GS1 DataBar™: A Practical Discussion presented by ACP GS1 DataBar Taskforce April 2015

GS1 DataBar™: A Practical Discussion Hot Topics –Retirement of the NS5 Coupon UPC –Appropriate uses for the 992 Family Code –Appropriate use of the Do-Not-Double flag –International GS1 company prefixes in the U.S. –Retailer validation capabilities

GS1 DataBar™: A Practical Discussion Retirement of the NS5 Coupon UPC The coupon UPC Prefix 5 barcodes on manufacturer coupons will be officially retired as of June 30, Most existing retail scanning systems are capable of reading the GS1 DataBar. In some instances, software and/ or hardware modifications may be required.

GS1 DataBar™: A Practical Discussion Use of the 992 Bypass Validation Family Code The 992 family code enables unintentional and abusive consumer mis-redemption. Wherever possible the use of the 992 family code should be restricted to “must use” situations. DataBar functionality was designed to minimize the scenarios for using the 992 family code.

GS1 DataBar™: A Practical Discussion Use of the Do-Not-Double Flag The Do-Not-Double (DND) flag resides in the miscellaneous elements data field of the DataBar. The DND flag should only be selected for in-store distributed manufacturer coupons.

GS1 DataBar™: A Practical Discussion International GS1 Company Prefixes Many international companies sell products in the U.S. under their original country GS1-assigned prefixes. Those international company prefixes include meaningful leading digits (country code). Without the country code, conflicts with U.S. based companies may exist, causing issues during the clearing process.

GS1 DataBar™: A Practical Discussion Retailer Coupon Validation Capabilities

Some retailers have implemented all functionality for full DataBar validation –All purchase requirement fields –Family code validation –Systematic expiration date check Retailer business decisions create validation exceptions –Expiration grace periods + 30 days –Disregard start date > valid coupons in market sooner –Accepts competitors coupons > ignore Retailer GLN Serialization controls not considered here as they have not yet been widely implemented

GS1 DataBar™: A Practical Discussion Retailer Coupon Validation Capabilities Many retailers have only partially implemented functionality for DataBar validation resulting in various combinations of the following conditions. –Validate only for primary purchase requirement field –No family code validation –Free offers sometimes treated as fixed value discounts Keep your national offers and corresponding coupon bar codes as straightforward as possible. Gain a full understanding of retailer’s validation levels prior to distributing an account-specific offer.

GS1 DataBar™: A Practical Discussion Retailer Coupon Validation Capabilities Only a minority of retailers still have no DataBar validation capabilities. –Convenience & gas –Grocery independents, Mom & Pop’s, bodegas, etc. –Some still do not scan coupon bar codes at all Official June 2015 retirement of the legacy coupon UPC may help initiate necessary retailer hardware/software updates to realize scanning efficiencies and controls.

GS1 DataBar™: A Practical Discussion Thank you for your participation! ACP GS1 DataBar Taskforce Ken Conrad – Pinpoint Data Jane Michels – Coupons, Inc. Pam Samaniego – Catalina Amber Shew – Inmar Jackie Broberg – General Mills Laura Czekala – NCH Marketing Ray Delnicki – GS1 US John Gorowsky - Symbology Amber Walls – Coupons, Inc.