Walk into any store and take a closer look at most any package. Chances are you will see a series of black lines along the surface somewhere near the price. This simple security feature makes scanning items at checkout counters quick and accurate.
What exactly is this code anyway?
An EAN-13 barcode consists of thirteen numbers in a unique pattern that identifies a particular product. This code has been adopted worldwide as a way to easily recognize goods and helps stores keep track of their inventory. The EAN-13 barcode has gained popularity for good reason. It is simple and versatile, which makes it suitable for large chains as well as small independent businesses.
Who actually relies on this thing?
Anyone who has a physical product to sell may benefit from using an EAN-13 barcode. To give just a few examples, a baker who sells different kinds of bread needs a way to sort them out, a clothing store has dozens of different kinds of apparel and sizes to offer and a pharmacy has hundreds of different bottles of medicine to keep track of. All of these businesses need a way to identify and sort their goods, so that the inventory is manageable and sales can be recorded accurately.
Supermarkets are especially fond of EAN 13 codes, because checkout counters need to be as efficient as possible. Other industries also use similar coding for inventory purposes, while warehouses tend to rely on barcoding systems as a way to avoid manually counting stock. Even small time businesses that sell online have had to adopt some form of a numbering system, because most market places will not allow products to be listed without it.
Everyday products you probably did not expect
Here is where it gets interesting. While many people incorrectly associate barcoding with food products, most other goods require some sort of identification as well. Furniture pieces carry them now. So do books, cosmetics, electronics, spices, and even organic produce packed for retail shelves. Basically, if something gets sold in a store or shipped through a distribution network, there is a decent chance it needs some form of Barcode for Products attached to it somewhere.
A baker, for example, may only produce around twenty different kinds of bread, but identification is absolutely necessary, because staff members would not be able to visually distinguish one variety from another. Similar issues arise in other industries that deal with a variety of products that appear very similar.
Why bother at all
The problems with visual identification become especially apparent when examining a five hundred item inventory, where visual identification becomes impractical. With the wrong inventory management system, prices can get messed up and sales can get mixed in with inventory.
Properly implemented inventory management system automatically sorts out most of the issues, while making business operations run much more smoothly for retail stores. While customers would not be able to tell if there is a system in place, the overall appearance of the store will reflect that sort of organization, as well as the faster checkout lines.
So does your product need one?
Any manufacturer or seller of goods should strongly consider implementing some kind of inventory management solution when distributing branded merchandise to retail stores or warehouses, or even starting an online store. Almost all industries find themselves in need of a way to sort out their goods. Clothing manufacturers, food producers, book publishers, furniture makers and cosmetics manufacturers are just a few industries that utilize this type of system.
Smaller home based operations that deal directly with customers through online services may not need to use the EAN-13 barcode system, but such measures would become necessary as soon as a business plans to expand. In general, almost any business that sells a physical product and employs some sort of retail sales strategy would benefit from being able to sort and identify the goods more accurately.