On 26th
June 1974 a pack of Wrigley’s chewing gum became the first product to be
scanned with a GS1 (known earlier as EAN) barcode. This was a momentous
time in the history, 40 years ago, marked within supply chain
automation. A massive impact we see all over today, and now readying to
respond to the increasing call for product traceability which far
exceeds a simple product identification process.
Historically, GS1 bar codes are the first component of the total supply chain system adopted, primarily so retailers can scan trade items through the Point-of-Sale (POS). Some of the initial benefits retailers gained were the elimination of item price marking, the automatic real time identification of items sold thus real time sales figures and auto-triggers for replenishment to minimise risk of stock outs. Further the benefits of GS1 bar codes to manufacturer and retailers that forge way beyond the POS application and provide a basis of using GS1 bar codes in conjunction with other technologies and GS1 standards, to achieve far reaching benefits. This really justifies the presence of these iconic symbols of modern trade.
Barcoding is a method of encoding information into a machine-readable pattern of predefined bar and space patterns that can be quickly and accurately read by a scanner and a computer. Order numbers, lot numbers, ingredient codes or any other information can be encoded into a barcode. The basic operation used in barcoding is simple. A barcode containing product data is printed on, or adhered to, a food product for example. That barcode symbol is read by a scanner with a photodiode that can record the light patterns. The scanner then produces an electronic signal that exactly matches the printed barcode pattern and sends the barcoded information to a computer where the data is decoded and recorded just as if it had been entered by hand.
The natural benefits of barcode based operations are obvious,
Historically, GS1 bar codes are the first component of the total supply chain system adopted, primarily so retailers can scan trade items through the Point-of-Sale (POS). Some of the initial benefits retailers gained were the elimination of item price marking, the automatic real time identification of items sold thus real time sales figures and auto-triggers for replenishment to minimise risk of stock outs. Further the benefits of GS1 bar codes to manufacturer and retailers that forge way beyond the POS application and provide a basis of using GS1 bar codes in conjunction with other technologies and GS1 standards, to achieve far reaching benefits. This really justifies the presence of these iconic symbols of modern trade.
Barcoding is a method of encoding information into a machine-readable pattern of predefined bar and space patterns that can be quickly and accurately read by a scanner and a computer. Order numbers, lot numbers, ingredient codes or any other information can be encoded into a barcode. The basic operation used in barcoding is simple. A barcode containing product data is printed on, or adhered to, a food product for example. That barcode symbol is read by a scanner with a photodiode that can record the light patterns. The scanner then produces an electronic signal that exactly matches the printed barcode pattern and sends the barcoded information to a computer where the data is decoded and recorded just as if it had been entered by hand.
The natural benefits of barcode based operations are obvious,
- Reduced paperwork
- Shorter lead times
- Fewer out of stocks
- Faster shelf replenishment
- Instant response to product recalls
- Increased order accuracy
- Improved inventory control
- Easy inclusion into legacy software systems
- Low cost to get implemented and automate with
- Standardised templates exist globally, for modern trade to communicate across its trading partners seamlessly
Where
does the food your family eats, sourced from? How did it get to your
supermarket? What route did it take to get there? The label says
“organic”, but is it really? Does it contain anything your daughter is
allergic to? Is it grown and harvested in an eco-friendly, sustainable
way? The ability to answer these questions lies in traceability
applications and systems.
Identification and traceability
In order to work, traceability systems need to know everything that happens, at every step of the way, from the farm to your kitchen table. But with the increase in extended and highly global supply chains and the growing use of contract manufacturing, tracing food products from end of end has become more difficult.
GS1 standards make traceability systems possible, on a global scale – no matter how many companies are involved or how many borders are crossed as food and food ingredients travel from one end of the supply chain all the way to the consumer.
Traceability is especially important if something goes wrong and food products must be recalled. Recent legislation in many Countries obliges manufacturers to inform authorities and consumers of any potential risk to consumers from their products. Many other countries are reviewing their own legislation on this same theme. Individual growers, producers and manufacturers, eager to protect their brands from the harm done by tainted materials or poorly-managed recalls, are boosting their own internal recall policies and methodologies.
The GS1 standard today is the most widely used identification system enabling over 2 million companies to scan barcodes, identify products capture and store information across 150 countries as they engage in trade both domestic and international. Every pack today by default is almost expected to carry a barcode so that it can be identified and tracked efficiently. It is no co-incidence that barcodes really started on food products. Food and Pharma and FMCG companies have really understood the value that barcode technology can bring to their business operations and efficient traceability requirements. The key thing here is efficiently in scanning. So while standardized barcoding systems are more than four decades in existence it is important to realize especially in an Indian context barcode quality and scanning efficiency. We all as consumers, experience while shopping, the number of times as we wait at the point of sale check-out counter, while the operator attempts to scan a product and is not successful ! Finally resorting to a key-board entry to get the data he needs. Bad barcodes definitely destroy the very purpose they are to serve on the product pack which also causes loss of efficiency, wasted time and increased costs to wholesalers and the retailers.
Most countries are expecting stringent traceability norms for safe product consumption by consumers. In light of this it is all the more important that barcodes perform the way they are supposed to.
Getting it right
Some of the key aspects that brand owners, manufacturers, printing and packaging companies need to focus on what include:
Identification and traceability
In order to work, traceability systems need to know everything that happens, at every step of the way, from the farm to your kitchen table. But with the increase in extended and highly global supply chains and the growing use of contract manufacturing, tracing food products from end of end has become more difficult.
GS1 standards make traceability systems possible, on a global scale – no matter how many companies are involved or how many borders are crossed as food and food ingredients travel from one end of the supply chain all the way to the consumer.
Traceability is especially important if something goes wrong and food products must be recalled. Recent legislation in many Countries obliges manufacturers to inform authorities and consumers of any potential risk to consumers from their products. Many other countries are reviewing their own legislation on this same theme. Individual growers, producers and manufacturers, eager to protect their brands from the harm done by tainted materials or poorly-managed recalls, are boosting their own internal recall policies and methodologies.
The GS1 standard today is the most widely used identification system enabling over 2 million companies to scan barcodes, identify products capture and store information across 150 countries as they engage in trade both domestic and international. Every pack today by default is almost expected to carry a barcode so that it can be identified and tracked efficiently. It is no co-incidence that barcodes really started on food products. Food and Pharma and FMCG companies have really understood the value that barcode technology can bring to their business operations and efficient traceability requirements. The key thing here is efficiently in scanning. So while standardized barcoding systems are more than four decades in existence it is important to realize especially in an Indian context barcode quality and scanning efficiency. We all as consumers, experience while shopping, the number of times as we wait at the point of sale check-out counter, while the operator attempts to scan a product and is not successful ! Finally resorting to a key-board entry to get the data he needs. Bad barcodes definitely destroy the very purpose they are to serve on the product pack which also causes loss of efficiency, wasted time and increased costs to wholesalers and the retailers.
Most countries are expecting stringent traceability norms for safe product consumption by consumers. In light of this it is all the more important that barcodes perform the way they are supposed to.
Getting it right
Some of the key aspects that brand owners, manufacturers, printing and packaging companies need to focus on what include:
- Correct symbology selection and design: It is possible today to generate, sitting at a PC, almost any type of barcode. But what is important is to ensure scanability. Using the right GTIN representation, appropriate encodation and product number allocation. Once past this step the designer needs to use the right software tools to create the barcode image that must be suited for the desired print process.
- Care during printing: With the right control during making of the Cylinder or Plate, the printer then needs to assume the right control during the print process for the barcode symbol apart from the graphics and text that he is printing.
- Final packaging configuration: The final proof really of the entire process is at the final retail or logistic-pack level, as it is to be sent out into the supply chain. Ensuring compliance here is paramount of the brand owner so that he does not encounter complaints of non-scannability, or poor print quality and so on, from his trading partners and more so from retailers.
Need for the Judge
As India moves more actively into the modern retail and with an increasing number of scanning stores, the role of scanning speed and scanning efficiency comes more into focus. Historically the debate between FMCG manufacturer and the global retailers have been put to rest with the evolution of defined barcode quality standards ( ANSI, CEN and ISO standards ). This means that there is now a level playing field for all stake holders in the supply chain to be able to clearly define if a barcode is good or not. So those who are responsible for designing, printing, of barcodes in whatever format they may be, do carry this responsibility of ensuring perfect scanability, and fit-for-use of these machine readable symbol.
The device that will give them a quick assessment as a neutral ‘judge’, as to whether the product barcode will scan under any scanning environment, using any type of optical barcode reader, is known as a BARCODE VERIFIER. This device gives immediately ability to assess, interpret and control quality. To increase the level of compliance to defined parameters of quality. The symbols will then be fit for use and the digital identification of product packs riding all these symbols and will be well sustained through its journey here on. This process will not only verify the quality of the printed barcode, but will also provide essential validation on many aspects of the barcode – It’s all very well if a barcode is printed to an acceptable quality but what good is this if the data is encoded incorrectly, if the best before date has already passed, the quantity is incorrect or if the number encoded does not match the goods inside, and so on.
Conclusion
Bear in mind that barcodes are not just identification tools any longer, they are the basis for product traceability with increasing regulation globally on product safety and right to recall. With its presence of 4 decades now, it is time we get the right controls in place, that will make sure that these symbols, which are line of sight based, are easily identified and scanned the first time each time. After all it costs exactly the same to get a bad barcode, as a good one !
As India moves more actively into the modern retail and with an increasing number of scanning stores, the role of scanning speed and scanning efficiency comes more into focus. Historically the debate between FMCG manufacturer and the global retailers have been put to rest with the evolution of defined barcode quality standards ( ANSI, CEN and ISO standards ). This means that there is now a level playing field for all stake holders in the supply chain to be able to clearly define if a barcode is good or not. So those who are responsible for designing, printing, of barcodes in whatever format they may be, do carry this responsibility of ensuring perfect scanability, and fit-for-use of these machine readable symbol.
The device that will give them a quick assessment as a neutral ‘judge’, as to whether the product barcode will scan under any scanning environment, using any type of optical barcode reader, is known as a BARCODE VERIFIER. This device gives immediately ability to assess, interpret and control quality. To increase the level of compliance to defined parameters of quality. The symbols will then be fit for use and the digital identification of product packs riding all these symbols and will be well sustained through its journey here on. This process will not only verify the quality of the printed barcode, but will also provide essential validation on many aspects of the barcode – It’s all very well if a barcode is printed to an acceptable quality but what good is this if the data is encoded incorrectly, if the best before date has already passed, the quantity is incorrect or if the number encoded does not match the goods inside, and so on.
Conclusion
Bear in mind that barcodes are not just identification tools any longer, they are the basis for product traceability with increasing regulation globally on product safety and right to recall. With its presence of 4 decades now, it is time we get the right controls in place, that will make sure that these symbols, which are line of sight based, are easily identified and scanned the first time each time. After all it costs exactly the same to get a bad barcode, as a good one !
(The writer is Executive Director,
Sandilyam Automation Systems Pvt Limited, Bangalore)
Sandilyam Automation Systems Pvt Limited, Bangalore)
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