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.
Similarly, NATO STANAG 2290 aim is to standardize the Unique Identification (UID) of items using a Unique Item Identifier (UII) for use by NATO Forces. It specifies the standardized structure for the UII and provides guidance for the physical marking and content of a machine-readable Data Matrix symbol applied directly to the item or data plate/label and in a PDF-417 symbol on the first level of packaging.
The IUID in Extended Warehouse Management (EWM) is created for EWM to handle products that have both serial numbers and unique item identifiers (UII) at stock level only (Type C). To use UII in EWM, the IUID must be explicitly activated in the serial number profile.