Two-Dimensional Bar Code as a Medium for Electronic Data Interchange

The development in the late 1980s of two dimensional bar code symbologies capable of storing kilobytes of information in a single symbol and unlimited data in multiple symbols has led to the suggestion that bar code could be used as a medium for transmitting EDI messages. This paper considers whether such a suggestion targets any real business problem and whether such a system would work in practice. Results are reported of three studies conducted addressing different aspects of the feasibility of bar code EDI: its organisational feasibility, its technical feasibility and its practical feasibility.