Electronic Data Interchange using Two Dimensional Bar Code

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. The transmission of shipment information between suppliers and customers was identified as a potential application of bar code EDI. Conventional EDI approaches encounter problems deriving from lack of synchrony between the electronic message and the physical delivery and these problems become especially acute in a Just-In-Time replenishment environment. Results are reported of three studies conducted addressing different aspects of the feasibility of bar code EDI: its organizational feasibility, its technical feasibility and its practical feasibility.