Everywhere you look, products in the marketplace have a barcode, which includes items ranging from canned food to movies, and everything in between. This “code” consists of several parallel black and white patterns, which alternate between the two colors. Although to the eye the pattern appears to be simply lines, they actually represent a sequence of characters or numbers. The concept allows businesses of all types to use a barcode scanner so real time information is collected. The process is not only fast, but also highly accurate. Between coordinating software and hardware applications, efficiency and overall performance is substantially higher.

Officially known as a UPC, or Universal Product Code, the barcode was first introduced to North American markets. However, with huge success, European markets soon followed their lead in 1975, using a similar asset tracking solution called EAN, or European Article Numbering. The success of this code is tremendous, allowing various types of symbol scanners to identify, track, and inventory merchandise.