1. Warehouse Management Implementation Guide
  2. Universal Product Code (UPC)

Universal Product Code (UPC)

Each company can assign the Universal Product Code (identified as UPC in North America and EAN-13 outside of North America) to both a consumer unit and the lowest saleable unit for a specific product. For example, a can of soda would have the UPC identification on the can because it can be sold individually. The UPC code is a fixed code that identifies one unit of a specific product.

This graphic illustrates the structure of UPC code:

UPC/EAN-13 Code Structure

The UPC code is made up of a:

  • Single-digit check character.

  • 5-digit Product ID assigned by the company.

  • 7-digit company (or manufacturer) ID that is assigned by the UCC/EAN. For North American companies, 6 characters represent the company ID because the leading 7th digit is always 0 and can be left off the code.

Typically, a company maintains its own product identification codes for internal use but does cross-reference the internal product identification codes to the UPC code.