Universal Product Codes

ADC Info #4

Universal Product Codes

September 1998

Rob Holland Assistant Extension Specialist Agricultural Development Center The Universal Product Code is a system for uniquely identifying many different suppliers of many different items that travel throughout the channels of distribution. It is a 12-digit all-numeric code that identifies the company/product combination. A bar code will be required if a product is to reach a retail (or other) outlet that uses electronic scanners. The bar code is often a limiting factor in getting a product to some outlets and on some shelves. The Universal Product Code (UPC) serves as the cornerstone of a new age in global retailing. The code has been in place since the early 1970s allowing suppliers and distributors of consumer products around the world to build upon the UPC as they continue to change the fundamental ways of running their businesses. The UPC is now a critical part of the entire product cycle - from manufacturer through distributor to consumer. The full UPC system includes numbers for people to read and bar codes for machines to read. Both the numbers and the bar code are printed on a consumer package with each unique package showing its own unique number and bar code. The Uniform Code Council administers the assignment of all UPC manufacturer identification numbers to ensure the uniqueness of each individual item. The full UPC system is intended to provide readers of the code - both people and machines - with a reliable way to make businesses work more effectively through accurate product identification. The Uniform Code Council is not a government agency, it is an administrative council that exists specifically to develop standard product and shipping container codes, control the issuing of company identification codes, provide detailed information and to coordinate the efforts of all participants. Membership to the Council is voluntary, but is required to obtain a UPC identification number. The membership fee is based on the most current annual U.S. domestic dollar sales volume for the company, not just the product for which a code is desired. Membership fees by level of annual sales is listed in Table #1. The membership fee is a one-time membership fee good for the life of the company. With membership, the Council will issue the company a unique, six digit identification number for use on any of the companies products. The company may then assign a five digit number to each of its products. Each product identification number must be unique. For example, a different five digit number must be assigned for different size containers of the same product. The five digit assignment to different company products will allow for 100,000 different products to be coded by one company.

Table #1

Membership Fees by Level of Annual Sales ANNUAL SALES

FEE

$0 - $2 million

$350.00

$2 million - $5 million

$900.00

$5 million - $50 million

$1,750.00

$50 million - $100 million

$3,450.00

$100 million - $500 million

$6,900.00

Over $500 million

$11,500.00

When someone asks the question “where do I get a bar code for my product”, they are referring to the UPC or EAN symbol found on most retail products around the world. Specifically, they are asking how to obtain a UPC identification number which they can encode into a UPC-A or EAN-12 bar code symbol on their product. In the United States of America a company can obtain a unique six digit company identification number by becoming a member of the Uniform code Council. A full set of technical specifications, guidelines and a list of suppliers that can produce camera-ready bar code symbols will be provided with your number. . You can assign the 5-digit product code yourself. The number assigned to each product your company produces must be unique. For example, if you have two different sizes of the same product, each must be assigned a different number. When you assign the numbers, you should communicate them to your trading partners. For an application and additional information concerning obtaining a bar code (UPC) contact: UNIFORM CODE COUNCIL 8163 Old Yankee Road, Suite J, Dayton Ohio 45458 (937) 435-3870 http://www.uc-council.org fax - - (937) 435-7317 The Universal Product Code was the first bar code symbology widely adopted. Its birth is usually set at April 3, 1973, when the grocery industry formally established UPC as the standard bar code symbology for product marking. Foreign interest in UPC led to the adoption of the EAN code format, similar to UPC, in December 1976.

The Uniform Code Council announced Monday, June 9, 1997 that UPC will be phased out by the year 2005. The reason is that 12-digit UPC will run out of numbers by then. The United States will finally adopt EAN (what the rest of the world uses) which has thirteen digits.

__________ Source: The Uniform Code Council, Inc.