Retail Bar Coding Basics a Tutorial

Is bar coding necessary? Reasons for UPC bar codes. Want to sell your products via retail stores. Products are sold at checkout counters. Product is a food item or consumer retail item. Reasons UPC bar codes not necessary Bar codes are only for internal use such as inventory Products are not sold via retail stores. Products are not sold at checkout counters

History of Retail Bar Codes 1932 Wallace first to suggest automated checkout 1948 Drexel University begins research into auto ID method 1949 Woodland & Silver build prototype scanner Patent granted Woodland & Silver for Auto ID method 1966 First commercial use of bar codes 1970 First commercial Auto ID product 1972 Kroger stores begin using ‘bulls-eye’ bar code 1973 Uniform Product Code standard adopted 1974 First UPC scanners commercially marketed 1974 First product (Wrigley Gum) UPC bar coded.

What is a Bar Code? A bar code (barcode) is similar to “Morse Code” in that they both encode character information. Morse Code was developed in 1935 and consists of s code based on short and long electrical impulses. dit 1 unit of time dah 3 units of time pause between letters 3 units of time pause between words 7 units of time

What is a Bar Code?

Character Value Odd Parity Even Parity EAN-13 Symbology Encoding

What is a Bar Code? Step 1: Designate the least significant digit position as odd O E O E O E O E O E O Step 2: Sum all the digits in the odd (o) positions = 24 Step 3: Multiply the result by 3 24 * 3 = 72 Step 4: Sum all the digits in the even (E) positions = 21 Step 5: Add the result of Step 2 with the result of Step = 93 Step 6: Subtract from the next higher multiple of = 7. In this example, the check digit is 7. Check Character Calculation (UPC)

How a Bar Code Works Light from the scanner (laser, LED, or other) reflects off the label back to a sensor in the scanner

Bar Code Symbologies The manner in which the bars and spaces are encoded define the bar code symbology Codabar Code 128 Code 3 of 0 Code 93 EAN 13 EAN 8 ISBN Interleaved 2 of 5 MSI / Plessey Postal / Postnet UPC A UPC E PDF-417

Global Trade Identification Numbers A GTIN (Global Trade Item Number) is the EAN.UCC System identifier used for the unique identification of trade items worldwide within the EAN.UCC System. Trade Items refers to any product or service upon which there is a need to retrieve pre-defined information; this product or service may be priced, ordered, or invoiced at any point in the supply chain.

Uniform Code Council & EAN EAN.UCC is worldwide system EAN.UCC is comprised of member organizations (M.O.). U.C.C. is the U.S. member organization. EAN.UCC M.O. U.C.C.

Key Benefits Supports worldwide flow of trade goods and services Uniquely identifies trade items at all levels of packaging. Delivers trade item data in a consistent format and structure. Simplifies supply chain management. Employs the globally accepted and utilized EAN.UCC System whose language is understood by the global marketplace.

Why GTINs? Allow system-to-system interaction Speed processes by enabling end-to-end automation Lower costs, while reducing errors Reduce the risk of system incompatibility Protect technology investments by removing the limitations of closed, proprietary systems and solutions Enable the optimization of supply chain management practices Eliminate supply chain roadblocks and bottlenecks

Data Structures UCC-12 (UPC) 00DDDDDDDDDDDC EAN/UCC-13 0DDDDDDDDDDDDC EAN/UCC DDDDDDDC EAN/UCC-14 DDDDDDDDDDDDDD 0 = leading zero; D = digit, C = check digit A GTIN has a 14-digit data structure though its data carrier (bar code) may contain only 12-digits (the U.P.C.), 13-digits (EAN-13) or 8-digits (EAN-8). The GTIN is defined as a 14-digit number to accommodate all the different structures.

Bar code labels EAN-13 International business Sell to national chains UPC-A local business

Outsource? Outsource Large quantities Special materials Color, coated, durable Large budget High quality, hardware verifier required Do it yourself Small quantities Std. paper labels B/W, stock labels Small/No budget Reasonable quality, standard scanner verification

UPC Bar Codes Used in US markets 1 st 6 digits are company prefix Next 5 digits are trade item number Last digit is calculated check digit

EAN-13 Bar Codes EAN-13 bar codes used in European markets Leading zero affixed to 6- dit company prefix Next 5-digits are trade item number Last digit is check digit

EAN/UCC-128 Bar Codes Used for cases and bulk quantities Can include other info such as weight and quantity

Compliance Labeling c 1000 item container c 250 item box c 25 item pkg c Single item Indicator Digit Company Prefix Item Number ITF-14

ITF-14 Bar Codes Used for shipping containers

U.C.C Membership? Membership Manufacturer Large business Multiple products uc-council.org $500/yr+ Alternative Reseller Small Business Single product $25/yr

Radio Frequency ID Tags Fast, Reliable No contact required Company assets Apparel, luggage, laundry People, livestock, or pets High value electronics such as computers, TVs, camcorders Books, DVD’s, Games RFID tags are thumbnail sized devices that emit a radio frequency and can be attached to a wide range of products. pallets or cases of product

RFID Technology

RFID Applications

Summary Your POS solution’s success is dependant on a good barcode label / Automatic Data Capture solution.