Bar Code Printing

2007-03-08 10:33:40

( Business )



Do you observe the cashier at a supermarket counter use laser machines scan the bar code printing on the item you are about to purchase? This bar code printing may look simply like zebra bar code stripes but they do contain a lot of information.

For bar code readers, here are some explanations of the different bar codes you see. Each and every item you purchase at a retail store is assigned a barcode printing which are usually 13 digits long. For very small items where the 13 digits would be usually too long, the bar code printing will have 8 digits.

For boxes or cases where all these smaller items are packed, you may find the barcode printing which are usually 14 digits long.

What do these barcodes printing mean? The initial digits would usually represent the internal coding system of the retail store. These would sort your items into specific categories or division. This would enable the retail store to monitor how well its division is doing and how well its merchandise in that particular division is doing.

The next digits would represent the code of the supplier of the item. This would enable the retail store to track how well the items of a particular supplier are doing. Some stores carry the same item coming from various suppliers. By looking at the data presented by the bar code printing, these stores would be able to determine the quality of performance of a certain supplier too.

The last digit would usually be the check digit which would tell if the bar code printing is erroneous or not.

Because the bar code printing is scanned by bar code scanners at the counter, sales data are projected into the computer for the store to analyze.

The back end system of the store would also be able to store promotional information into the computer such that when the bar code printing is scanned, the customer and the cashier would be informed of the promotional scheme such as discounts or price-offs being offered by the item about to be purchased.


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