BarCodes

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BarCodes
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• In 1973 the grocery industry established a
  standard method for the identification of
  products using printed bar codes, now known as
  the Universal Product Code (UPC).

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• Pick up virtually any item in a grocery store and
  its packaging will contain a bar code that
  identifies the producer and the specific product.
  Indeed, bar codes can be found on almost every
  item in a retail store, or any package in transit
  at a shipping company, or book in a library.

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• Following the adoption of the first UPC standard,
  it took several years for the codes to become
  truly universal such that electronic bar scanners
  could be used for automated checkout at the
  grocery store.

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• The system works well, providing producers and
  merchants with a reliable method of tracking and
  managing their goods. Indeed, the bar code
  solution is so effective that variations are used
  extensively in inventory management applications
  ranging from library book circulation systems to
  package tracking for delivery servicesby
  scanning in a bar code, a package can be
  monitored at stages from pickup to eventual
  delivery.

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• The system as described is, essentially, an
  inventory management system, one that can reach
  all the way from the producer to the consumer,
  touching every point in between the concept of
  supply chain management is fundamentally
  important, especially in the manufacturing sector.

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• In the earlier example of bar-coded purchases,
  the customer remains anonymous, disconnected from
  any specific purchases. However, stores (and
  manufacturers) have become quite interested in
  the buying habits of individuals for marketing
  and branding purposes.

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• In the grocery store example, the first
  manifestation of target marketing was the concept
  of printing selected coupons on the back of the
  sales receipt, based upon the items purchased in
  that particular sale. If you bought cereal, you
  might get a coupon for a competing brand of
  cereal.

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• A more recent innovation attempts to connect the
  shopper to his or her purchase history. The
  store issues a preferred shopper card that
  uniquely identifies the shopper (or, at least,
  the family of the shopper).

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• Each time the card is used, the transaction is
  recorded and purchase information accumulated,
  thus establishing a comprehensive history of
  purchases for that shopper over time.

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• The purchase history can be used to detect
  patterns in consumer behavior, and implement
  target marketing based upon known preferences.

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• A good introductory description of bar code
  technology can be found at http//www.howstuffwork
  s.com/upc.htm.