Thirty-Fifth Anniversary of the Bar Code
June 2009
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“Industry would not be as efficient without the U.P.C,” said Sandy Douglas, president of Coca-Cola North America, and chairman of the GS1 US Board of Governors. “The U.P.C. provides a basis for the industry to track products from production to shelf, to move products between companies, and to get products to shoppers quickly.”
The U.P.C. is equally important to small entrepreneurs, who sell their products through large retailers, which require the bar code for both sales and recall purposes. GS1 US helps several thousand such businesses create their U.P.C.’s annually.
Every U.P.C. incorporates three elements: the brand owner’s GS1 Company Prefix, the specific item’s “reference number,” and a “check digit,” which is calculated by the combination of the preceding numbers and ensures data accuracy.
Contrary to one popular myth, the U.P.C. does not contain a product’s country of origin. But the U.P.C. is one manifestation of the Global Trade Item Number, a foundational aspect of the GS1 System that enables consistent, standard identification of products and other items in the supply chain globally.
“The U.P.C. really is fundamental to commerce,” said Bob Carpenter, chief executive officer of GS1 US. “It took time to build momentum, but it has succeeded because it benefits everyone: consumers, retailers, and manufacturers. And it has a lot of life left in it.”
Innovations in Product Identification
The U.P.C.’s success has inspired the creation of new ways to identify products for the benefit of consumers and industry:
• The newest bar code, GS1 DataBar™, can be found increasingly on coupons and loose produce, such as apples, pears, and tomatoes. On Jan. 1, 2010, supermarkets will begin scanning and processing the GS1 DataBar, which can be configured in different formats to fit a smaller space or carry additional information, such as “best before” or expiration dates, or lot numbers.
• GS1 Data Matrix, a bar code that resembles a random-patterned checkerboard, holds large amounts of data in a relatively small space as compared to traditional linear bar codes, and is becoming increasingly popular for a wide range of applications including aerospace, pharmaceutical, and medical-device manufacturing.
• The Electronic Product Code™ (EPC) carries information similar to that within a bar code, but is read by radio frequency identification (RFID) technology without a direct sight line, rather than being scanned. The EPC also can carry and transmit additional information. In the retail environment, EPC can enable a checkout process that is nearly instantaneous.
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