Even the smallest operational detail can make or break a product’s success, and few details are as deceptively simple yet powerful as a barcode. For businesses that manufacture, package, or sell ...

The concept of the barcode — an alphabet made up of thick and thin bars — came into being in the 1950s. It took another quarter of a century for one to be printed on product packaging and scanned.

Beep. That’s the sound heard over 10 billion times a day around the world. The barcode, an unassuming symbol formed from black and white lines and spaces, has become a fixture in global commerce, ...