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Two million companies use barcodes.
This invention of contemporary economics is scanned more than 6 billion times a day.
Half a century ago in New York City the key element of world trade was born., the barcode to identify products. The first barcode that was scanned was that of a pack of gum from a supermarket in Ohio, United States, which is now on display at the National Museum of American History, located in Washington. And it is that the appearance of the bar code brought great advantages for an endless number of companies, thanks to the fact that it stores different information that can be read at high speed with a laser reader.
Today there are several types of barcodes, one of them is the EAN code (European Article Number), this code has 13 digits and emerged in Europe in 1979, having as a key difference that it can identify the producing country. However, this system is already in almost every country in the world, although in the United States and Canada the UPC code continues to be used.
Today is the birthday of the first big data that changed commerce
Today, the code designed by IBM engineer George J. Laurer turns 50. Although this has already evolved, for example the QR (Quick Response Code) destined to be the future of the barcode thanks to the fact that by being identified with a URL with standardized information it allows the introduction of all kinds of information. And although two-dimensional codes are not yet universal like barcodes, thanks to the pandemic they have gained popularity. Today any mobile phone can read them and they are normally used in magazines, newspapers, menus, supermarket products, among others.
The barcode is present in billions of products around the world and is used by two million companies. This icon of world trade was created in 1973 by executives of the main companies in the food industry and distribution in the United States.
These codes not only provide information to companies and consumers, they also guarantee efficiency in the processes of the chain, since their use minimizes errors in the catalog and reduces resources allocated to the exchange of information between companies. Basically your scan tells the story behind each productthat is, who made it, what country it comes from, what ingredients it contains, among other data.
How to acquire a barcode?
In Mexico, it is very easy to obtain a barcode for your products, You simply have to go to any of the offices that GS1 has in the countrythe body in charge of managing barcodes throughout Mexico.
While the cost of the membership to obtain the barcode is calculated based on the annual income of the company that requests it, therefore One of the requirements is the last annual declaration.