Industry Insights From Renewal Logistics:
New Barcode Trends - Track Your Products & Reach Consumers
Barcodes play a crucial role in the apparel and e-commerce industry, facilitating inventory management, supply chain operations, and sales tracking. Each barcode is a unique identifier that helps automate the data collection process and transactions for product sales.
What information can a barcode tell you?
1D barcodes store textual information such as product type, size, color. You can find 1D barcodes on top of the universal product codes (UPCs) on product packaging and use them to track the product delivery journey of 3PLs such as FedEx, UPS, and post offices worldwide.
All 1D barcodes will have 12 digits, usually printed underneath as a backup identifier in case the barcode image cannot be scanned. Here’s what the barcode numbers represent:
- First number: Product type
- 5 following numbers: Manufacturer Code
- 5 following numbers on the right: Product code
- Last number: Barcode number according to a self-policing system
2D barcodes, include more information than 1D barcodes, like inventory levels, prices, and product images. A two-dimensional barcode gives you the ability to encode a lot of data into a standardized data carrier, in the end this will create more insights and information available to producers and consumers. One common type of 2D barcode that you might be familiar with is the qr code.
With high-capacity 2D barcodes brands can record the product’s lot number, serial number, expiry date and more. Real time data will allow for better supply chain transparency, improved inventory management, help track sustainability initiatives, reduce waste and ultimately improve business.
In our technology based lives brands can utilize 2D barcodes to directly reach consumers. With just a smartphone customers can easily access product and brand information.
How 2D barcodes are being used today
Increase Brand Loyalty
Brands can offer rewards programs, coupons, re-order information and more by simply including the qr code on or in the product packaging.
Share Sustainability Practices
Direct consumers to your brands current sustainability practices and goals to give them better insights to your company values.
Include Product Information
Reach customers with the information related to your products such as ingredients, allergen info, how to use, how to wash and more.
The possibilities are endless with 2D barcodes. As we move forward in an every changing world 2D barcodes offer an easy and direct way for brands to manage their back end and promote their products in new ways.
Are you ready to start upgrading your barcode system or maybe just starting out in the e-commerce business? Our team of experts is available to help with all of your barcode questions and setup needs.
Looking For More?
If you ever want to chat with our existing clients, many of them we have NDAs with, so I can’t share their names on the website or in our newsletter, but I assure you, you’ve purchased product from them, and if you want to verify our consistency, accuracy, and ability to handle complexity with ease, they’ll be happy to talk to you.
