Barcode
Barcodes are used to encode data in machine readable form.
Barcodes can be found on all products sold in supermarkets. They are also
extensively used in almost every industry.
Barcodes found on products in supermarket are assigned by an
organisation called EAN. Each company that is a member of EAN receives a set of
unique barcodes. Each barcode must uniquely identify a single product. No
product may use the same barcode as another product.
Various different barcode formats are available. If the standard
EAN barcodes that are found on product packaging are too big, companies have
the option of using a barcode that has been specifically designed for smaller
packaging. There are also many different way of encoding barcodes, such as code
128, UPC, Matrix 2 of 5, Plessey and more.
In a warehouse situation, barcodes are essential for keeping
track of stock. Barcodes are used when a product is scanned in and then again
when it is scanned out of the inventory database. Barcodes can be used to
validate orders, in order to make sure that the products that are sent out
match the products that appear on the picking slip.
