Products come in all shapes, purposes and sizes, but they have one thing in common – each makes a long journey from initial creation at the manufacturer to final purchase by a customer. This journey is fraught with many perils, including theft, incorrect delivery, improper pricing information and being forgotten during a retailer’s reorder. How can these problems be rectified?
The solution is to use simple, yet incredibly powerful, bar codes. Bar codes come in many shapes and sizes, from long ones containing specific product information to compact ones sized for smaller packaging. Bar code design is regulated through a global standards body, GS1, so that bar codes and scanners will operate efficiently throughout the world.
Manufacturers, distributors and retailers have specific, urgent needs that can be satisfied by the bar code. But without cooperation among the three main players in the life of a product, none would see the full array of benefits, because they would not be able to converse about products using the same, standard, recognised language of bar codes.
Using barcodes, manufacturers can encode product specific information related to quality, such as “Best Before Dates” and “Expiration Dates”. Distributors can then use these dates to organise their warehouses, such that, for example, the first products into the warehouse are the first to be shipped out. Furthermore, retailers can use that same bar code information to guarantee that only fresh products are sold. Thus, through the use of bar codes, retailers create satisfied customers, distributors reduce labor costs and lessen returns, and manufacturers see increased revenue from loyal customers who appreciate the quality. The benefits of having this common way to communicate can be seen throughout the product lifecycle.
Inventory shrinkage is a problem that bedevils manufacturers, retailers and distributors alike. It is difficult for a distributor to determine which pallet of identical products was not delivered to the retailer. It is similarly challenging for the retailer to verify that all shipped products were truly received. Manual records are not the answer because they are easily misplaced or mistyped and are difficult to regenerate.
When fully utilised throughout product lifecycles, unique bar codes are more accurate and more efficient at moderating the impact of theft. Manufacturers can account for exactly which products were shipped to the distributor, by scanning each container to create a bar code record of outgoing shipments. Distributors use these bar codes to record specifically which boxes left the warehouse, to which customer they were sent and the specific vehicle used. Retailers can then verify their orders by matching the bar codes listed on the bill to those on the product that arrived at their store.
Bar codes contain company-specific information, so simply having a bar code on the product packaging makes counterfeiting far more difficult. In a recall situation, bar codes allow manufacturers, distributors and retailers to quickly determine the specific products affected by a manufacturing line defect, saving money and hours of labour. Instead of arbitrarily discarding a large number of products, manufacturers, distributors and retailers can use information encoded by the manufacturer in the product bar code, such as lot number, manufacturing location and creation date to identify the specific products that must be purged. And retailers can maintain customer goodwill by quickly identifying the products involved in the recall and taking appropriate action.
Without the use of bar codes, retailers must maintain a manually created log to determine reorder requirements and to identify popular and unpopular products. Reorders using this manual method are prone to errors from ambiguity and mistyping. Without bar codes, distributors must spend hours manually updating the manifest of products received from manufacturers and shipped to stores. Using bar codes solves these problems. When boxes and products are tagged from the beginning at the manufacturer, the speed and accuracy of product orders are improved throughout the entire supply chain. When bar codes are used, manufacturers sell more of their products; distributors improve billing speed and accurate fulfillment of customer requests; retailers ensure enough supply and the right products to supply for customer needs.
The simple bar code has the power to transform a business, saving time and person hours, while improving the flow of goods through the pipeline. This positive impact of bar code implementation will be felt by all those who handle products from creation to distribution to selling and, ultimately, to purchase. But note that all these benefits can only be seen if all players use the bar code. The information must be coded by the manufacturer, tracked by the distributor, and used by the retailer to have a big impact. Only when manufacturers, distributors and retailers utilise bar codes consistently will the impact of bar codes on tracking, ordering, verifying and paying for goods be able to reach its full potential.
