PACKAGING L
inear or ‘one-dimensional’ barcodes have been the mainstay on retail and product packaging since the 1970s. However, they are slowly but surely being replaced by a newer technology: the two-dimensional barcode, or ‘2D code’, which can offer significant benefits to brands while still being used at the retail point of sale (POS). The main difference between 2D codes and linear barcodes is that 2D codes, such as QR codes, can hold significantly more data, and can also usually be read by smartphones without the use of a specialist app. In addition to freeing up label space for innovative packaging designs and consumer marketing material, brands using 2D codes can embrace the additional data capabilities to provide more product information throughout their supply chains. While replacing linear barcodes is not mandatory, adopting 2D codes offers brands a significant opportunity to improve the visibility of their total supply chain – both upstream, by facilitating data sharing and visibility from suppliers, and downstream, by providing the capability to visualise products’ journeys within retail and in the hands of consumers.
QR CODES POWERED BY GS1 Global standards organisation GS1 has developed a new standard to help brands migrate from linear barcodes to 2D codes, or more specifically, to QR codes powered by GS1. While linear barcodes contain just a standard GSI product ID (also known as the GTIN), QR codes powered by GS1 hold additional GS1 identifiers (e.g. product lot, batch, and serial numbers), which act as links to digital content tailored to the exact product in your hand. While standard QR codes link to one static webpage, QR codes powered by GS1 can connect to multiple different web addresses depending on the device or application used to scan the code.
In this way, QR codes powered by GS1 facilitate data sharing in everything from shipping and logistics to aftersales support, consumer marketing, and end-of- life management.
GS1 IDENTIFIERS FACILITATING DOWNSTREAM VISIBILITY Batch, lot, and expiration data Data that facilitates the identification of products down to the batch level can provide significant benefits for brands – not least the ability to manage ingredient changes, product issues, and recalls more effectively and ensure that consumers are given the correct information for the product they have purchased. Including batch information within a 2D code allows brands to update and adjust web content for each batch. This can help brands identify where issues have arisen that might cause problems further downstream, e.g. suppliers linked to certain batches of products associated with an increase in returns and/or complaints that could indicate a problem with quality. Batch information contained within 2D codes can also be used to more effectively manage recalls by more easily tracing the information back to specific
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EMPOWERING BRANDS WITH ESSENTIAL DATA FOR DOWNSTREAM VISIBILITY
Nigel Allen, marketing manager 2D Codes, Domino Printing Sciences, explains why it’s time to say goodbye to linear barcodes and embrace enhanced variable data capabilities from QR codes powered by GS1.
Spring 2025 UKManufacturing
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