EDITORIAL

UPC for wood products looklng Inevltable

I ATE LAST year, discussion on implement- L ing the Universal Product Code (UPC) for wood products began to get serious. As we said on this page in November, the mere mention of bar coding of lumber was raising more than a few hackles. Now, despite the technical problems involved and remaining resistance to the entire idea of using UPC, acceptance of the idea seems to be moving at an amazingly fast pace.

At last month's National Home Center Show in Chicago, the National Forest Products Association's UPC subcommittee announced that they expect to have firm recommendations on UPC implementation soon. Subcommittee chairman Dave Brewster of Georgia-Pacific said, "We hope to publish and distribute our report in June so manufacturers and dealers who plan to utilize UPC will have a good six months to implement it. By early 1990, we should be able to answer the need of any home center who wants a UPC bar code on a product."

The subcommittee recommendations will set guidelines in four areas: whether codes will be generic or vary between individual manufacturers; the method of actually applying the code to products; what information on what kind of a label; and the most efl'icient ways to use UPC to facilitate quick, accurate ordering, shipping, receiving and billing.

Brewster noted that "the home centers have mandated to suppliers that by March, 1990, UPCs will be in place for scanning. We manufacturers aren't taking that mandate lightly." He added, "Shipping unit codes will mean we'll be able to ensure accurate shipments from our mills and distribution centers. Errors can practically be eliminated which, of course, means the cost of doing business will also be reduced particularly when UPC is coupled with Electronic Data Interchange."

Still controversial, these major changes can't be brought to market too quickly to suit some. To others, it is one more thing they just wish would go away. The final arbiter, as always, will be UPC's ultimate acceptance or rejection in the marketplace.

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