GS1 DataBar™: A Practical Discussion

presented by

ACP GS1 DataBar Taskforce

April 2015

GS1 DataBar™: A Practical Discussion

• Hot Topics– Retirement of the NS5 Coupon UPC– Appropriate uses for the 992 Family Code– Appropriate use of the Do-Not-Double flag– International GS1 company prefixes in the U.S.– Retailer validation capabilities

GS1 DataBar™: A Practical DiscussionRetirement of the NS5 Coupon UPC

• The coupon UPC Prefix 5 barcodes on manufacturer coupons will be officially retired as of June 30, 2015.

• Most existing retail scanning systems are capable of reading the GS1 DataBar.

• In some instances, software and/ or hardware modifications may be required.

GS1 DataBar™: A Practical DiscussionUse of the 992 Bypass Validation Family Code

• The 992 family code enables unintentional and abusive consumer mis-redemption.

• Wherever possible the use of the 992 family code should be restricted to “must use” situations.

• DataBar functionality was designed to minimize the scenarios for using the 992 family code.

GS1 DataBar™: A Practical DiscussionUse of the Do-Not-Double Flag

• The Do-Not-Double (DND) flag resides in the miscellaneous elements data field of the DataBar.

• The DND flag should only be selected for in-store distributed manufacturer coupons.

GS1 DataBar™: A Practical DiscussionInternational GS1 Company Prefixes

• Many international companies sell products in the U.S. under their original country GS1-assigned prefixes.

• Those international company prefixes include meaningful leading digits (country code).

• Without the country code, conflicts with U.S. based companies may exist, causing issues during the clearing process.

GS1 DataBar™: A Practical DiscussionRetailer Coupon Validation Capabilities

GS1 DataBar™: A Practical DiscussionRetailer Coupon Validation Capabilities• Some retailers have implemented all functionality for full

DataBar validation– All purchase requirement fields– Family code validation– Systematic expiration date check

• Retailer business decisions create validation exceptions– Expiration grace periods + 30 days– Disregard start date > valid coupons in market sooner– Accepts competitors coupons > ignore Retailer GLN

• Serialization controls not considered here as they have not yet been widely implemented

GS1 DataBar™: A Practical DiscussionRetailer Coupon Validation Capabilities• Many retailers have only partially implemented functionality

for DataBar validation resulting in various combinations of the following conditions.– Validate only for primary purchase requirement field – No family code validation– Free offers sometimes treated as fixed value discounts

• Keep your national offers and corresponding coupon bar codes as straightforward as possible.

• Gain a full understanding of retailer’s validation levels prior to distributing an account-specific offer.

GS1 DataBar™: A Practical DiscussionRetailer Coupon Validation Capabilities• Only a minority of retailers still have no DataBar validation

capabilities.– Convenience & gas– Grocery independents, Mom & Pop’s, bodegas, etc.– Some still do not scan coupon bar codes at all

• Official June 2015 retirement of the legacy coupon UPC may help initiate necessary retailer hardware/software updates to realize scanning efficiencies and controls.

GS1 DataBar™: A Practical Discussion

Thank you for your participation!ACP GS1 DataBar Taskforce

Ken Conrad – Pinpoint DataJane Michels – Coupons, Inc.Pam Samaniego – Catalina

Amber Shew – InmarJackie Broberg – General Mills

Laura Czekala – NCH MarketingRay Delnicki – GS1 US

John Gorowsky - SymbologyAmber Walls – Coupons, Inc.