The barcode becomes a link
For 50 years almost every product has carried the same linear barcode. It tells the checkout which product it is looking at, and nothing more. With the Sunrise 2027 initiative, GS1 is driving the global shift to 2D codes: QR codes and GS1 DataMatrix that carry not only the item number but also batch, serial number, expiry date or origin. By the end of 2027, retail point-of-sale systems are expected to read 2D codes, and every brand that wants to stay on the shelf needs to be ready.
The decisive part does not happen on the packaging but behind it. A 2D code following the GS1 Digital Link standard is a web address. The same address that identifies the item at the checkout takes a customer with a smartphone to a product page, an authority to recall information and a retailer to logistics data. One code, many destinations. That is no longer a packaging problem but a software task. And that is exactly what we take on.
What actually changes
- Two codes during the transition: Until checkouts are converted, products carry the old 1D code and the new 2D code, placed close together. On a lip balm or a blister pack that is a design task that needs months of lead time.
- More data in the code: GTIN plus batch, serial number, expiry date or weight, in the standardised syntax of the GS1 Digital Link.
- An address that has to be resolved: Behind every code sits a resolver that receives the request, recognises who is scanning and delivers the right destination. Someone has to build, run and maintain that service.
- Traceability becomes mandatory: Recalls of food or infant formula have shown that the old code does not know the individual batch. Regulatory traceability requirements and the upcoming EU Digital Product Passport demand data at batch and product level.
Guiding the transition
We meet you where you are: with an existing GS1 prefix and thousands of items, or with your very first product. Together we clarify which data belongs in the code, how the codes are generated and integrated into artwork, print and packaging lines, and how your item master in ERP or PIM remains the single source for everything. We validate the codes against the GS1 specification before the first batch is printed, and we plan the transition so that you do not have to touch every package twice.
Smart links instead of static product pages
The real gain starts after printing. Because the code is an address and the resolver is ours, you decide at any time where a scan leads, without changing the packaging:
- Context-dependent destinations: The scanner’s language and country, the time, the batch and the channel determine the answer. A German product page for the customer in Cologne, a French one for Lyon, a safety data sheet for the dangerous goods officer.
- Link types according to the GS1 standard: Product information, instructions, recall status, sustainability evidence, recipes or certificates, each machine-readable for retail and authorities and human-readable for your customers.
- Dynamic campaigns: The code on the packaging stays the same, the action behind it changes: a prize draw at launch, a repurchase offer six months later, a loyalty programme after the third scan.
- Batch- and serial-level answers: A scan of a recalled batch immediately shows the recall, all others show the normal product page. A scan of a serialised product leads to the warranty registration of exactly that device.
- Verification: Authenticity checks against counterfeits, proof of the supply chain and hand-over to partner systems via webhooks and APIs.
Infrastructure that grows with you
A code on millions of packages generates millions of scans, with peaks when a product is on television or a recall hits the press. The resolver must not buckle then, because a dead link on the packaging cannot be repaired. That is why we build the infrastructure to be scalable and highly available from the start: redundant operation, caching and CDN delivery, response times in the millisecond range, monitoring and alerting. Run on our own infrastructure in Germany as part of our managed hosting. Infrastructure and scaling are our craft, so you neither have to procure servers nor build an operations team of your own.
Connected to shop, marketing and ERP
A resolver is only valuable when it talks to your systems:
- Item master and PIM: Product data, variants and media come from your ERP or PIM and are not maintained a second time. We build the interfaces to ERP and merchandise management.
- Shop: A scan leads into the basket, with the right item, the right variant and the right retailer in the customer’s country.
- Marketing and analytics: Scans are the most direct channel between product and customer. We analyse where, when and how often scans happen and connect the data to your marketing, without tracking your customers without their consent.
- Service and quality: Scan data flows back into complaint handling, warranty cases and batch tracking.
Staying compliant
The freedom to build anything behind the code has limits, and we know them: the URL syntax and the link types follow the GS1 Digital Link specification so that checkouts, scanners and partners understand the code. The resolver answers the way the standard requires, also for machines. At the same time the GDPR applies: which data a scan generates, how long it is stored and when consent is needed is planned with you from the start instead of being patched later. How we protect systems and data is laid out in our Trust Center.
How we proceed
- Analysis and workshop: Products, channels, markets, existing systems, requirements from retail and regulation.
- Architecture: Data model, resolver, link types, interfaces, operating concept, data protection.
- Pilot: One product, one market, real packaging, real scans. Validation against the GS1 specification.
- Rollout: Connecting all items, automating code generation, training your teams.
- Operation and evolution: Monitoring, updates, new campaigns and link types whenever your business needs them.
Your benefits
- Prepared in time for Sunrise 2027 and the Digital Product Passport
- One code on the packaging, any number of destinations behind it, changeable at any time
- Scalable, highly available resolver infrastructure, hosted in Germany
- Seamlessly connected to shop, marketing, ERP and PIM, GS1-compliant and GDPR-compliant