By Matt Herman, Chairman, IPDA Technical Committee
A new DataBar product coding format that's capable of incorporating existing UPC information plus identifying the issue and its correct price is coming. Although it’s several years away, publishers and others in the magazine and book distribution supply chains should be aware of this development, the transition that will be involved and the eventual benefits for our categories.
Without getting overly technical, here’s a summary of where this product coding transition scenario stands and why it will eventually matter to all of us.
First, the basics. The DataBar—originally called RSS (for Reduced Space Symbology)—is a new-generation code from GS1, by far the dominant organization involved in creating global supply-chain data standards, including design and implementation of product bar codes. For our industry, DataBar represents an interim solution, or precursor, to widespread use of RFID product tagging (which is still probably anywhere from five to 10 years away).
DataBar’s essential benefit is that it can carry considerably more information about a product within a smaller physical space than the current coding format and can be interpreted with a single, validated scan. It can be used on hard-to-mark and small items such as fresh produce or cosmetics, yet can provide information such as supplier identification, lot numbers and expiration dates.
Per GS1’s own description, it also “creates the opportunity for solutions supporting product authentication and traceability, product quality and effectiveness, identification of variable-measure (weighed) products, and couponing.” One application would be for product recalls, where data captured through DataBar coding would enable easy identification of affected products via their lot numbers.
Ultimately, DataBar will enhance retailers’ ability to identify the supplier and brand, control shrink (scan versus key entry), manage product categories, and replenish products on a timely basis, among other applications.
What does this mean for magazines and books? Obviously, once DataBar codes do come into widespread use by retailers, improved shrink control should benefit all parties affected by scan-based trading agreements between individual retailers and their wholesaler suppliers and their up-channel supply-chain trading partners.
Critically, DataBars can also provide solutions both to the current inability of most retailers to capture which issue of a magazine is being purchased at the register during the scanning process and the difficulties currently involved in ensuring that correct, issue-specific pricing information is captured.
Clearly, these abilities would represent a leap forward for ensuring the accuracy of by-issue magazine data and streamlining the circulation auditing process. Moreover, they could eventually significantly reduce or virtually eliminate current costs associated with personnel time involved in by-issue UPC code changes needed to reflect price changes and communicating this coding information to retailers, as well as dollars lost when the appropriate price is not captured during the checkout process.
During IPDA’s discussions with GS1 as a representative of the interests of the magazine and book industries, GS1 has confirmed that DataBars would be capable of incorporating both issue identification and correct issue pricing information, and that they are prepared to work with us to develop the standards needed to incorporate this information in the codes on our products.
Where does this process stand? Retailer implementation is the first step, and given the investments required to scan DataBar--in some cases new scanners, and in many cases significant changes to databases to enable incorporation of additional product information--our understanding is that widespread adoption by retailers is likely to take three to six years. It appears that supermarkets are likely to move most quickly toward implementation.
The question for the magazine and book industries to address, then, is how we want to proceed during this retailer transition period. We do need to be aware that, at some point during this timeframe, we will reach the point at which a critical mass of retailers that carry magazines and books will be implementing DataBar coding capture capabilities, and our own ability to support this capture will become essential to maintaining our business relationships with these retailers. In truth, we will need to be in a position to be responsive when any chain representing a significant portion of magazine and book sales is ready to implement DataBar. At the same time, we must recognize that some magazine and book retailers may not implement DataBar for five, six or more years.
The magazine and book categories will need to explore and decide which options we want to pursue during this transitional period. (This transition will present complications for other product categories, as well.)
We will need to grapple with issues such as, are we willing to print both UPC and DataBar codes on our covers for a period of time, in order to enable both non-DataBar-capable and DataBar-capable retailers to capture our categories’ data at checkout? Is it feasible, due to concerns about cover esthetics or operational issues, to instead hold off until some “critical mass” of retailers affecting our categories is reached—and at what point might that be? What would be the trade-offs between sales accuracy and cover real estate?
Again, there is ample time for us to discuss this transition scenario and create plans to address it. This column is meant to be a heads-up that we should recognize that it's in our best interests to begin thinking about these issues in preparation for the discussions that will need to take place over the next few years.
One more point to consider: Once publishers and others in the supply chain do decide that it's time to begin developing DataBar formats for our categories, we estimate that it will take about a year (assuming that field-level standards are already in place) to create and implement DataBar codes meeting the specific needs of magazines and books, as well as test these before they go live.
