You have just won a government contract but you’re not sure if you have a requirement to mark the assets that you will be shipping to the government with an IUID label or plate. You call the contracting office for guidance and all they tell you is to look at your contract. What should you be looking for that would tell you that there is a marking requirement for IUID?

IUID Marking Requirements

There are two key identifiers that you should be looking for. The first is MIL STD 130 which is the standard for the marking and identification of government property. The other identifier is the DFARS clause 252.211-7003 for Item Unique Identification commonly referred to as IUID.  If you see in your contract either of these identifiers you are now required to mark each asset with an IUID label or plate. By following the IUID requirement and marking your assets with a fully compliant IUID label or plate will allow your shipment to be received in by the government without delay.

Which items need an IUID label?

Once you have identified that you have a marking requirement how do you know which items need to be marked with an IUID label?  Probably the most familiar requirement is to mark any item with an acquisition cost of $5,000 or more but there are other requirements for marking an asset that need to be considered. Is the item serially managed, deemed mission critical or controlled inventory? Has the contracting officer identified specific items in the contract that require an IUID? If the item is under $5,000 but falls under one of these categories then they also need to be marked. On the GFP (Government Furnished Product) side of the contract, the $5,000 threshold is eliminated as all GFP items need to be marked. The goal here is to be able to fulfill your awarded contract by shipping the assets to the government so that they can receive them into their inventory while meeting all of your contract requirements. This should also lead to a timely payment of your  invoice.  Last but certainly not least, the government will also be more likely to award future contracts to vendors who follow the IUID policy since they will not have to worry about deficiencies in receiving future shipments.

Make sure that your organization is fully compliant from the beginning and that you are properly marking and labeling all of the assets with an appropriate IUID label before you ship them to the government. To learn more about IUID labels that will keep you audit-free watch our recent on-demand webinar here. The presenters are A2B Tracking’s President & CEO Peter Collins and Dan Faria, A2B Tracking’s IUID and RFID label specialist. This free webinar will outline the information that you need to include, the advantages of different types of materials and marking methods for your label, as well how to register your items and stay fully compliant so that you can pass the inevitable DCMA audit. Watch the discussion here.

This article was written by Dan Faria, A2B Tracking’s IUID and RFID Label Expert. Email your IUID label questions to dfaria@a2btracking.com