{"id":10373,"date":"2023-12-06T16:23:16","date_gmt":"2023-12-06T16:23:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shipbob.com\/au\/blog\/universal-product-codes-upc\/"},"modified":"2025-08-26T00:22:50","modified_gmt":"2025-08-26T00:22:50","slug":"universal-product-codes-upc","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/www.shipbob.com\/au\/blog\/universal-product-codes-upc\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Get Ahead in Ecommerce with UPC Numbers (From The Experts)\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Table of Contents<\/p>

** Minutes<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n

What are universal product codes? <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The importance of UPC numbers in ecommerce <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Universal product code use cases: Industry-wide examples <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A walkthrough of ShipBob\u2019s product and order fulfilment process <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Product and inventory management magic with ShipBob <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Universal product code FAQs <\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Successful ecommerce brands are built on organisation \u2013 and to run a well-organised ecommerce operation, you need to have an equally well-organised method of tracking and identifying your products.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most brands create unique SKUs<\/a> (stock keeping units), and use these labels internally to distinguish different products. But what happens when you start selling your products in new channels or countries? If every brand were to insist on using its own labelling system, it would be difficult \u2013 even impossible \u2013 to sell your products in other marketplaces<\/a>.        <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s why universal product codes, or UPCs<\/a>, are important. UPCs give ecommerce brands across the globe a standardized way to identify, label, and distinguish their products. This system not only makes collaborative selling easier, but can also help your brand improve its inventory management<\/a> and tracking.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this post, we\u2019ll explore UPC codes: what they are, how real companies use them, and how ShipBob leverages product codes and best practices to optimise fulfilment for ecommerce brands.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What are universal product codes? <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A Universal Product Code, or UPC, is a universally unique numerical code and corresponding barcode assigned to a product. When scanned, the barcode reveals important information about the product such as brand name, size, price, and more. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This code is used by warehouses and point-of-sales systems to keep track of inventory and sales. UPCs remain constant regardless of who is selling the product, where it is sold, or how it is sold.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

UPCs can be up to 12 digits, and typically include three main components: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

1.<\/strong> Manufacturer identification number \u2013<\/strong> The first six to nine digits of the UPC is the manufacturer identification number. The nonprofit organisation GS1<\/a> assigns a unique six-digit prefix to every business, which helps identify who owns the intellectual property rights to that product. This means that if two different products were created by the same small business, those products\u2019 UPCs would have the same first 6 digits.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

2.<\/strong> Item number \u2013<\/strong> The next five digits make up the item number of the product. This is unique to each product and product variation. For example, a yellow sweater should have a different item number than a green sweater of the same design. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

3.<\/strong> Check digit \u2013 <\/strong>The final digit is a check digit, which is used to validate the UPC in your POS or inventory management system. This digit is the sum of all the previous digits, which ensures that no two UPCs are the same. A correct check digit is necessary for the UPC barcode to scan properly and present the item details for the correct product.  <\/p>\n\n\n

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Source<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The importance of UPC numbers in ecommerce <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Ever since its creation and launch in 1973<\/a>, the UPC has transformed how brands do business. Here are just some of ways that UPCs have impacted and benefitted ecommerce for customers and brands alike.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

They make transactions more efficient <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Before barcodes existed, cashiers in physical stores had to manually type in and ring up the price for every individual item. This ate up enormous amounts of time, took a lot of effort and precision, and caused checkout lines to stretch out store doors.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

UPCs changed that. With a quick scan, UPC codes provide consistent item and price details immediately, making in-person retail transactions exponentially more efficient. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

They speed up order fulfilment  <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

UPC barcodes aren\u2019t just useful during checkout; rather, ecommerce brands can use UPCs within their warehouses to make order fulfilment<\/a> faster and easier.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, if every inventory item has a sticker with the product\u2019s UPC on it, a picker can quickly scan and read that product\u2019s details instead of inputting the information manually. This significantly reduces the time it takes to identify and pick products.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

They enhance picking and packing accuracy <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

UPCs not only make fulfilment faster \u2013 they make it more accurate, too. When warehouse staff can quickly read product information by scanning UPC codes, it allows them to double-check whether they\u2019re picking<\/a> and packing the right items. This minimises errors in the fulfilment process, which improves order accuracy<\/a> rates and boosts your perfect order metric.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

They make tracking inventory movement easier <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In an ecommerce warehouse, UPC barcode scanning can often be synched with your inventory management system (IMS). This way, when a UPC is scanned, your inventory system will automatically capture the item\u2019s information and will record what happens to it (whether it\u2019s being placed in storage, picked for an order, disposed of, etc.). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This helps to speed up the process of tracking inventory movement<\/a> within the warehouse, plus provides real-time data on inventory levels<\/a> without requiring constant manual counts.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Global perspectives: UPC beyond borders <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

UPC codes are commonly used in North America and countries like Australia and the United Kingdom. However, other countries used different types of product identification, which you should be familiar with if you decide to sell in those regions.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

European countries and Japan, for example, each have their own product tag<\/a> systems:\u00b7   <\/p>\n\n\n\n