Barcoding 101: What You Need To Know

Barcoding, a form of keyless data entry facilitating automatic identification and data collection (commonly referred to as auto-ID), originated in grocery stores and has since extended to use in doctors’ offices, law firms, post offices, retail stores, security applications, car rental returns and countless others. Barcoding and related technologies have been used in manufacturing companies for shipping and receiving operations for more than 40 years. But even in these more traditional settings, barcode applications have spread throughout the enterprise to include warehousing, accounting and customer service functions, time and attendance, and package delivery, as well as the assembly line operation itself.

In all of these applications, the motivation to begin barcoding is the same: improve data management and accessibility and reduce costs. In the 1970s and 1980s, the increased use of computers in commercial and industrial companies fueled the need for improved data capture. Companies hired armies of data entry professionals tasked with entering repetitive information into network terminals. In the 1990s, this need for immediate and accurate reporting was compounded with the introduction of just-in-time inventory tracking, build-to-order manufacturing and supply chain management practices. Today, many manual data entry tasks have been replaced by barcoding.

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