Comment Re:Twelve Digits (Score 1) 388
True statement. The first 5 digits are the manufacturer code. This is assigned to a particular company. The addition digit is to address this limitation. A current manufacturer id of 12345 would become 012345.
The next 5 digits can be assigned to a product by a manufacturer as they see fit. The last digit is a check digit. Expanding the second segment would help companies that make highly seasonal items like clothing. My company needs to assign a unique UPC number for every style, color, and size combination. When producing two seasons per year, we use all 99999 UPCs in less than three years. We cannot re use a UPC within three years, so that forced us to purchase multiple manufacturer codes. An extra digit before the check digit would make alot of sense.
The next 5 digits can be assigned to a product by a manufacturer as they see fit. The last digit is a check digit. Expanding the second segment would help companies that make highly seasonal items like clothing. My company needs to assign a unique UPC number for every style, color, and size combination. When producing two seasons per year, we use all 99999 UPCs in less than three years. We cannot re use a UPC within three years, so that forced us to purchase multiple manufacturer codes. An extra digit before the check digit would make alot of sense.
