Forty years ago, a 10-pack Wrigley’s gum was scanned and purchased at a Marsh Supermarket in Ohio, using what is now used 5 billion times every day: the Universal Product Code (UPC) barcode.
In honor of this special occasion, Honeywell is celebrating the anniversary this month and the role it has played in barcode and scanning innovation over the decades.
From the invention of Code 39, the most widely used barcode, to the introduction of the Aztec 2D barcode that is used on airline and railway tickets, Honeywell has continued to introduce new scanning technologies that help transform fundamental business processes.
Customers such as AstralPool, LoBue Citrus, Nature’s Best and the San Jose Police Department are just a few examples of companies that have successfully leveraged the barcode and Honeywell scanning technology to gain competitive advantage and increase operational performance.
“Just as barcodes and scanners have extended their capabilities, their recognition and application in Asia-Pacific has also broadened from solely front-facing POS into an increasing range of back-end operations – from hospital patient care to warehouse inventory and transport and logistics – as a cost-effective solution best able to meet the demands of data capture,” said Lynn Huang, Head of Marketing & Strategy, Asia-Pacific, Honeywell Scanning & Mobility.
“The barcode’s presence throughout every stage in the supply chain in Asia-Pacific has been further spurred by an era of workers being tasked with doing more with less – such as the ability to collect more information and provide better documentation and traceability,” she added.
Honeywell Scanning & Mobility is proud to contribute a broad portfolio of retail-ready and ruggedized scanners in the supply chain space to capture, process and analyze data on barcodes around the globe. It has developed innovative solutions to meet the evolving demands of customers across industries, including retail, healthcare, field service and transportation & logistics.
Honeywell’s contributions to the AIDC industry, include, but are not limited to, the following innovations:
•1971: First on-demand barcode printer
•1972: First contact-wand bar code reader patented
•1974: Invented code-39, still the most widely used barcode in the world
•1982: First handheld laser scanner with built-in decoder
•1995: First handheld 2D imager and introduced the Aztec code barcode
•1996: First omnidirectional handheld laser scanner
•2007: First near-field/far-field imager
•2013: First wearable solution to integrate voice and hands-free scanning