Manufacturer's Bar Code Input Page

Purpose:

In order to assist our customers in identifying useable bar codes, we have created this page to collect various bar code information pieces. The intent is to clearly identify bar codes which a manufacturer places on various packaging units of the same product. Additionally, it is intended as an educational tool to identify what consumers of these products want in bar codes and the reasoning why those wants are important.

Producer To Payer Schema

Supply chain efficiency extends not just between manufacturers and distributors, but also from distributors, through providers, customers and payers of insurance. The benefit of being able to tell a payer, Medicare for instance, that a specific beneficiary received a specific product and that product needs to be paid quickly, can be streamlined by using a single identifying number or bar code for that product.  Our current payment system is cluttered by the use of up to eight or ten identifiers for the same product throughout the supply chain. An easy solution rests in the ability of manufacturers to bar code products at the Unit Of Use.  This unit of use is exactly what the payer needs to determine most clearly what it is paying for.   The Producer To Payer relationship is tied by the Unit Of Use bar code.

Packaging and Bar Code Numbering

We understand that the supply chain involves 'bundling' of Unit of Use items.  Manufacturers are the key partners in helping the rest of the Producer To Payer entities realize this streamlining efficiency. As they make and package their products, they need to be aware of where and when 'unbundling' will occur.  It is at the 'unbundling' point that a same, but similar bar code must be placed on the packaging. An example would be tubes of toothpaste.  Each tube (TU) has a unit of use bar code.  A case (CA) of 36 Tubes has a bar code.  A pallet (PL) of 48 Cases (1728 Tubes) has a bar code.  A train-car load of 50 pallets (86,400 Tubes) has it's own bar code.

'Unbundling' usually occurs as follows:  Manufacturers usually sell their products in case (CA) quantities.  Distributors usually sell their products in Case quantities or less.  Providers (Nursing Homes, Home Health Agencies, Etc.) ordinarily dispense their products to the consumers at the Unit of Use level. Insurance claims are almost always at the unit of use level or multiples thereof.

In the United States, there are two generally used standards of bar code applications:

1)    UCC/EAN - Uniform Code Council -  This bar code grouping is numeric and generally uses two main types of bar codes. UPC-A is the codification you ordinarily see in the grocery store.  SCC-14  is the second which often appears on the outside of cases.  It is distinguished by the first set of numbers on the left of the human readable numbers. They indicate which level of packaging you are seeing.  Cases may be (01) xxxxxxxxxxxxx, Pallets may be (03)xxxxxxxxxxxxx, etc.

2)    HIBCC - Health Industry Bar Code Council - These bar codes are alpha-numeric and utilize both Code 128 and Code 39 bar codes. They are quickly identified with the Flag Indicator, '+H' on each bar code.

Which ever scheme is used, and however many packaging levels are necessary, the manufacturer is fully in charge of what numbers go on its products.  Once a manufacturer has purchased its manufacturing code from HIBCC or UCC, it has laid the groundwork to help build the 'Producer To Payer' model for their customers.

Sharing Your Information:

Excel Format: - If you have identified your products at all Unit of Use and Packaging/Shipping Levels, you are welcome to use the attached Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet to share your information with all of us. Download 'Manufacturer Bar Code Worksheet.xls'

Data Entry Form: