An Informative Overview to Bar Coding in the World Around You 2. What once seemed to be simply an odd little zebra stripe that began appearing on a few retail, food industry related goods in the early 1970's has evolved into an effective and widely used productivity enhancement tool. Bar codes are a fast, easy and accurate data entry method used in the process known as automatic data collection . Bar coding enables products to be tracked efficiently and accurately at speeds not possible using manual data entry systems. The primary benefit of this process is that it is truly automatic, occurring instantaneously as a transaction or process takes place, commonly referred to as real-time data capture and exchange within the industry.
Improved accuracy is yet another benefit.
Studies show that the entry and read error rates when using automatic data collection and bar code technology is approximately 1 error in 1 million characters versus 1 error for every 300 characters in manual key entry. The IBM PC explosion in the early 1980's, served as the catalyst to promote the widespread usage and application of bar coding for automatic data collection. Over the past 20 years, bar coding has become a virtual necessity for the collection and processing of information in a quick and timely manner enabling companies, in every conceivable industry, to maximize and dramatically increase their productivity and overall efficiency. Bar codes enable managers to track information and activity as it occurs allowing their decisions to be dictated by more concrete, current information. The traditional manual key and entry process of information compiled on sheets of paper, by comparison, does not provide real-time data entry capability as the data being entered usually reflects events that occurred in the past.