Barcode - "Identity card" for goods to integrate into the world

With the increasing demands on goods and transaction methods to meet the digitalization trend to serve the work of inspection, payment, transportation and management, the barcode was born, bringing many practical applications and being widely used in many countries around the world. It is a mandatory condition for a product to be traceable, from which it can be put on the shelves of stores, supermarkets and exported.

Barcode is a mandatory condition for a product to have clear origin traceability.

Many utilities from codes and barcodes

In recent years, consumers have become accustomed to going to supermarkets or convenience stores to shop for goods. Here, everyone can see goods with packaging with MSMV or code labels affixed directly on the product. In goods management, people call that series of numbers and lines MSMV. However, many consumers and businesses do not know what MSMV is and why it must be printed on each product.

Barcodes are a group of parallel bars and spaces placed alternately to represent codes in a form that can be read by scanners. MSMV is obtained by a barcode scanner, which is a machine that receives images of barcodes printed on surfaces and transfers the information contained in the barcode to computers or devices that need this information. Barcodes are used in places where objects need to be numbered with related information so that computers can process them. Instead of having to type a string of data into the computer's input section, the operator only needs to scan the barcode for the barcode reader. One of the most important tasks of businesses when applying MSMV is to manage their product codes according to the principle that each code number corresponds to a single product type, without confusion.

Usually, consumers pay little attention to MSMV when buying goods, only focusing on considering the price and quality of the product. With small items and appliances, if they do not have doubts about the quality of the product, they do not pay attention to that point. With expensive items that have a long usage time, people start to pay attention to MSMV to identify genuine and fake goods.

According to the recommendations of trade experts, when buying and selling goods, we need to look at the MSMV to know the country of production of the goods, the country, from there it is easy to trace the origin of the product. For example, to check the barcode of Vietnamese goods is: 893. To identify the country code of the goods, where it is produced, the simple way is to look at the list of barcode symbols of countries in the world , countries that have registered in the international GS1 system, helping consumers to identify and distinguish goods of different countries through MSMV symbols to avoid commercial fraud and counterfeit goods.

Advantages and disadvantages of application

Vietnam has only started to apply MSMV technology since 1995, mostly serving export goods and retail in supermarkets and convenience stores. From the initial stage where there were only more than 40 businesses using MSMV, there are now tens of thousands of items with code number 893 of Vietnam circulating in domestic and foreign markets. The open and integrated economy helps Vietnamese businesses to access the advances in barcodes in the world. Learning from large corporations about barcode application has helped Vietnamese businesses to shorten the gap in competitiveness. Not only that, integration also promotes the process of "barcoding" in businesses because it is inevitable in the present era if businesses want to survive. Barcodes help reduce management costs, systematize information in businesses, serve customers accurately and quickly, thereby improving competitiveness.

Although the application of barcodes in our country is currently developing, the synchronization in business and production in enterprises is not high, so the applications of barcodes have not been fully utilized. The application of MSMV technology has only stopped at granting business codes, guiding enterprises to print barcodes on products and goods to serve sales, and has not yet deployed the application of MSMV types on delivery and transportation units, in electronic data exchange (EDI - Electronic Data Interchange) and identifying partners in production and business transactions. The number of enterprises applying MSMV technology is low, the number of Vietnamese goods using MSMV is not much.

The widespread application of MSMV in other fields such as service industries and social culture... is slow and not very effective. Even because the application is sometimes spontaneous, scattered, without guidance on technology and techniques from state management agencies, businesses have imported outdated printing devices and MSMV software compared to current international standards. On the other hand, MSMV activities have not been uniformly managed, MSMV counterfeiting still occurs in forms such as: arbitrarily taking another business's MSMV to print on one's own products, or thinking up a MSMV and printing on products circulating on the market...

Need to promote use

According to experts, it is necessary to widely use barcode technology in necessary areas of life, thereby increasing the number of businesses using barcodes, helping to increase the speed of goods processing and business efficiency. Research and widely apply MSMV in other areas of the national economy as well as service and social culture sectors; Continuously update barcode recognition technology; Unified management of barcode systems to help goods be better classified and accurately identify products are practical requirements.

To promote the application of MSMV technology, it is necessary to research and deploy the application of new technologies and standard codes that the world is applying such as radio frequency identification technology in the global supply chain; Popularize the application of electronic product codes for RFID technology; Popularize the application of new types of codes and barcodes that are standardized and internationally accepted. In addition, build a national database of Vietnamese enterprises and products; Update and complete the database of enterprises using barcodes, in English and Vietnamese.

A series of feasible measures also need to be implemented soon, such as participating in the GS1 Global Information Registration Network - GEPIR Global network; Researching and implementing the establishment of an electronic product catalog using barcodes; Supporting Vietnamese enterprises in preparing conditions to register to join global networks - GR (Global Registry); GDSN (Global Data Synchronization Network); EPC Global. Promoting and assisting ministries and branches in MSMV application activities. In particular, areas such as human resource management (civil servant management, identity cards...), tracing the origin of food (including seafood and clean vegetables), in the medical and public health care sector... need to be encouraged and enhanced with MSMV application.

MSMV has become increasingly popular with Vietnamese people. However, to keep up with the times, with the trend of technology integration of the whole world, we need to further promote the application of MSMV to all businesses across the country, gradually change the shopping habits of people from urban to rural areas, through reasonable support policies, and at the same time have effective measures to eliminate counterfeit MSMV.

On November 1, 2017, the Government issued Decree 119/2017/ND-CP regulating administrative sanctions for violations in the field of standards, measurement and quality of products and goods. In particular, the Decree specifically stipulates the fine level for violations of regulations on the use of MSMV. Specifically, a fine of 6-10 million VND will be imposed for one of the following acts: Using MSMV with the prefix Vietnam Country Code (893) without being granted the right to use MSMV by a competent authority; using MSMV that has been revoked; selling or transferring MSMV that has been granted.

A fine of 10-20 million VND shall be imposed for one of the following acts: Using foreign MSMV to print on products, goods manufactured, processed, packaged, or decanted in Vietnam without written permission from a competent foreign agency or the organization that owns the MSMV; using signs that cause confusion with MSMV of a competent state management agency of Vietnam and the International MSMV Organization...

According to the recommendations of trade experts, when buying and selling goods, we need to look at the MSMV to know the country of production of the goods, the country, from there it is easy to trace the origin of the product.

MAI LAN

Source: https://nhandan.vn/ma-so-ma-vach-can-cuoc-de-hang-hoa-hoi-nhap-the-gioi-post315699.html