The official transition to QR codes and other two-dimensional barcodes, known as Sunrise 2027, is now less than three years away. These new barcodes can store much more information than just a product ID and price.

You might already be excited about the many possibilities 2D barcodes bring. Think, for example, of being able to offer more transparency to consumers with comprehensive ingredient and allergen information on every product or keep closer tabs on inventory with batch and lot numbers and access to real-time expiration dates.

If you aren’t yet aware of Sunrise 2027, or need to know more about the benefits it promises consumers, retailers and suppliers alike, then make sure to read “Check It Out: Barcodes Enter the Next Dimension” and “Scanning the Horizon: Take Steps Today to Prepare for the Barcode Evolution” from the past two issues of NACS Magazine. 

But even if you’re excited and ready to march into the next dimension of barcodes, you might not be sure what exactly you need to do to get there.

GS1, the not-for-profit organization that is leading the barcode transition and has long set and maintained the standards for barcode systems worldwide, said that most importantly, retailers need to ensure their POS systems are updated and capable of scanning 2D barcodes. For some, that may require new technologies, software or equipment.

“The goal of Sunrise 2027 is that, by the end of 2027, all retailers will be able to scan a 2D barcode at point of sale.”

“No matter what type of business you are—whether you’re the single owner of one store or a huge national chain—you have the same starting point, which is getting to a minimum viable product,” said Ned Mears, the senior director of global standards for GS1 US. “The goal of Sunrise 2027 is that, by the end of 2027, all retailers will be able to scan a 2D barcode at point of sale and do at least everything you can today with a 1D barcode.”

But the process of getting there will look different for each retailer. Mears walked through some of the steps required, the technology upgrades retailers might need to make and what retailers should be asking their solutions providers to ensure a successful transition.

Start Small

At minimum, the first phase of the Sunrise 2027 transition will require that retailers can scan a 2D barcode at checkout—essentially that means that the scan of a QR code will capture at least the product identifier, also known as the Global Trade Item Number®, or GTIN®, and link it to the product’s associated price in the retailer’s system so that the item can be transacted with that scan.

If you think of the transition in “crawl, walk and run” phases, that would be the “crawl” stage, Mears said. To crawl, the first thing retailers need to do is ensure they’re not using a laser-based scanning system—the new barcodes will require image-based scanners, which may mean a capital investment for retailers who don’t yet have them.

The first phase also requires a conversation with your solution providers, Mears continued. “Solution providers across the United States and around the world have been very proactively updating their software to scan 2D barcodes using GS1’s Digital Link standards. This allows the scanners to pull data from the updated barcodes using different modes that can serve up the data how a retailer wants it.”

“Many of the major scanner solution providers will have basic modes to choose from. One is that you can make that 2D barcode send only the GTIN from the scanner to your host system tech stack, just like it’s coming from a UPC barcode,” Mears said. “Any additional information contained in the QR code gets dropped and you’re successfully completing a price lookup, and there you go, no changes are needed to your larger tech stack.”

Many manufacturers and brand marketers are already including 2D barcodes on packaging that bring all sorts of additional information and product transparency to consumers—and if they’re not yet, GS1 is confident that they’ll soon be jumping at the chance to. Those using QR codes without GS1 Digital Link are looking at when it makes sense in their packaging update cycle to convert to the new data structure. Manufacturers will want to check in with others in the organization and with their solution provider to see what capabilities already exist and what it will take to bring 2D to life. As for the data, it’s up to the retailer to extract that information and make use of it at POS.

Going Deeper

“We’ve seen people be most successful when they reach out to internal experts and solution providers immediately to ask, ‘What are you currently capable of? What is this lift going to be?”

While that’s a simplified version of the steps required during the transition, there’s much more that can be done from there.

“My best advice would be to start small,” Mears said. “Then, you’ll have more time to work out what it might look like for your company to expand your scope and deepen that implementation without having to wait to realize initial value.”

In order to walk, run or even soar, you’ll need to focus on what your business needs are. Then, you’ll need to find out whether your existing equipment can offer the right level of data collection with a plug-and-play option or with some tweaks either on their end or via your own customization.

There will likely be some degree of customization required no matter what, he said. “What we found is there is no simple, out-of-the-box solution that hits every part of your tech stack. Just think of all the software and firmware updates and the different coding that might have been rolled into these systems throughout their history. For example, there’s bound to be a little bit of nuance to get what might be five or more different systems across your tech stack all connected.”

Speed Check

Say, for instance, you’re wanting to capture more data than just the product identifier, Mears continued. “Some folks in the c-store space might already be doing something like capturing an expiration date—or at least looking at it, if not using it. Some solution providers already have default scanner modes available that will collect and transmit that data in your host system so it can take whatever action they desire.”

Solution providers will have a mode that sends over all the information contained in a 2D barcode, Mears explained. In that case, more steps are required to determine what you want your host system to do with it.

“A lot of these scenarios where you’re getting into complex data and really deep, holistic use cases can be multiyear processes,” Mears said. “Setting up those milestone stages of what you want to accomplish in chunks is critical to taking advantage of elements of 2D barcodes’ capabilities and their data as early as possible.”

For instance, you could add in the capability to capture expiration dates and then program your system to trigger dynamic price markdowns on fresh products nearing expiration. Or you could integrate the scanning process into your loyalty system. “These are all things that require you to take more steps to capture and use this data for specific reasons,” Mears said. “And we’ve seen people be most successful when they reach out to internal experts and solution providers immediately to ask, quite simply, ‘What are you currently capable of? What is this lift going to be?’”

What makes the 2D journey so complex, Mears said, is that there are so many decisions to customize what crawl, walk and run mean for your particular business.

It’s important, he emphasized, to consider whether you even need to “run.” What might be “walking” for some would be considered a “run” for someone else, she said. There’s still going to be an “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” mentality in the c-store industry, he noted.

“When I talk to businesses, some say, ‘We know our business needs [to scan 2D barcodes] now, so we’re going to complete the MVP with GTIN-only processing as soon as possible. These more complex elements are things we’re going to figure out after we learn more and see how things evolve.’ And that’s completely okay,” Mears concluded.