Integrated Business Communications Alliance
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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS: Make to Order Items and U.P.C. Question: Our company makes man-aboard lifts that are always made to order. How do we use the U.P.C.? Answer: There really isn’t a simple answer to this question, but if you sell the service parts to maintain them, you’ll find U.P.C. very helpful. To understand how the U.P.C. can be used in a situation like this, we must understand that the U.P.C. is part of a much broader set of guidelines administered by the Uniform Code Council (UCC). Product identification numbers (like the U.P.C.) need to fit a broad spectrum of product. One end of the spectrum would be a roll of electrical tape that is manufactured in thousands, if not millions, of quantity. On the other end of the spectrum are the types of products that J.L.G. manufactures which are thoroughly unique and carry serial numbers. The Industrial/Commercial Guidelines provide the framework to identify products at both ends of the spectrum. The question was, "Where can we use U.P.C. within our company"? The answer is related to the spare parts and other items that would be sold to maintain the equipment rather than a U.P.C. number on the individual item. I went on to explain that the U.P.C. Guidelines tell how to identify various elements of information in addition to the standard U.P.C. number (U.P.C. is also the name of the symbology). In this example, the U.P.C. Guidelines provide an Application Identifier that is assigned to each different element of information that is used by the system to tell whether the data being scanned is a serial number, lot number, purchase order number, manufacturer’s configuration-to-order number, or any one of many other elements of information that could be used in a transaction. Furthermore, the UCC Guidelines specify a symbology called UCC/EAN-128. It is important to use this special symbology since there may be many other bar codes on products shipping through a distribution channel. This special symbology, used in conjunction with the Application Identifiers, provides the best way to uniquely identify information so that computer systems can reliably input data that has been read by a bar code scanner. My recommendation, whether they have highly complex products or not, is to develop a Company Bar Code Policy. It should state what elements of information will be encoded and how the information is to be used. In this case, he understood that they do need to apply for and receive a U.P.C. manufacturer identification number. They will use that number on parts and they will use the Uniform Code Council (UCC) Industrial/Commercial Guidelines as the basis for their company policy.
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IBCA Phone: 215.489.1722 Email: kelleyt@quadii.com |