UCC
Membership / U.P.C. Information
The Universal Product
Code (U.P.C.) is a system for uniquely identifying the thousands of different
suppliers and millions of different items that are warehoused, sold, delivered,
and billed throughout retail and commercial channels of distribution.
It provides an
accurate, efficient and economical means of controlling the flow of goods
through the use of an all-numeric product identification system.
In English
please.
A Universal Product
Code, or U.P.C., is required if you are the manufacturer of an item. It
is also required if you are an allied company and private label items that
are made for you.
(If you are reselling
someone else's products, or function as a broker, you do not need a U.P.C.)
A different U.P.C.
is required for each size, color, shape, etc. of an item.
What does
it take to get one?
The process of
obtaining a U.P.C. consists of four steps:
1) completion
of the GS1 US (formerly the Uniform Code Council) Membership Application
2) payment
of the required GS1 US Membership Fee
3) receipt
from the GS1 US of your six, seven, eight, or nine digit Company Prefix
4) conversion
of the Company Prefix into a 12 digit U.P.C.
The above process,
from start to finish, takes five to seven business days, plus package shipping.
It can be expedited for an additional fee.
So how do
I do it?
Complete the On
Line GS1 US Membership Application at:
https://www.gs1us.org/upcs-barcodes-prefixes/get-started-guide/get-barcodes-from-gs1-us
Wait on GS1 US
for receipt of your Membership materials. In the package of information
will be your six, seven, eight, or nine digit Company Prefix. Once you
have that number, you can create your own U.P.C.'s.
If your Prefix
is six digits, you will need to create a five digit Product Number (or
SKU).
If your Prefix is seven digits, you will need to create a four digit Product
Number.
If your Prefix is eight digits, you will need to create a three digit product
number.
If your Prefix
is nine digits, you will need to create a two digit Product Number.
[Product Numbers
/ SKU's are numeric only, without punctuation.]
Once you have created
the above sequence of eleven numbers, you will need to calculate the twelfth
or Check Digit. To do this, use the GS1 US Check Digit Calculator at: https://www.gs1us.org/tools/check-digit-calculator
You can give this
number to your supplier / trading partner, or you can contact me for U.P.C.
Image File Creation or U.P.C. Bar Code Label Production. If you have a
large number of U.P.C.'s to create, I can assist you with a custom Excel
spreadsheet.
Please call my
office at 214-592-4570 for further details, or contact me via E-Mail.