Every serialised item the Australian Defence Force manages, from a weapon to a shipping container, needs a permanent, machine-readable identity before it can be tracked, maintained or accounted for. That identity is Unique Identification (UID), and the technology that reads it automatically, at scale, is Automatic Identification Technology (AIT). Hammerstone has spent close to a decade building the ADF’s UID/AIT capability, starting as a delivery partner and growing into the Department’s own prime supplier.
From delivery partner to prime supplier
Hammerstone’s UID/AIT work began in 2017, on the AHQ Codification and Unique Identification Program, delivered as a subcontractor working under Camcode. Between 2017 and 2020, that program remediated codification data and applied UID marking to more than 200,000 assets across 1 Brigade, 3 Brigade, 7 Brigade, 17 Brigade and the Joint Logistics Unit nationally, one of the foundation activities for the ADF’s digital supply chain.
That track record is what led to the next step. From July 2021, Hammerstone became the Department of Defence’s own prime contractor for UID labels, marks and AIT products and services, under Deed of Standing Offer SON3786366, a nation-wide agreement that remains in place today. Hammerstone has also gone beyond supply, contributing directly to Army’s policy updates on DEF(AUST) 1000C for packaging and labelling, working as a subject matter expert embedded in the standard, not just a vendor delivering against it.
The Problem Before UID: a case study from the Australian Army
Before UID and automated data capture were introduced, Army’s inventory management relied heavily on manual data entry, paper-based processes and spreadsheets to record stocktakes, issues and receipts. That created four compounding problems:
- Inaccuracy: transcription errors and inconsistent formats undermined data quality;
- Inefficiency: stocktakes and receipts consumed significant time and manpower;
- Fragmentation: different units and depots used different recording methods, fragmenting data integrity; and
- Compliance risk: inconsistent, delayed entries made it difficult to maintain NATO-standard traceability.
The Military Integrated Logistics Information System (MILIS), Army’s ERP, could only provide value if the underlying data was accurate and standardised, and without a reliable way to uniquely identify and track assets, that data was unreliable by default.
The Solution: Unique Identification (UID and Automated Identification Technology (AIT)
Defence recognised the need for a standardised, automated approach to unique identification to enable a digital supply chain. This need was formalised with the introduction of DEF(AUST) 1000C Part 12, which mandated the use of Automatic Identification Technology (AIT) for Defence packaging and materiel.
Aligned with NATO Standard STANAG 2290, the standard set requirements for uniquely marking and tracking items to ensure total asset visibility.
To address these challenges, Army pursued a two-pronged modernisation effort that combined automated data capture with standards-based unique identification:
Automated Data Capture Units (ADCUs):
Managed under Joint Project 2047, ADCUs were deployed using Wi-Fi access points, mobile devices, and middleware to connect units directly to MILIS. ADCUs enabled: real-time digital capture of stocktaking, receipts, and issues; reduced reliance on paper and spreadsheets; improved tracking of serialised items, with temporary loan visibility and future nesting capability.
UID Marking and Data Verification:
The UID & AIT Project ensured permanent, machine-readable identification for sensitive, controlled, mission-essential, and critical safety items. In practice, this involved: planning brigade-specific rollouts and coordinating directly with units; physically reconciling MILIS records against the actual assets on the ground, identifying discrepancies and remediating the data; tasking survey teams to scope the work and carry out engineering assessments, then designing marking specifications to meet DEF(AUST) 1000C Part 12 and NATO STANAG 2290; and deploying installation teams to apply UID labels, verify they scan correctly, and record each item’s Unique Item Identifier (UII) back into MILIS.
What Hammerstone’s Unique Identification and Automated Identification Technology Delivered for ADF
The combined ADCU and UID programme produced measurable results. Stocktaking became 50 per cent faster, with a 60 per cent reduction in paperwork and fewer personnel required to do it. Receipts and issues processing time fell by 70 per cent, with fewer manual errors and greater auditability. Temporary loan processing was also 70 per cent faster, with improved visibility of entitlements and returns. Systematic verification and UID marking remediated legacy errors in MILIS, turning it into a trusted data source for the first time, and alignment with DEF(AUST) 1000C, STANAG 2290 and MIL-STD-130 ensured the resulting data was interoperable with NATO partners and industry suppliers.
The initial rollout covered Special Operations Command, 3 Brigade, 1 Brigade and 7 Brigade. It was later expanded across the wider Army and Air Force, extending standardised identification and ERP linkage to more than 300,000 items in total (see the accuracy flag above regarding how this figure relates to the separate 200,000-asset AHQ program).
The technology behind the mark
Hammerstone draws on a bench of specialist technology partners rather than a single labelling technology, because no single technology works in every environment Defence operates in:
- UID labels, supplied and applied to DEF(AUST) 1000C and DEFLOGMAN specification, through a long-standing partnership with Camcode
- RuBee (IEEE 1902.1), a magnetic near-field protocol from Visible Assets that works inside metal containers and is safe to use near ordnance and fuel, exactly where standard RFID fails. RuBee is the identification technology at the core of D-JMILS, Hammerstone’s in-transit visibility system for the ADF’s intermodal logistics platforms
This combination makes Hammerstone effectively a single-source provider for Defence’s UID/AIT needs, rather than a single-product vendor, matching the right identification technology to the right environment instead of forcing one technology to do every job.
Built for coalition interoperability, not just compliance
DEF(AUST) 1000C aligns with STANAG 2290, NATO’s standardisation agreement governing how Unique Item Identifiers are constructed and physically marked. That alignment matters because Defence assets don’t stay within Australian systems: they move through coalition logistics chains and need to be identifiable by allied forces using the same data structure.
This is where Hammerstone’s partnership with Camcode Global carries weight beyond the Australian program. Camcode Global has implemented STANAG 2290 and UID data governance for the British Ministry of Defence, the Netherlands Ministry of Defence, and the Canadian Department of National Defence, reconciling physical inventories, cleansing data, and aligning ERP systems with NATO UID frameworks across each. That’s the same standard, and largely the same partner expertise, underpinning the Australian program, which means Australian UID/AIT data is built from the outset to be legible to exactly the coalition partners the ADF operates alongside.
From identity to insight: connecting UID/AIT to SAP, ReadyFleet™ and D-JMILS
A UID label or AIT tag is only valuable once its data reaches the systems that act on it. Hammerstone’s UID/AIT capability connects directly into enterprise and operational systems:
- Asset identity is linked to the Equipment Master in SAP, so maintenance work orders, transaction records and stocktakes all reference the same trusted identifier, rather than each system holding its own, potentially conflicting, version
- Standardised messaging, including Transport Package Updates and SSCCs (Serial Shipping Container Codes), carries that identity through SAP S/4HANA as assets move through the supply chain. Full detail on this integration is on the SAP & Cumulocity Integration page
- ReadyFleet™ ingests AIT data from edge devices to build a unified Logistics Common Operating Picture, matching condition, location and usage data to the correct asset across the fleet
- Condition-Based Maintenance decisions depend on knowing, with certainty, which asset a sensor reading belongs to. UID is what prevents that misattribution
Without accurate identity at the source, every downstream system, from a maintenance dashboard to a Recognised Logistics Picture, is only ever as reliable as the data it was never able to verify.
Part of a broader through-life capability
UID/AIT marking is a foundation activity, but it’s one part of a wider through-life support offering. Hammerstone delivers services across all 12 elements of Integrated Logistics Support (ILS) and Integrated Product Support (IPS), including maintenance planning, sustainment engineering and supply support, work led by General Manager, ILS, Mark Redman. Full detail on that capability is on the Integrated Product Support page.
UID/AIT also underpinned Hammerstone’s work at Project Convergence Capstone 5, where reliable asset identity in containerised, multinational logistics conditions was a prerequisite for the in-transit visibility Australian, US and UK forces relied on in the field.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is AIT different from UID?
UID is the identifier itself, a unique, persistent serial number applied to an asset. AIT is the technology that reads that identifier automatically. Hammerstone’s AIT portfolio spans RuBee, RFID and low-emission Bluetooth, each suited to a different environment, from metallic and ordnance-safe conditions through to standard warehouse tracking.
Why does Hammerstone use more than one AIT technology?
Because no single technology works in every environment Defence operates in. Standard RFID is blocked by metal containers and unsafe near explosives and fuel, which is why RuBee, a magnetic protocol, is used for intermodal and ordnance-related platforms, while RFID and Bluetooth remain the more cost-effective choice for garrison and depot settings.
What did Hammerstone’s ADCU and UID rollout actually achieve for Australian Army?
Measured results included 50 per cent faster stocktaking, a 60 per cent reduction in paperwork, and 70 per cent faster receipts, issues and temporary loan processing, alongside remediated legacy data errors in MILIS and improved interoperability with NATO partners.
What is STANAG 2290 and why does it matter for Australian UID/AIT programs?
STANAG 2290 is NATO’s standard for how Unique Item Identifiers are structured and physically marked. DEF(AUST) 1000C aligns with it, so Australian Defence assets marked under Hammerstone’s program are identifiable within the same data structure used by coalition partners including the UK, the Netherlands and Canada. This matters because Defence assets don’t stay within Australian systems, they move through coalition logistics chains and need to be identifiable by allied forces using the same data structure.
Does UID/AIT marking require replacing existing SAP or ERP systems?
No. UID and AIT data is linked into the existing SAP Equipment Master and enterprise systems, and into platforms like ReadyFleet™, rather than requiring a separate system of record. The identity layer is designed to make existing systems more accurate, not to replace them.
UID and AIT may not generate headlines the way a coalition exercise does, but they’re the layer everything else in digital sustainment depends on. You cannot build in-transit visibility, condition-based maintenance or a trusted Common Operating Picture on top of an asset your systems can’t reliably identify in the first place.
Want to know what a UID/AIT program could look like for your organisation? Talk to us.
External Sources
- Camcode Global — STANAG 2290 Overview, including Camcode Global’s client work for the UK, Netherlands and Canadian Ministries/Departments of Defence
- Department of Defence — DEF(AUST) 1000C Part 12 and Defence Logistics Manual (DEFLOGMAN), Vol 2 Part 5 Chapter 8
Related reading
- UID / AIT — the full product page, including labels, technologies and FAQs
- D-JMILS
- ReadyFleet™
- Integrated Product Support
- SAP & Cumulocity Integration
- Project Convergence Capstone 5 (PC-C5) case study
