Barcoding and labelling toolkit launched

Do you know your EAN-13 barcode from your SSCC pallet label? If not, Matthews Australasia could help with its newly launched free online barcoding and labelling training tools. The online tools are aimed at supporting Australian manufacturers who supply products to any of the major supermarkets.

The centrepiece tool is the Barcode Learning Centre, which has been developed in collaboration with GS1 Australia. It features information about each of the required barcode and label types used by the industry in Australia from consumer unit, carton and pallet level standards.

Matthews has had over four decades of experience in product coding, labelling, automatic data capture and inspection. According to Mark Dingley, Matthews’ CEO, the range of barcode tools and resources has been designed specifically to support manufacturers supplying to any of the major Australian supermarkets, including Woolworths, Coles, Aldi and Metcash. For small or medium-sized businesses, it can be challenging to keep relevant staff up to date across the range of guidelines existing within the industry.

“Talking about barcode compliance with many of our customers, it became obvious that there was a significant opportunity to assist with improving education levels in a clear and easy-to-understand format in conjunction with GS1 Australia and the major retailers,” said Dingley.

“The data tells us that the number one cause for supplier rejects at supermarket distribution centres is errors relating to SSCC pallet labels. Using the tools and resources we have launched this week has the potential to save the entire downstream supply chain, from manufacturer to distribution centre, millions of dollars nationally by improving efficiency and compliance.”

Andrew Steele, Retail Account Director for GS1 Australasia, added: “GS1 Australia is proud to have worked alongside Matthews in the development of their online Barcode Learning Centre, which we see as an invaluable tool to assist companies in understanding the fundamentals of how to produce quality barcodes that will scan first time, every time.”

In addition to the free tools and resources launched this week, Matthews also has a complete package code management software solution called iDSnet platform. It is designed to assist manufacturers to ensure the right code is always applied to the right product.

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/urbans78