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  4. Why do some items have alternate barcodes and non-sellable UPCs?

Why do some items have alternate barcodes and non-sellable UPCs?

The sellable UPC field is only used for 12-digit UPCs. However, due to acquisitions, customer-specific requirements, and business decisions, we have items that do not fit the standard 12-digit UPC requirement.

What kind of alternate barcodes exist?

  • 3 of 9
    • 9 digits
    • The format is a Digital Check customer-specific requirement.
    • Example:
  • EAN
    • 13 digits
    • Stands for European Article Number
    • They came with the Bluelounge acquisition since they were a Singapore-based company then. We have since transitioned to Advantus-owned barcodes for new product development.
    • Example:
  • ISBN
    • 13 digits
    • Stands for International Standard Book Number
    • These are used by our reference book vendors like Websters and Merriam-Webster.
    • Example:
  • ITF-14
    • 14 digits
    • Are typically not intended for Point-of-Sale scanning but for product groupings
    • Example:
  • Inner as Sellable Unit
    • An Advantus business decision mostly seen in COP.
      • ID/Security will sell several individually barcoded products in a single box. The UOM is Box, but the individual UPC information is still recorded for packaging, sell sheets, or portal setup. The individual UPC information is known as the non-sellable UPC.
        • Example:
  • Artistic will sell an individually barcoded product (like a desk pad) in a shippable carton packed inside a master carton. Since an item can be sold in single units, the warehouse has to scan the UPC to pick orders, but the carton is typically large and hard to open. We will add an inner carton barcode to the shippable carton, so the warehouse does not have to open it, creating an “Inner as sellable unit” situation.
    • Example:
  • Inner as Sellable (No 0-Level on Item)
    • An Advantus business decision mostly seen in the COP brand Charles Leonard.
      • Charles Leonard will have an item set up as an “Inner as Sellable Unit” situation (see above), but the individual items in the sellable unit (inner carton) do not have any individual UPC information.
  • No 0-Level on Item
    • An Advantus business decision mostly seen in the COP division.
      • An item is set up where the customer buys by the each or pack but must order in master carton quantities because the individual item does not have any UPCA information.
        • For example: the 76305-C pencil box is set up as an each with a customer cost of $.35/pencil box. However, the individual pencil box has no UPCA. The customer must order 24 of them at a cost of $.35 x 24. This is not an inner as sellable unit scenario because of how the customer orders the item. If the customer ordered 1BX of 24 pencil boxes at $8.40 then it would fit the other scenario.
      • P&S will still gather the appropriate weights and dimensions of the item for item integrity, but there will be no barcode information, and we will not be using placeholders like 0000 or N/A.

Where can I find a list of items with alternate barcodes?

https://5050497.app.netsuite.com/app/common/search/searchresults.nl?searchid=10010&saverun=T&whence=

The search will list any active items where the alternate barcode box is not empty. It will give you the alternate barcode, alternate barcode type, and the non-sellable UPC (if applicable). The search has filters by division, specialist, and product line.

Updated on January 31, 2024
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