Most consumers only think about a barcode when the scanner beeps at checkout, but behind that single beep sits a much larger system of identifiers, batch records, and shipment logs that decide whether a company can answer a simple but important question on demand: where has this exact product been, and where is it right now?
The retail and consumer goods sectors depend on precise product tracking throughout the supply chain for purposes ranging from routine inventory counts to time-sensitive recall management. When a contaminated batch of food needs to be pulled from shelves in hours rather than days, the difference between a fast, targeted recall and a slow, blanket one often comes down to how well the product was tracked from the factory floor onward.
Businesses can use a GS1 QR code for tracking items by assigning a distinct, standardized code during production. That single code carries important data: the product’s unique identifier, its batch ID, the date of manufacture, and the expiration date. Scanning the item at each stage of the supply chain updates its recorded location and movement, building a traceable history that didn’t exist with older barcode formats.
What GS1 is and why its QR codes are different
GS1 (Global Standards 1) is a global, non-profit organization that develops and maintains standards for business communication. It’s easiest to think of it as a shared language that lets a manufacturer in one country, a distributor in another, and a retailer somewhere else all describe the same product the same way, so their systems can talk to each other without manual translation.
A GS1 QR code expands on what a traditional 1D barcode can do by holding far more structured product data in the same scan: tracking information, product validation details, and consumer-facing content, all embedded in one code rather than requiring separate labels or lookups.
The retail and logistics industries are actively preparing for Sunrise 2027, a global initiative launched by GS1 in 2022 to move the industry from one-dimensional barcodes, like the familiar EAN/UPC lines, toward two-dimensional barcodes at retail point-of-sale and point-of-care systems. The 2027 date marks the point by which retailers and healthcare providers are expected to have scanning systems capable of reading both the older linear barcodes and the newer 2D formats, including QR codes and GS1 DataMatrix symbols. Pilot programs are already underway in dozens of countries, and the shift represents one of the largest coordinated changes to point-of-sale scanning infrastructure in decades.
This transition allows far more data to be encoded in a single code than a traditional barcode ever could, giving businesses meaningfully better visibility into product details, movement history, and origin. As Sunrise 2027 approaches, manufacturers, retailers, and distributors are expected to adopt these codes to support smoother, faster, and more transparent supply chains.
What happens when a customer scans the code
When a consumer scans a GS1 code with their smartphone, they’re directed to a specific link. What they see there depends entirely on what the brand or manufacturer chooses to display, because GS1 doesn’t dictate a fixed format for consumer-facing content the way it does for the underlying data structure.
Brands typically use that landing page to share product details: nutritional information, usage instructions, sourcing and sustainability information, or care instructions. The same link can also lead to promotional content, loyalty program sign-ups, or support resources, giving the brand a flexible touchpoint that a printed label alone can’t provide.
What happens when supply chain personnel scan the code
Scanning that same GS1 code with GS1-compatible scanning equipment produces a very different result for warehouse staff, distributors, or retail employees. Instead of a consumer landing page, the scan reveals the embedded data essential for efficient tracking: the GTIN (the product’s global trade item number), the batch number, the production date, and the expiration date.
That information feeds directly into inventory or ERP systems, enabling accurate tracking at every stage from production through to the retail shelf. In practical terms, GS1 codes give businesses a shared, universal language for communicating product information and tracking inventory, which helps them serve consumers accurately while streamlining the operational side of the supply chain.
Why a tracking system has to exist before the codes do any good
Every company needs a product tracking system in place before it can meaningfully track products with GS1 codes. That system is what actually records the scan data and keeps it organized in a usable form, rather than leaving it scattered across disconnected logs.
The tracking system is typically connected to other business systems, inventory management platforms or a broader ERP setup, so a company can manage everything from a single dashboard instead of stitching together data from separate tools. When a product gets scanned, that scan registers in the tracking system, which logs the product’s current location and timestamps the event. Over time, this builds a complete record of the product’s journey through the supply chain, pulled from every scan at the factory, the warehouse, the retail store, and the point of sale.
How the GS1 QR code tracking process actually works, step by step
Here’s how tracking a product with GS1 codes plays out at each stage of the supply chain.
Generating and assigning a unique GS1 code
Companies use a GS1 QR code generator to create and assign a unique code to each product before it’s ready for sale. Each code contains a defined set of information:
- GTIN: a unique number that identifies the specific product.
- Batch number: identifies which production batch the item came from, which matters enormously for quality control and for recalls, if one becomes necessary.
- Production date: records when the product was actually made.
- Expiration date: tells retailers and consumers when the product is no longer suitable for use or sale.
Scanning and logging movement through the supply chain
The GS1 code gets scanned repeatedly as the product moves from the factory to the consumer, and each scan records its location and logs its movement in the tracking system.
At the factory or production source: when the product is made and packed, the code is scanned to log its entry into the system. This confirms the product is now formally part of the tracked supply chain and supports quality control checks at the point of origin.
At storage or with a distributor: warehouse staff scan the product again on arrival. This tells the system the product is now in storage and ready to move on to distribution.
At the retail store: store personnel scan the product to confirm it’s on the shelf and available for sale.
At the point of sale: the code gets scanned one final time at checkout when a customer buys the product, marking the end of its tracked journey through the supply chain.
During shipping, when relevant: for long-distance shipments, ocean freight in particular, scanning the code at the point of shipment is especially useful, since it confirms the product is now in transit and lets the company track its progress. For shorter-distance shipments this step is often skipped, though some companies choose to do it anyway for tighter visibility.
Businesses that need true real-time tracking sometimes pair GS1 codes with dedicated shipment tracking software built on GPS, RFID, or IoT sensors, which can provide continuous, up-to-the-minute data on where goods are in transit. These solutions add real value for high-stakes or high-value shipments, but they typically require meaningful upfront investment and ongoing operational cost, which is why most companies reserve them for shipments where that extra visibility actually pays for itself.
What this means for recall management specifically
Recalls are where the value of granular tracking becomes most obvious. Without batch-level tracking, a contamination issue traced to one production run can force a company into recalling every unit of a product sold over a much wider window than necessary, because there’s no reliable way to isolate just the affected batch. That’s expensive, damaging to consumer trust, and often unnecessary.
With GS1 codes carrying batch numbers and production dates, a company can identify exactly which units came from the affected run, trace where those specific units were shipped, and issue a recall scoped to the actual problem rather than the entire product line. Retailers and distributors on the receiving end of that recall notice can query their own systems using the batch data to immediately identify which units on their shelves or in their warehouses need to be pulled, rather than manually cross-referencing shipment records against a recall notice.
How GS1 QR codes compare to the barcodes most stores use today
The barcode on a can of soup today, the black-and-white lines a cashier scans at checkout, is almost always a 1D format like UPC or EAN. That format has served retail well for decades, but it has a hard structural limit: it can really only hold one piece of information, the product identifier itself. Everything else, price, batch, expiration, has to be looked up separately in a database using that identifier as the key.
A GS1 QR code doesn’t have that limitation. Because it’s a 2D format, it can carry the product identifier and the batch number and the production date and the expiration date directly in the code itself, without needing a live database lookup to surface that information. That matters most in situations where connectivity can’t be guaranteed, a warehouse with patchy WiFi, a remote distribution point, a recall happening faster than IT can update every downstream system. The data travels with the code instead of depending on a network connection to retrieve it.
The other meaningful difference is that a 2D GS1 code can serve two audiences from a single label. The same code that gives supply chain staff structured tracking data when scanned with GS1-compatible equipment can send a regular consumer to a branded webpage when scanned with an ordinary smartphone camera. A 1D barcode can’t do that split behavior at all.
Where this matters most: food, pharma, and apparel
Not every industry feels the pressure to adopt 2D barcodes equally, and it’s worth understanding why some sectors are moving faster than others.
Food and beverage companies face some of the tightest timelines, partly because contamination recalls are common enough that batch-level traceability isn’t optional in any meaningful sense, and partly because retailers themselves are pushing suppliers to adopt 2D codes ahead of the 2027 deadline. A grocery chain that can already read 2D codes at checkout has a strong incentive to ask every supplier feeding that store to get on the same standard sooner rather than later.
Pharmaceutical companies have arguably the strongest case of all. Regulatory requirements in many countries already mandate serialization and batch tracking for prescription drugs, specifically to combat counterfeiting and to support rapid recalls when a manufacturing issue is discovered. GS1’s data-rich codes map naturally onto those existing regulatory requirements, which is part of why pharma was an early mover on 2D barcode adoption well before Sunrise 2027 existed as a formal initiative.
Apparel and general retail have more flexibility, since a defective shirt doesn’t carry the same urgency as a contaminated food product or a mislabeled medication. Even so, brands in this space have found real value in the consumer-facing side of GS1 codes, giving shoppers instant access to material sourcing information, care instructions, or authenticity verification for higher-value items where counterfeiting is a genuine concern.
Common questions businesses have before making the switch
A frequent concern among businesses considering the move is whether existing barcode infrastructure becomes obsolete overnight. It doesn’t. GS1 digital link QR codes are designed to work alongside traditional barcodes during the transition period, and Sunrise 2027 specifically targets scanning systems that can read both formats rather than forcing an abrupt cutover. That gives businesses room to phase in new packaging and updated point-of-sale hardware on a realistic timeline instead of scrambling to replace everything at once.
Another common question is whether smaller businesses without large IT budgets can realistically make this transition. A GS1 QR code generator handles the technical work of producing compliant codes, and the scanning hardware needed to read 2D barcodes has become considerably more affordable and widespread as adoption has grown across the retail sector. The bigger lift for most smaller operations is less about hardware and more about integrating the scan data into whatever inventory or ERP system they’re already using, which is worth planning for early rather than treating as an afterthought once the codes are already in use.
What it actually takes to implement GS1 tracking
Companies weighing this transition tend to ask a practical, unglamorous question first: what does implementation actually involve, beyond the general concept of “get a QR code generator”? The honest answer is that it happens in a few distinct phases, and skipping ahead usually causes more rework later.
The first phase is registering with GS1 to obtain a company prefix, which is what allows a business to generate its own valid GTINs rather than borrowing or improvising numbering that won’t be recognized by retail partners. This is an administrative step, but it’s a required one, and it’s where a lot of smaller businesses lose time simply because nobody on staff has done it before.
The second phase is deciding what data actually needs to live in the code versus what stays in a backend database the code merely points to. Not every business needs the full weight of batch, production date, and expiration data embedded directly in every code, some products move fast enough, or carry low enough recall risk, that a simpler identifier-plus-database-lookup approach is genuinely sufficient. Overloading every code with maximum data adds complexity without adding proportional value for products where that level of traceability isn’t actually needed.
The third phase is integration: connecting the scan events from wherever they happen, the factory floor, the warehouse, the retail counter, into whatever inventory or ERP system already runs the business. This is usually the most time-consuming part, not because the technology is exotic, but because it means touching existing workflows that staff already know how to do a certain way. Change management, training people on new scanning steps, matters as much here as the technical integration itself.
The fourth phase is testing the consumer-facing side, if a business plans to use the code for anything beyond internal tracking. That means confirming the landing page works reliably across different phone cameras and QR scanning apps, and that the content displayed actually matches what marketing or compliance teams intended, before it ends up printed on thousands of units of packaging that can’t easily be recalled just to fix a broken link.
Upgrading to GS1 QR codes for tracking products
Implementing GS1 codes for tracking represents a genuine upgrade over the retail and consumer goods industry’s older tracking methods. By giving every product a distinct, data-rich code, companies can track items from production through to the customer with meaningfully better accuracy, efficiency, and visibility across the entire supply chain.
Companies gain access to tracking information in near real time, which supports better data flow, fewer manual errors, and more efficient sales operations. The approach simplifies the tracking process overall and offers a more affordable way to manage inventory, shipments, and product movement compared to piecing together multiple disconnected systems.
As the Sunrise 2027 deadline gets closer, now is a sensible time for businesses to start upgrading their tracking systems rather than waiting until the transition window narrows. Adopting GS1 digital link QR codes now positions a business ahead of the curve and ensures it’s genuinely prepared for where supply chain management is heading, rather than scrambling to catch up once the deadline arrives.
The businesses that benefit most from this shift tend to be the ones that treat it as an operational upgrade rather than a compliance checkbox to tick off before a deadline. Getting the tracking infrastructure right now, while there’s still runway before 2027, costs less and causes far less disruption than retrofitting it under pressure once retail partners start requiring 2D-compatible codes as a condition of doing business.
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