The scope of this document is limited to resolving cable reel identification problems and the exchange of cable reel data between business trading partners within the telecommunications industry. Purpose The primary purpose of this document is to establish a Cable Reel ID Code as a standard identification scheme for coding cable reels to identify ownership and reel size and to provide a means of uniquely identifying a single cable reel from others bearing the same Owner and Size code. The Cable Reel ID can be utilized by the cable purchaser to track the cable reels from the time they are received and subsequently moved to various transfer points@ including company and customer locations@ until the empty cable reels are returned to the cable provider. Additionally@ the scanned data can be entered into a database allowing a computer system to associate the type and amount of cable on a specific cable reel. The reels may be those owned by the cable provider or the company purchasing the cable. The computer system can track the incoming cable reels and decrement the cable balance on a reel by reel basis as cable cuts are made. If cable is removed from a cable provider's reel and transferred to a company owned reel; the computer system can be used to track these transfers. Accordingly@ the computer system can assist in the tracking of assets represented by the cable provider's or company owned reels as well as the inventory represented by the cable. This system can greatly facilitate the return of empty cable reels to minimize the charges imposed by the cable provider when specific cable reels are not returned within a specified time frame. This document specifically addresses the coding scheme for cable reel identification@ the bar code representation of the data@ and labeling requirements. These requirements were developed primarily for cable reels constructed of metallic materials and intended for use as returnable containers.