Setting up Supplier barcode scanning

9 years ago
DatosSupport
6 minutes

If a supplier has a standard barcode format, we have the ability in Season to set up that format so that the supplier barocde should be scannable in Factory.

This is particularly useful for getting trace information and weights out of the barcode.

There are 2 types of barcodes that we currently deal with in the system, GS1 and Non-GS1.

GS1 Barcodes

The GS1 format is a standard format for encoding information in barcodes.

Each item of information has 2 parts. An Application Identifier and a Data element.

Multiple items of information can be appended to make up a barcode.

Some elements are fixed length, some are variable length. Variable length elements usually have to have a termination character to tell the scanner that the elements data has finished.

Some elements have data formatted or masked in certain ways e.g. dates are formatted YYMMDD. A full list of the identifiers, their format and usage can be found here.

In Season we can set up each of our traceability codes to be associated with a specific GS1 Application Identifier.

To do this,

  1. Load the traceability code in the traceability code setup program and select the appropriate Barcode Identifier from the drop down list. This is a fixed list of the identifiers.

  1. Some identifiers have an addition digit on the end that qualifies the identifier.
  2. Click the Save button when done.

GS1 Overrides and Exceptions

Sometimes a supplier won’t implement the GS1 standard correctly. For example, their data may be missing termination characters, it may have an incorrect length, it may have an incorrect mask applied, or the may be using one of the identifiers for a different purpose than was intended or that differs from the main setup above.

In Season we call these GS1 Overrides and Exceptions.

Supplier GS1 Overrides

GS1 Overrides are when a supplier uses an application identifier for a different purpose than the standard or for a different purpose than the main traceability code setup above.

An override allows us to tell the system that, for this supplier, this application identifier matches a specific traceability code item.

To set up a GS1 Override,

  1. Bring the supplier up in Supplier Setup
  2. Click on the Tools menu -> Supplier Barcode Setup. This should launch the supplier barcode setup program.
  3. Click on the GS1 Overrides button.
  4. You can then enter the Season Traceability Code item, it corresponding GS1 Identifier Code and qualifier if necessary.
  5. As usual, Tab to complete the line saves, Shift + F2 deletes.

Supplier GS1 Exceptions

GS1 Exceptions are when a supplier has not implemented the GS1 specification correctly. For example, they date is in the wrong format (DDMMYY instead of YYMMDD), or they have not put the termination character on a variable length data item.

The exceptions allows us to set up the differences to the standard.

To set up an Exception,

  1. Bring the supplier up in Supplier Setup
  2. Click on the Tools menu -> Supplier Barcode Setup. This should launch the supplier barcode setup program.
  3. Click on the GS1 Exceptions button.
  4. You can then enter how the supplier has implemented the Application Identifier (the data type, whether it is fixed or variable length, the length and the mask).
  5. As usual, Tab to complete the line saves, Shift + F2 deletes.

Non-GS1 Supplier Barcodes

If the supplier has not implemented the GS1 standard for their barcodes, or are using a different standard, you can set up Season with the supplier barcode format so that their barcodes will be scannable in the Factory.

To set up a Non-GS1 supplier barocde format,

  1. Each element you want to pull out of the barocde has to be set up as a Traceability Code first. If any elements aren’t set up as Traceability Codes, set them up first. Then,
  2. Bring the supplier up in Supplier Setup
  3. Click on the Tools menu -> Supplier Barcode Setup. This should launch the supplier barcode setup program.

  1. Select the Traceability Code item
  2. The data type should be pulled from the Traceability Code. If not you can enter it manually
  3. Enter in the start position in the barcode. The first character is at position 1. Be wary of hidden characters in the barocde
  4. Enter in the length of the data item
  5. If the data item is a number you will also be able to enter the number of decimal places for this number.
  6. The number of decimal places may be encoded in the barcode itself. If this is the case, leave the ‘Decimal Places’ as 0 and enter the position of the decimal precision in the Decimal Position column.
  7. If the column has the date data type you will be able to enter in the date mask. The mask tokens are,
    • DD – day
    • MM – Month
    • YY – 2 Digit Year
    • YYYY – 4 Digit Year
    • JJJ – Julian day number.
  8. These can be compounded together to get the correct mask. e.g. DDMMYYYY, YYMMDD, YYJJJ etc.
  9. The mask should always be capitals.As usual, Tab to complete the line saves, Shift + F2 deletes.
  10. As usual, Tab to complete the line saves, Shift + F2 deletes.

Supplier Barcode Scanning Wizard

Both Office and Factory have a Supplier Barcode Scanning Wizards to make setting up the barcode easier.

Using the Wizard in Office

To use the office wizard,

  1. First, set up all the elements in the barcode in the Supplier Barocde Setup screen. You can leave the positions and lengths blank at this stage. But you’ll need to have the data types and masks entered where appropiate.
  2. Click on the wizard button
  3. Scan the barcode into the form at the top of the wizard.
  4. Enter in the data from the label
  5. Press the Search button.
  6. The wizard will the attempt to find the data in the barcode.
  7. The data items will be given a colour and highlighted.
  8. If an item is highlighted in the wrong position in barcode, select the item on the list and use the forward ‘>’ and back ‘<‘ buttons to adjust the position.

  1. Keep in mind that the wizard can not cope with data overlap. So if elements overlap each other, this will need to be set up manually in the Supplier Barocde Setup Screen
  2. When you are satisfied with the positions of the elements, click on the OK button