Use barcodes in labelling products - Businesses urged

The Ministry of Trade and Industry has advised Ghanaian businesses, especially exporters, to use barcodes in the labelling of their products.

That, it said, would facilitate the easy acceptance and smooth entry of the products into the international markets.

In a speech read on his behalf at a forum to mark the 10th anniversary of One Global Standard (GS1-Ghana) in Accra on Thursday, a Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry (MoTI), Mr Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed, said coding and labelling were now considered critical aspects of product quality or acceptability to consumers hence the need for Ghanaian exporters to use barcodes.

GS1-Ghana is an independent not-for-profit organisation registered in Ghana in 2006 to issue and provide technical assistance for the proper use of barcodes by Ghanaian businesses.

Barcodes are used worldwide for marketing of retail goods scanned at Point-of-Sale (POS).

Mr Muhammed explained that barcode technology was an automatic data collection system that enabled information to be conveyed and entered into computer systems without typing it.

He said since producing a good product was no longer enough to keep a company competitive in today’s global marketplace, there was the need for businesses to ensure consistent quality.

“This requires the use of systems of production with standardised processes and a common business language using electronic data capture technologies to monitor and manage the movement of product and information through every component along the supply chain,” he said.

MoTI support

The deputy minister said the ministry was concerned with supporting exporters by helping them to overcome technical barriers to trade. 

“Barcodes are a relatively new technology and many manufacturers in Ghana are unaware of the tremendous benefits of this technology and its importance for securing or maintaining an export market,” he said.

Mr Muhammed, therefore, commended the management of GSI-Ghana for helping Ghanaian businesses attain the international standard of doing business.

GS1-Ghana determined

The Chief Executive Officer of GS1-Ghana, Mr Johnson Opoku-Boateng, said over the past years, the company had focused mainly on supporting businesses attain international standard.

“GS1 is represented in more than 110 countries worldwide, managing the GS1 Standards in more than 20 sectors, including trade, production, warehousing health care publication, banks, libraries and offices,” he said.

According to Mr Opoku-Boateng, GS1 standard was the most widely used supply chain standards system in the world with over five billion transactions a day by more than one million companies worldwide.

“With the GS1 system, businesses and organisations can improve the efficiency of their supply and demand chains by adding useful information to any exchange of goods and services,” he added.