Barcodes Africa

Which countries in Africa do you supply with bar codes?

SA Barcodes provides the internationally used EAN-13 (European Article Number) barcode format, which is the newer version of retail barcode adopted internationally; from the original barcode format – UPC-12 (Universal Product Code) – which was invented, first used and is still in use in the United States of America and Canada. 

This means that you are able to use our barcodes across the vast majority of the African continent. We have provided barcodes to African countries such as barcodes in Zambia, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Namibia, Botswana and even the Democratic Republic of the Congo for many years. 

The use of barcodes also eliminates room for human error of having to manually input product details and pricing into a till or system, as the barcodes are scanned by retail scanners. In addition, all barcodes currently issued or used across the African continent are in the same format – or symbology – which means that all modern retail scanners can read the barcode; whether you are in Egypt or Nigeria or using barcodes for Zambia. When you decide to start selling your products in the retail sector it is a requirement to have your products barcoded. Barcodes in retail are also used for stock inventory purposes, so that when the store does their monthly stock take they are able to scan the barcodes of all the products in their store and have a accurate and up to date stock system which should always coincide with the point of sale records for the previous month. This is also why you are required to have a unique barcode for each different product and product variation that you may have so that the store is able to know exactly what is being sold when the barcodes are scanned at the point of sale.  

The barcoding process also makes life easier for the supplier or manufacturer, distributors, retailers, and of course the end consumer. As economic growth in Africa is so vitally important; any technology which encourages this process must be supported. And remember also that barcodes are not only used for over-the-counter items! Barcodes in Zambia and other countries can also be used for asset tracking and monitoring, logistical streamlining, and even for library use. This is why SA Barcodes also supplies a design service.

Case barcodes:

Another vital part of barcoding African products are case barcodes, also known as ITF-14. These are 14 digit barcodes and this symbology is used when you are making a larger delivery of your products to a retailer or distributor. The case barcode allows the warehouse or receiving area to process how much stock of your item – for example a crate of 50 packs of animal feed going from Zambia to Kenya – have been received just with one scan as well as the specific product that the case contains. These ITF-14 barcodes are linked with the product barcode that is placed on the product inside the case. This is a compulsory requirement of the majority of retailers. In this way barcodes make the process of getting the product from the place of manufacture, to the warehouse, and eventually to the consumer, much faster, more streamlined and more importantly – much cheaper. If you want to be a contributor to a growing and more abundant Africa, then barcoding your products makes the most sense for you, and for your customers. Perhaps think about placing barcodes on your products right from the start to ensure that there are no delays when you decide to enter major retailers. We can assist you step by step in this process of acquiring your barcodes for your products and cases of products for delivery to your selected retailers.