Universal Product Code

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Universal Product Code

The Universal Product Code (UPC) is a barcode symbology that is widely used in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and other countries for tracking trade items in stores. The UPC is a 12-digit code that is unique to each product and is used to identify the manufacturer and the specific item.

History

The UPC was first developed in the early 1970s by IBM engineer George Laurer. The first UPC-marked item ever scanned was a pack of Wrigley's Juicy Fruit chewing gum at the Marsh supermarket in Troy, Ohio, on June 26, 1974. The adoption of the UPC system revolutionized the retail industry by streamlining the checkout process and improving inventory management.

Structure

A standard UPC-A code consists of 12 numerical digits that are uniquely assigned to each trade item. The first six digits are the manufacturer identification number, the next five digits are the item number, and the final digit is a check digit used to verify that the code has been scanned correctly.

UPC-A

The UPC-A is the most common form of the UPC code. It consists of a series of black bars and white spaces of varying widths. The UPC-A code is divided into three sections: the left guard, the center guard, and the right guard, which help the scanner to read the code correctly.

UPC-E

The UPC-E is a compressed version of the UPC-A code that is used for smaller packages where a full UPC-A code would not fit. It is a 6-digit code that can be expanded back to a full 12-digit UPC-A code by adding zeroes.

Applications

The UPC is used primarily in retail settings to facilitate the checkout process. It is also used in inventory management, allowing retailers to track sales and stock levels. The UPC is scanned at the point of sale, and the information is used to update inventory records and generate sales data.

Related pages

References

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