Barcodes are so common place today that most of us don't give them much thought. But have you ever wondered what barcodes are exactly? And does your business need them?

We wanted to learn more, so we decided to sit down with Michelle Covey, VP of commercialization at GS1 US to find out what barcodes are, where they came from, and where they're headed.

Where to get started with GS1 barcodes:
[ Ссылка ]

Check out the inFlow GTIN Barcode Shop: [ Ссылка ]

Information about GS1 Digital Link:
[ Ссылка ]

0:00 - Intro
0:44 - History of Barcodes
1:24 - What Is a Barcode?
2:12 - What Are GS1 Barcodes and Why They Matter
3:50 - How to Make Barcodes With GS1
4:30 - Barcode and QR Code Use Cases
5:45 - The Future of Barcodes and QR Codes
6:47 - Start Barcoding With GS1 Barcodes

//Transcript (Edited for Time)//
[...] We just celebrated the 50 year anniversary of the GTIN in about 1971, a group of industry members came together because they wanted to try to solve for product identification. And by 1973, they came up with the GTIN, which is the global trade item number [...] we had the first barcode scan of that GTIN in 1974, June 26. It was a pack of Wrigley's Juicy Fruit gum in a Marsh's supermarket store [...] So the barcode in itself is actually that lined item, that data carrier that can carry a product identifier. So if you're looking at the barcode itself, that is what is a machine scannable barcode that carries a data element [...] But a lot of times people get it confused with the actual GTIN or the UPC string that number. So when people come to GS1, they ask to get a barcode, but in essence, they're really actually getting that product identifier, that number that then gets encoded into the barcode. The GS1 standardized barcodes are actually the most used around the globe, with over five billion scans a day. And so the system of standards that GS1 has created is globally unique and can be used in any area [...] many people will not understand how GS1 supports the identified product identification. And for brand new businesses that are starting off, they may think an especially small businesses that are trying to sell on to marketplaces that, just want to get their products listed online. They think they can bypass having a barcode because that's not being sold in a physical store. But what we find is that some businesses, as they get their start, they then expand their business into other channels and then do need to barcode their products. Going with a GS1 issued barcode or GS1 issued identifier allows that brand owner or anybody trading with that brand owner to know that brand owner is associated with that barcode or with that identifier [...] So we've also been working with industry members, learning that our businesses range from very small micro businesses to some of the largest multinational brands [...] we've realized we needed to provide [...] instead of a pack of GTINs or product identifiers to market their products. That maybe a single GTIN would be best for them [...] last November offer a single GTIN. This is a one time fee and allows them to at least start identifying their products with the GS1 standard identifier [...] Well, we've seen a lot of use cases around barcodes [...] barcodes are now being used for a variety of other use cases. And as we look at how the barcode can expand and we go into the multidimensional barcodes, they carry more information. And so as they carry more information, they can be used for transparency, for visibility. So, for example, in food safety, we could start putting that batch that lot information so we could use those barcodes to trace that product all the way back to the field so that if there is a recall, we know where that product has been through the supply chain and we can do a recall more easily. We're also seeing barcodes being used in financial institutions. So for cash handling and cash visibility, we see data matrix being used in hospitals so it helps apply patient records towards the patient and any kind of products used in a hospital to to be associated to that patient [...] The future of barcoding what we're seeing is we did some research a couple of years ago and brand owners and manufacturers do want to share more product information, and that product information is not necessarily shared on that linear barcode. Through that, we've started to work with industry to move into more robust barcodes on products where a maybe a digital link the GS1 digital link [...] So we are working with industry on what we're calling Sunrise 2027, where we're working with industry members to move from that linear barcode to the QR code or a data matrix barcode that does embed that GS1 digital link to carry more information.

#barcodes #gs1barcodes #gs1barcoderegistration

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