SOP on Allocation of Bar Code
Objective: To lay down a procedure for allocating Bar Code to Products.
Scope: This SOP applicable for allocating Bar Code to Products.
Responsibilities: Personnel QA is responsible for allocation & verification of Bar Code.
Accountability: Head- Q.A shall be accountable for implementation and compliance of this SOP
Procedure: To use bar code, company has to register with GS1 India and get license providing GS1 company prefix.
GS1 company prefix for all Products is ‘000604331’ which is a unique & universal identification no.
With the help of above company prefix, we can generate a GTIN 13 digit Bar.
After receiving the SKU’s information from user department, QA shall generate the GTIN No.
GTIN 13 has 13 digits & it begins with the company prefix, followed by the product code, and ends in a check digit as shown below:
| Company Prefix (9 digit) | Product Code | Product Code | Check digit | |||||||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | X | X | X | CD |
First 9 digits are Company Prefix.
10th, 11th & 12th digits are product code which is in between 000 to 999 allocated by Company name.
13th digit is check digit & which is used to ensure that the code is correctly composed.
Procedure for calculating check Digit:
A check digit is the result of a mathematical calculation performed on the preceding digits in the number. It is used during scanning to verify that the barcode was correctly read. This calculation, called the Modulo 10 algorithm, is the same for all GS1 primary identification numbers.
An example calculating the check digit 8 9 0 6 0 4 3 3 1 0 0 1 C (check digit position)
Perform the following calculation using the GTIN – 13 numbers from the example above. Starting with the first number on the right, add all the alternate numbers 1 + 0 + 3 + 4 + 6 + 9 = 23
Multiply the result by three : 23 x 3 = 69
Starting with the second number on the right, add all alternate numbers: 0 + 1 + 3 + 0 + 0 + 8 = 12
Add the results of steps 5.5.4 & step 5.5.5: 69 + 12 = 81
Add the number needed to bring the total to the next multiple of ten 81 + 9 = 90
The number which you need to add to make it the next multiple of 10 is the check digit. In our example the check digit is 9.
The complete number is: 000604331 001 9
For automatic calculation of check digit, download check digit software from CD provided by GS1 India or also from website www.gs1india.org.The same procedure is to be repeated whenever a new product number is allocated.
Once 13- digit Bar Code generated for different product types, enter this information into GEPIR by logging in at www.gs1india.org.in followed by our username & password.
Bar Code Printing & Verification:
Once the 13-digit Bar Codes are generated it can be printed either as part of the product artwork or as a label/sticker.
Contact the printer for printing bar code with GS1 technical guideline
After printing bar code should be send to GS1 India for verification to ensure 100 % scanning rate.
If the GS1 verification report satisfactory, arrange for mass printing of product packaging or label/tags using GS1 bar codes & in case it fails then rectify it according to recommendations of GS1 India.
Finally inform supply chain partners about GS1 Bar Codes for each SKU.
After generation of 13 digit product code it shall be recorded.