This blog will give you an overview about product barcodes, types of barcodes, benefits of barcodes, and how GS1 India can ensure that you get unique identification for your products. Barcodes play a very crucial role in a country’s economy, especially in the context of supply chain management and retail. Most of the businesses require Barcodes as a tool to manage supply chains for better tracking of their products. You must have noticed that every time we buy something in the supermarket, the seller scans the barcode on the product to retrieve its information.
Today most of the products you see in the market have barcodes. Barcodes are machine-readable symbols which are printed on product packaging. The barcodes are embedded with barcode numbers – numeric codes that give unique identification to the product.
There are various types of barcodes used in the industry. Some popular barcode forms are EAN barcode (linear/1-dimensional barcode), QR code, and Datamatrix (2-dimensional barcodes).
EAN barcodes are mostly used on products for point-of-sale scanning, where the unique code embedded in barcodes is linked with product information like manufacturing and expiry date, manufacturing locations, product attributes, and ingredients, etc. QR codes are majorly used in applications related to entertainment, retail, advertisement, and transactions.
One-dimensional barcodes also known as Linear barcodes convert data with varying-width vertical lines and spaces, it reads horizontally, and accommodates up to 85 characters, but requires more characters for additional data.
Some of the common examples of 1D Barcodes are explained briefly below –
Code 39 – It can encode up to 43 characters, including letters, numbers, and some symbols, making it essential for industrial applications like automotive and electronics.
Code 93 – It is an updated and fully secured version of Code 39 barcodes which is able to read both letters and numbers.
GS1–128 – GS1-128 Barcodes are the barcodes mainly used for the shipping process among retailers. These barcodes are the standard barcodes that provide a lot of data and also the meaning of data throughout the supply chain.
EAN (European Article Number) – EAN (European Article Number) is the barcode numbers generated by a standardized body known as GS1. The barcodes are used to identify the products in the supply chain and help you to sell on various e-commerce platforms. It is usually 8 or 13 digits long, and globally accepted.
UPC – Universal Product Codeare the barcode numbers that help identify a product, uniquely. They are most commonly used in Inventory Management, and they also help in minimizing errors in order fulfillment.
There are many more linear barcodes available such as Codabar, ITF, Industrial 2 of 5, Standard 2 of 5 (IATA), MSI Plessey, and Intelligent Mail Barcode, etc.
A two-dimensional (2D) barcode converts data using dots, squares, and shapes, storing information both vertically and horizontally. It’s ideal for web addresses, text, images, and coupons, and is also very capable of holding up to 7,089 characters.
PDF417: PDF417 is a 2D Barcode, used in a variety of applications such as transport, inventory management, and identification cards.
Data Matrix: A Data Matrix is a 2D code having black and white dots arranged in a square/rectangular pattern, known as a matrix. The information encoded in this matrix can be text or numeric data.
QR Code: QR code (Quick Response Code) is a two-dimensional Barcode that can be easily read with the help of a digital device. They are used to track the information of the products in a supply chain and also used in marketing & advertising campaigns.
There are many more 2D barcodes available such as PPN, Royal Mail Mailmark, Aztec Code, GiroCode, Swiss QR Code, etc.
There are many benefits of having GTINs :
GS1 is a global standards organization. They provide barcoding solutions to companies. GS1 Global oversees the operations of 115 GS1 organisations across the globe.
GS1 global along with its various member organizations, including GS1 India, maintains the integrity of GS1 barcode numbers. Since the GTINs are the global identity of your products, GS1 organizations across the globe ensure that this remains unique. With over 2 million companies using GS1 barcodes, it has become a de facto standard for the retail industry worldwide.
In India, GS1 India is the only authorized body to issue GTIN and GS1 barcodes. It is an ISO 27001-certified company. It was set up under the Ministry of Trade and commerce, the government of India, as a non-profit organization.
The barcode numbers issued by GS1 India start with the number ‘890’, which is the country code for barcode numbers allocated by GS1 India.
Common barcode types like UPC, QR codes, and Code 39, etc simplify inventory management, tracking, and product identification in retail and other industries.
UPC-A Barcodes have 12 Digits, which include 11 digits encoding product data, country, and company code and one check digit for accuracy verification in the end. UPC barcodes can only be represented numerically, the code can only be the digits from 0-9.
The EAN 13 barcode is for consumer products at checkout, identified by a GTIN-13 or variable weight code. EAN-8, with GTIN-8, is for small items with limited space, like lipstick.
A barcode is a machine-readable code consisting of numbers and parallel lines of varying widths, used to control products and especially used in stock management.
In India, barcodes are generated in partnership with GS1 India, an official standard body that plays a pivotal role in standardizing and managing barcodes, ensuring uniformity and efficiency in the business landscape.
A QR code is an efficient and user-friendly barcode that stores information in a square-shaped grid of pixels, easily readable by digital devices.
Code 128 A, defined in ISO/IEC 15417:2007, is a high-density linear barcode used for alphanumeric or numeric-only data.
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