Shortage of UPC numbers to trigger scanner retrofit

Discount Store News, Sept 25, 1989 by Arthur Markowitz

Shortage of UPC Numbers to Trigger Scanner Retrofit

DAYTON, Ohio -- We're running out of UPC numbers and here's what's being done about it.

The Universal Code Council, guardian of the UPC bar code system, plans to include another digit within a portion of the UPC code to prevent an impending shortage of manufacturer identification numbers.

Retailers, in turn, will have to retrofit their scanners during the next few months to capture the additional digit that will become part of the Number System Character section of the UPC code. A number of merchants will also have to reprogram their internal files so that they can track the new series of manufacturer code numbers.

However, the UCC "strongly suggests" that retailers upgrade their scanning equipment to capture 14 digits to accommodate the full Shipping Container Code (SCC) and the European Articles Number (EAN) code used on products produced outside of the United States and Canada.

The UCC has set December 1989/January 1990 as the time frame when it will include an additional Number System Character digit as part of the UPC code. The council expected to decide in October or November the exact date that the new block of manufacturer ID numbers will become active and whether that Number System Character digit will be NSC 6 or 7.

The so-called 10-digit UPC code used in the United States really contains 12 numbers. Most scanners currently recognize a Number System Character as part of the UPC code. That NSC is "0" and scanners will have to be retrofitted to be able to read NSCs from 0 to 9.

The NSC is the digit found on the left side of the UPC bar code, usually in a smaller size than the main set of 10 digits that has universally been recognized as the UPC code. The other, 12th, number is found on the right side of the bar code. It's a check digit that verifies the code.

The main 10-digit code is composed of two five-digit portions. The five numbers on the left are the manufacturer's UPC ID code--assigned by the UCC--while the five digits on the right are the item numbers designed by the vendor. The bar that is part of the UPC code is the symbolic representation of all the numbers of the code, with scanners reading these wide and narrow black lines, rather than the human readable numbers.

While retailers and vendors have viewed the manufacturer ID number as a five-digit code, the UCC is now promoting the concept that each supplier's unique identity is really a six-digit code: the NSC and the five numbers on the left side of the bar code.

This combination is the UPC code that actually identifies a specific producer. These six numbers are also the basis for the SCC and EAN codes.

Almost all the manufacturer UPC codes assigned so far have been under NSC "O," the number designated for food and general merchandise vendors. A few hundred pharmaceutical manufacturers have "3" as their NSC. Each NSC can accommodate 100,000 10-digit UPC code numbers.

The worldwide acceptance of the UPC code has resulted in the UCC since 1973 issuing about 75,000 manufacturer ID numbers under NSC "0," with the possibility that the remaining unassigned 25,000 manufacturer codes will run out in another year. The UCC has therefore decided to activate another NSC number to expand the UPC code pool.

Five NSC numbers--0, 2, 3, 4 and 5--have already been assigned for specific functions and the council has targeted 6 or 7 as the next NSC digit to identify a manufacturer UPC code. The remaining numbers, 1, 8 and 9, have been reserved for future uses.

The NSC identifier has ensured the code's flexibility by allowing for a unique 10-digit set while also indicating its practical application.

The UCC has issued a UPC bulletin on the proposed NSC change. It is available from the council by calling (513) 435-3870.

PHOTO : Retail outlets (above) will have to reset scanners to capture expanded Number System

PHOTO : Character portion of UPC code (inset), currently the `0' area on left.