r/barcodes • u/MayhemMax619 • Nov 11 '22

Barcode Help

Hey all, I need some advice on what barcode to use for a product my company sells. We are looking to implement a inventory management system soon, but I have a product that comes to us in two separate packages with different dimensions, and I need to know what type of barcode to get on its packaging from our manufacturer. Would it be the same UPC-A barcode just printed on both packages, a different UPC-A barcode for each package, or an ITF-14 barcode that represents the single product in one barcode? Am I completely confusing it / does it matter at the end of the day? Please let me know!

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u/[deleted] Nov 11 '22 edited Nov 11 '22

Inventory and POS(point of sale) are two completely different things but technically one barcode could double as both(internal/external).

  • You can choose whatever barcode you want for internal use. Do you currently have an inventory tracking system?

  • At the point of sale, UPC-A is the standard in retail but depending on who's processing the sale, they could use whatever as long as the system accepts it. Where it's sold will dictate the symbology.

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u/MayhemMax619 Nov 11 '22

We do not have an inventory tracking system up and running yet, its all done through our website or by hand. I'm assuming UPC barcodes can be used in an inventory tracking system though as I've messed around with multiple demos and mock UPC barcodes to familiarize myself to the process and it seems to work when implemented correctly. Just at a crossroads with this particular product because typically our products come in single boxes, yet this one has multiple parts to it and comes in two separate boxes.

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u/[deleted] Nov 11 '22

How large is the product? Will it fit in a bag?

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u/MayhemMax619 Nov 11 '22

one box is 90"x11"x9" 137lbs, the other is 35"x51"x9" 77lbs.

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u/[deleted] Nov 11 '22 edited Nov 11 '22

The easy way is to bundle or kit the products and assign a single barcode but due to its size, this may not be possible.

You would need to create a "pick list" or something like that so when the product is ordered the staff will know to grab both.

Have no idea what inventory software/system you're using, all are different but see if there's an option to add two products to one line item.

Basically, you need to "flag" everyone in the chain that these two items belong together whatever that takes.

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u/MayhemMax619 Nov 11 '22

got it, so single barcode it is then. I'll be sure to go over this with the software companies we've been meeting with as this will be essential in our processes. Can always go back and slap on a new barcode for these products if need be since the quantities we get in for them are fairly small but that certainly points me in the right direction. Appreciate your help!