A non-profit organization dedicated to setting business standards, GS1 Ghana, is calling on the government to introduce legislation that would make it compulsory for all Ghanaian businesses to adopt barcodes. This move is seen as a way to transform the nation’s trade and commercial landscape by ensuring that every product from Ghana is uniquely identifiable, thereby boosting the country’s standing in international markets.
Currently, the use of barcodes is voluntary in Ghana, leading to issues where some businesses use fake codes that cannot be read by scanners, tarnishing the country’s reputation. GS1 Ghana believes that making barcodes mandatory would significantly enhance Ghana’s visibility and credibility in global commerce.
The organization’s mission is to create a business foundation by enabling the unique identification, capture, and sharing of product information. This initiative is expected to drive growth in various sectors by improving efficiency, safety, security, and sustainability.
In a recent interview with the Ghana News Agency, Kofi Nagetey, the CEO of GS1 Ghana, emphasized the need for legislation to ensure compliance with GS1 standards. He explained that businesses in Ghana could greatly benefit from the global standards developed by GS1 Global, as these standards have already helped businesses worldwide increase their efficiency and market reach.
Nagetey highlighted that barcodes on products not only make trade easier but also improve market access for Ghanaian exports. He urged the government to introduce legislation to help especially the informal sector expand its presence in international markets.
Barcodes, which consist of 13 digits, provide valuable product data that can be accessed by a simple smartphone scan. This helps businesses with inventory management, product visibility, and traceability. The use of barcodes also gives consumers insights into product ingredients, sustainability efforts, and recall information, allowing for more informed purchasing decisions.
Retailers benefit from barcodes by better managing their stock, ensuring they always have high-demand products available for customers. Globally, millions of companies, from large multinationals to small artisans, utilize GS1 standards to remain competitive.
Nagetey further noted that businesses need barcodes to efficiently trade and get locally produced goods onto global shelves. Barcodes also offer full supply chain traceability, allowing companies to track products from production to the consumer, which helps reduce costs in inventory management.
GS1 Ghana’s Board Chairman, Mr. Kofi Manso Essuman, shared that the organization has helped many companies get their products accepted by retailers both locally and for export. GS1 Ghana has also conducted training and awareness programs for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and provided global location numbers to numerous companies.
With the introduction of mandatory barcode legislation, GS1 Ghana believes the future is bright for Ghanaian businesses, helping them expand both locally and globally.
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“We have also been helping supermarkets to improve efficiency, accurate pricing, inventory control & customer satisfaction while supporting traceability processes for cocoa-buying companies,” he added.
GS1 has local Member Organisations in 145 countries, more than 2 million user companies, and 10 billion transactions every day. This helps ensure that GS1 standards create a common language that supports systems and processes across the globe.