Barcode Types - Common Product Code

The Product Bar Code

In 1967, The Kroger Company, a major large scale chain retailer in the U.S., developed the bar code-oriented entry system and subsequently attached a barcode to each product and enter the product data automatically into computer.

The Introduction of UPC and EAN

In order to spread the barcode all over the United States, a nationally-standardized rule had to be created in order to assign a number to each product. In 1973, with the help of the American Food Chain Association, the Universal Product Code (UPC) was created.

Europe later established the European Article Number (EAN) in 1977, the common product code of European countries.The member countries of EAN are listed in "flag" page.

Going together with the improvement of functionality of the computer, spread of the common product code resulted to the introduction of the so-called POS, not only for sales management at the register, but for inventory control, stock management, sales prediction, etc.; and it has grown into an indispensable for management of large shops.

Relation of Common Product Code and the Barcode

Common Product Codes, such as UPC and EAN, are a form of barcodes. Of course, barcodes are not always used to represent products and as such can come in many different forms and using many different barcode standards.

It is also worth noting that a product code often refers to the actual digits used to represent a product while it's symbol representation is the barcode itself.