Let’s analyze how the United States and Canada are integrating the international EAN-13 (GTIN) system into their market, reducing the need for dual coding and facilitating global trade.
The introduction of UPC-A in North America dates back to the need to improve the efficiency of retail operations, especially in supermarkets, and to simplify inventory management. UPC-A was developed to meet these specific needs in the North American market. While EAN-13 (old terminology, replaced today by GTIN, or Global Trade Identification Number) has been widely adopted worldwide, UPC-A has remained the predominant system in the United States and Canada. There are cases, however, where both systems are used for the same products to facilitate international trade.
Since the beginning of 2005, retailers and scanning systems in the North American market have agreed to accept products identified by 13-digit codes, thus offering the advantage of eliminating the need for manufacturers to double-code. Despite this, even today some retailers must comply, so they require products labeled with 12-digit UPC codes.
European companies exporting goods to the United States usually do not have to re-code using UPC-A, and the use of EAN 13 is generally recognized and accepted.In case it is still necessary to use the UPC-A encoding, a request for the assignment of a UPC company code has to be made to the GS1 US regulatory entity.
Main differences between the two coding systems
The substantial differences between the two barcode types, EAN-13 (GTIN) and UPC-A (Universal Product Code), mainly reflect historical and market differences between Europe and North America, and are listed in the following.
1. Length and structure
EAN-13
The EAN-13 code consists of 13 digits. The first three digits represent the product’s country of origin, the following nine digits identify the product itself, and the last number is a check digit.
UPC-A
The UPC-A code consists of 12 digits. The first six digits indicate the manufacturer or seller, the next five digits represent the specific product, and the last digit is also a check digit.
2. Geographic use
EAN-13
Predominantly used in Europe but also in many other parts of the world beyond Europe. It is the most common coding system for globally sold products.
UPC-A
Used mainly in the United States and Canada, but also in some other countries, especially for products intended for export to North America.
3. History and introduction
EAN-13
Introduced in 1970 as an extension of the original EAN code system, it was developed to especially meet the needs of the growing European market.
UPC-A
Created in the 1970s in the United States to improve the efficiency of automated checkouts in supermarkets and facilitate inventory management.
4. Numerical structure
EAN-13
The numeric structure of EAN-13 allows greater flexibility in encoding information than does UPC-A.
UPC-A
The fixed numeric structure of UPC-A has less flexibility in representing information such as the country of origin.
