The introduction of the GS1 DataBar barcode in 2014 promises to revolutionise the retail supply and demand chains and drag them into the 21st century.
When Drexel University dons Bernard Silver and Norman Joseph Woodland received a patent for the first linear barcode in 1952, they set in motion the development of the Universal Product Code (UPC) and launched an odyssey towards standardisation that would change the face of retailing globally.
2014 promises to be a landmark year in this journey, with the formal worldwide introduction of the first new barcode symbology since the European Article Number (EAN) format was launched in 1997.
Tarryn Daniels, programme manager of GS1 South Africa, confirms GS1 DataBar (formerly Reduced Space Symbols or RSS) is a new point-of-sale (POS) barcode that combines the EAN/UPC family of barcodes to allow more product marking. The system enables GTIN (Global Trade Item Number – see below) identification for small hard-to-mark consumer product goods, including fresh foods, jewellery and do-it-yourself hardware products. In addition, it can carry information such as weight, expiration date and lot numbers.
“GS1 DataBar not only increases the percentage of products that can be automatically identified at point of sale, it creates new options to solve 21st-century business problems, such as product authentication and traceability, product quality and effectiveness, variable measure product identification and couponing,” Daniels says.
GS1 DataBar standards have been available for bilateral agreement between trading partners for all trade items since 2010, with the latest global pilot projects focusing on fresh products scanned at POS.
Says Daniels: “GS1 DataBar opens up new possibilities to managing fresh-food products, using the identification tools used for Fast Moving Consumer Goods since the 1970s.” By the target date of 2014 , GS1 DataBar standards, including attribute information – using application identifiers (AIs) – can be used by all trading partners in an open environment. At minimum, retailers should be able to scan and process GTINs in a GS1 DataBar.
Why DataBar?
While UPC/EAN barcodes revolutionised retail operations over 30 years ago, today’s demanding business environment calls for something more. For instance, although EAN-8 and UPC-E barcodes were designed for identifying smaller items, their eight- digit limitation restricts the amount of information they can include.
As an alternative, if manufacturers use truncated EAN-13 or UPC-A symbols in order to encode more information, some point-of-sale scanners may encounter difficulty reading them. Coupons provide another example, traditionally imprinted with UPC-A codes that cannot carry all information about the issuer or purchase requirements.
After comprehensive research, GS1 has determined that the DataBar symbol can effectively address current retail requirements. These symbols encode GTIN in a significantly smaller space than EAN-13 and UPC-A, alleviating limitations typical to small-item marking. And the structure of GS1 DataBar, which allows for more information, will greatly benefit the coupon industry.
The Business Case
The business case for GS1 DataBar, according to Daniels, is simple: “More data, less space.” She continues, “The ability to incorporate more data facilitates traceability, tightens shrink control and improves product management through the supply chain, right down to the POS. Accurate supplier identification and category management, particularly in fresh foods, is a further benefit.”
The smaller size of the barcode frees up valuable space on packaging, allowing for more consumer information, while facilitating the barcoding of hard-to- mark consumer goods, such as loose products.
Adds Daniels: “GS1 DataBar joins EAN/UPC as the second barcode in history to work while the cashier interacts with the customer. It is backward compatible with EAN/UPC for existing applications as it will be left to the brand owner (the party responsible for specifying package design) to decide which system to follow.”
DataBar by Sector
With regard to fresh foods, a global solution (GTIN) is already in place for fixed measure products and it is likely this will remain for the foreseeable future. Comments Daniels: “GS1 DataBar is being implemented by retailers on loose produce using GS1 DataBar Stacked Omnidirectional. Retailers can now scan loose produce versus key entry, providing 100% accuracy and achieving shrink control by differentiating between conventional versus organic.”
Manufacturers of small, hard-to-mark consumer product goods, such as cosmetics, jewellery, hardware and pharmaceutical, will now have the ability to communicate additional attributes about the product. “GS1 DataBar can improve scan performance, providing a better shopping experience for customers by moving them through the check-out more efficiently,” Daniels says.
GS1 DataBar enables many benefits for retailers and suppliers. Other important benefits include:
• Improved product replenishment/out-of-stock anticipation
• Category management in sectors not covered today
• Better data synchronisation
• The end of four-digit price limitations (i.e. can code more than R99.99)
• Sell-by/expiration date management
• Product weight management
• Improved scan rates on very small, low-performing EAN/UPC symbols
• The ability to capture markdown pricing
Says Daniels: “The benefits of GS1 DataBar are clear. Improvements in size efficiency, combined with the ability to encode additional data, facilitates trade solutions that better support product identification, traceability, quality control and more flexible coding for coupon applications.
“Companies looking to ensure their scanners are ready for DataBar should ensure that new hardware and software purchase contracts specify GS1 DataBar standards compliance in addition to the other GS1 barcodes.
“To check existing scanning equipment, companies should contact their equipment providers or visit http:// www.gs1.org/productssolutions/barcodes/databar/ implement.html for a list of GS1 DataBar Ready Scanners by brand and model.”
Written by Jeff Delany and first published in Synergy, the CGCSA membership magazine
Visit www.cgcsa.co.za
