Beware of the Bar Code

Beware of the Bar code

Technology is two sided weapon..it can be used for doing good or bad. To show by a simple how technology has transformed business.

As a retired retailer of over 30 years..the business has been transformed from a labour intensive industry to a much higher technology driven business. Before the computers and the bar code,the whole system was manual. Retailers had what were known as stocktakers. They would count items on the shelves and update the stock sheet..which then goes to the purchasing department who determine how much stock to re-order. This manual system was prone to errors and very time consuming and costly in manpower.

With the introduction of computers and bar code readers...This system became simpler and more accurate saving many hours and less labour needed. We are now very familiar with scan tills at the super markets. When they were first introduced they were very expensive..due to there high cost only large retailers could afford them. As a retailer the scan till when first introduced cost the equivalent of one years wage at the time of $5000.

As technology progressed the cost of scan tills has come down..now you can buy a scan till for less than $500..hence many retailers small and large can afford them. This made retailing much more efficient and profitable with now real time information on what people are buying. This means that retailers now not only know what people are buying..they now can forecast what people will buy in the future. They also now know with loyalty cards who is buying what..how often..they can also follow changes in buying behaviour.

Today bar codes are used in many industries..including the postal service..your Amazon delivery will have bar code on it or QR now.

The Con

With the bar code has come mass unemployment in the retail industry. In the UK in the past a Supermarket would employ over 300 people (full and part time)..today the number is far less.. fewer people needed ..fewer scan tills...more self service tills ...less cash used ..more card payments..eventually cash is going to be eliminated..this will mean governments will have complete control over peoples finances.