In previous issues, we wrote about the barcode of the 21st century, which is the UCC/EAN-128 code. Today, we are writing about key information: the SSCC number, which is represented in this code, in order to obtain the greatest possible benefits from barcodes throughout the entire supply chain, and thus by all users of code markings, starting from the manufacturer, through individual distributors and freight forwarders, to the final recipient. We will also provide the basic principles that this marking must meet for these results to be achievable.
The type of barcode and the scope and format of the encoded data, i.e., the choice of marking method for each barcode user, depends on market needs. As we recall, the EAN•UCC system includes, among others, numbers and other standard identification data which, after being presented in barcode symbols, can be applied to goods and other trade units, documents, physical locations, etc., for automatic data collection and processing in electronic data processing applications. Users of this system are constantly developing new applications adapted to actual business situations, and hence the scope of these standards is constantly expanding and currently covers many different areas of barcode application, one of which concerns standards for the unambiguous identification of logistics units on a global scale, alongside the unambiguous identification of: trade units, locations, assets, and service relationships.
The article comes from the magazine “Logistyka” 2002/1.