We are all familiar with the system of having your bag of fruit or vegetables weighed by a sales assistant, or selecting your package of meat or cheese by the weight related barcode attached to the differing packages.
So how can a barcode created and printed instantly on the spot identify both the item and its correct pricing?
A normal UPC or EAN barcode which is appended to non-weighted items will be unique to its specific product. This barcode therefore, when scanned at the checkout till, will call up the product data and pricing directly from the shop’s inventory system where the data was originally captured. But what if the shop sells the same type of product in a range of weights, such as cheeses, biltong and fruit and vegetables? Naturally you can’t use the same barcode number on a 500g item and its 1kg counterpart! So how can a barcode be printed in-store which identifies both the product and its price – for example 0.980kg of ground lean beef or 1.30kg of large granny smith apples?
In essence, these barcodes are a type of ‘data embedded’ code; and can appear in both an EAN-13 symbology (as used on retail items here in South Africa), and UPC-A or UPC-B formats. The barcode comprises both a product code – which will indicate the cost-per-weight-unit for that specific product type; as well as a pricing indicator calculated off of the weight of the specific package. This means that the name of the product, the weight purchased and the price charged can all be displayed on your receipt too.
How the barcode is formed:
The barcode begins with a special prefix which identifies it a weight-related item; the standard prefix used globally as stipulated by GS1 is generally 2 or 02. In SA, where normal retail barcodes begin with 600, this lets the Electronic Cash Register (ECR) know that a weight-related price must be charged. Following this prefix, a PLU – Price Look Up – code is employed, which identifies the type of merchandise – for example mature cheddar cheese. You may have noticed these codes displayed at the pricing scale at your local grocery store for the sales assistant to enter when measuring the weight of your item(s).
The barcode begins with a special prefix which identifies it a weight-related item; the standard prefix used globally as stipulated by GS1 is generally 2 or 02. In SA, where normal retail barcodes begin with 600, this lets the Electronic Cash Register (ECR) know that a weight-related price must be charged. Following this prefix, a PLU – Price Look Up – code is employed, which identifies the type of merchandise – for example mature cheddar cheese. You may have noticed these codes displayed at the pricing scale at your local grocery store for the sales assistant to enter when measuring the weight of your item(s).
Traditionally, these PLU codes are 4 digits in length, although there has been debate about adding a fifth digit to the beginning of the PLU code, which would identify whether the item of produce is organic (prefixed with a 9); or genetically modified (prefixed with 8) or non-qualified (prefix 0), or conventionally grown (3 or 4) – to date adherence to this system is still voluntary, although some of the larger retailers internationally are beginning to insist upon implementation due to pressure from customers.
Following the PLU, a check digit is employed to validate that the item type has been identified correctly – i.e. the barcode has scanned successfully. This is mathematically computed by the scanning software.Now the pricing indicator is displayed. This is of course calculated from the cost-per-kilogram multiplied by the weight of the item. In South Africa we generally use a 5-digit system so that a total cost of up to R999.99 can be displayed (imagine buying a large weight of Norwegian Salmon or game biltong!) however, in countries where the Pound or Euro is used for example a 4-digit code may be sufficient to cover the possible highest price. (In non-food items sold by weight, such as steel and some fabrics, the pricing indicator may be replaced with a weight indicator for industrial inventory purposes.) And then finally, as with all retail barcodes, a final check digit follows to verify the entire barcode.
The next time you purchase an item by weight have a look at the 5 digits at the end of the barcode number (ignoring the final check digit) – this will be the same as the price indicated on the label. (See an example $US barcode with final check digit 6 below) All in all the random weight barcoding system is an elegant and simple solution to a tricky retail problem!
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