Barcoding: Nigeria Needs it

Post Express - Page 17
March 13, 1997

Provided our public utilities fail to measure up to international standards, the question of national development will continue to face us. National development and technological advancement are closely related, and this inter-twinning relationship hinges primarily on information technology (IT). The slow pace of development in the country is not unconnected with our reluctant to wholly embrace modern technology policy.

The absence of a clear cut science and technology policy thrust in national development planning and implementation is responsible for the confusion and inefficiency that has continued to plague our public utilities such as electricity and water supplies, telecommunications, and transportation.

Banking and finance, trade and commerce, oil and gas, the mining sectors have continued to receive government priority attention. Science and technology, which is the main trust of industry, have suffered total neglect. Without the entrenchment of a sound science and technology policy, growth in all other sectors will be hindered, and inefficiency, ineffectiveness and wastefulness will continue to afflict our public utilities. The low performance of our public utilities comes as no surprise.

There are many fronts to advancing technological development in the country. One of the ways is by the implementation of a national bar-coding policy. Such a policy will expedite the introduction of computer business control systems in both the public and private sectors. Benefits derivable include; easy identification of persons and products, reduction in the use of cash in business transaction, and efficient and speedy inventory control.

Bar coding comprises labels, symbologies, standards, hardware, software, systems integration etc. Barcodes are symbols consisting of a series of bars and spaces, which can be applied to tube, cartons, bottles, packages, books, cards documents, and a number of other media.

The automatic identification industry’s primary focus on capturing information both quickly and accurately, provides the fastest and most effective means of gathering data that is vital for expedient business transaction. Bar-coding applications are embraced such industry segments as post and telecommunications, banking and finance, retails, manufacturing transportation healthcare, warehousing and distribution, shipping and receiving document processing and tracking and libraries.