Most of us see a barcode label every day. Any item bought from a supermarket will have a block of lines, letters and numbers, which the cashier will scan to price up the item.
But this is not its only use. It may be the only one that consumers know about, or even care about, but the barcode label is also used for stock control and re-ordering.
Every time your item is scanned through the checkout, a message is sent from the barcode label to the purchasing office so that they can see how low their stocks are of that item and whether they need to order more.
This saves them having to keep lots of items in a warehouse area, waiting for someone to notice that a shelf is empty and then refill it. By automating the process, it is much easier to keep track. Not only that, but it keeps overhead low and prices cheap.
And that is all down to a simple barcode label.