Why are barcodes used? Answers Here!

Barcodes have become part of our daily lives. We see them in stores, hospitals, on products, packages and our driver’s licenses. But most people don’t understand what a specific barcode means, or what it does. Why does a barcode look the way it does? What does it do? Why is it advantageous to use them?

If you’ve asked those questions about barcodes and want some answers, you’ve come to the right place. Here we’ll talk about all those things and more…in a way that’s simple and easy to understand.

What’s in the barcode?

Generally, a barcode doesn’t contain any description about what it’s attached to or printed on. A barcode in most cases is just a number encoded in bars. The number is relates to other information. Just like your driver’s license number doesn’t tell anything about you personally, when the number is typed into the Division of Motor Vehicles database for your state, all the information about you that you gave when you applied for the license becomes available. Barcodes work like that, providing a reference number that is in some way unique and links to more descriptive data. Here’s a simple example of how barcodes are used:

How is the barcode used?

Imagine you’re at the store, and want to buy a pack of Wrigley’s gum. The cashier scans the UPC barcode on the package (more on that later). The barcode scanner sends the 12-digit number encoded in the barcode to the cash register. The computer looks up the number in the database and returns the price and description that will be printed on your receipt. But you knew that, right?

But there’s much more happening behind the scenes. When the transaction is complete, the quantities of the items purchased are deducted from the store’s inventory. At the management level, someone is watching those quantities and being prompted to order more products so the store doesn’t run out. When an order is placed, the store uses the same 12-digit number to tell the manufacturer the specific products it needs. Marketers are looking at how many of the each item is sold in association with advertising, store location and price points. When the ordered product comes in to the store, the employees scan the barcode and look up where the product should be stocked. A lot is happening, just based on the barcode number.

Using a barcodes saves money!

Its obvious, that just in replacing keyed entry or manual logging on clipboards, barcodes increase accuracy and save time (remember that time is money!).  There have been a variety of studies completed about the speed and accuracy differences between using a barcode, keying in numbers and writing them down. Here’s how it plays out:

So you can see, that there’s a significant labor savings and accuracy increase when you use barcodes. If you want to learn more about how you can save money, there's an article here on Barcode Savings .