digital, and traceable food supply chain. The use of asset tracking technologies such as barcodes, RFID, RTLS, and IoT, enable traceability systems to identify contaminated foods, trace them to their origin, and to implement a strategic recall both addressing the issue and minimizing the supply chain impact.  Enabling the digital food supply chain will both boost the confidence of the consumer while reducing supply chain costs.
 
“Implementation of asset tracking technologies can harmonize the food supply chain visibility from farm to table,” stated Mary Lou Bosco, COO AIM North America. “The retail industry has been utilizing these technologies for decades to reduce waste, provide accurate inventory management, and maximize efficiencies.”
 
AIM North America also submitted comments to the FDA General Principles for Food Standards Modernization which would establish a set of general principles for food standards for FDA to use when considering whether to establish, revise, or eliminate a food standard. Read AIM NA’s submitted comments here.
 
For more information on how you can get involved, fill out our form or email AIM NA.