Autocoding
Autocoding refers to software solutions that help manufacturers, particularly those in the food industry, ensure that products have the correct packaging and correct 'sell by' date codes, thereby reducing the number of Emergency Product Withdrawals (EPW). The term was first used during an initiative between Geest PLC (acquired by Bakkavör in 2005 ) and Tesco in 2001. The key objective of the software was to reduce the number of EPW's associated with date and price coding errors, and pot and lid marriage errors. This still remains the main objective of autocoding software, but functionality has been expanded to encompass quality assurance and OEE performance data. History The concept of autocoding originally came from an initiative between Geest PLC and Tesco in 2001, with both parties seeking to reduce the number of emergency product withdrawals associated with packaging and date coding errors. From here, several software engineering companies expanded on this preliminary work to create more reliable and robust systems. In 2004, 2D barcoding was introduced for the first time, a major step forward for the securing of all parts of food packaging. Prior to this, 1D retail barcodes were used that only offered limited protection as they did not cover