Unique identifiers | The Barcode: A brilliant breakthrough that have made our lives better.

Commentary by:

Francis Habadah

GRACE

Bellevue - Seattle, WA

The Barcode is a type of unique identifier. It was first used for commercial purposes in the 1970’s. It is very ideal for managing complexity, especially for digitizing and tracking voluminous items.

Often, we see it as that little "strap" that is printed on items. Notwithstanding, the barcode has made our lives better, and also made this world run faster. It is said to be among the "one hundred brilliant breakthroughs" of mankind. One can imagine how very busy airport hubs, grocery conglomerates, and superstores like Walmart and Amazon will operate

without barcodes today.

As for me, because of our organizations unique numeric ID project for Africa, I have to be always current on anything that is barcode related. Now, there is this article that I dug up the other day that I want to share with you.

This article is written by Tony Seidman, and although it is a winding story about how the barcode was invented, what I have done is to re-edit in a somewhat condensed manner and make it a more-easy-reading article for professionals like me who are always pressed for time.

Perhaps know by now that in addition to my duties at GRACE, I am also the CEO of an investment management firm that is registered in southern California.

Bye for now - Francis