Cambridge-based software company Orca Scan has partnered with GS1 UK, the UK arm of the global not-for-profit association that sets and maintains standards for barcodes, to help brands upgrade traditional barcodes on their product packaging to the next generation of GS1 Digital Link QR codes.
After 50 years, the traditional 1D barcodes used in retail will be phased out by 2027. Orca Scan has become the first GS1-approved platform to fully integrate with the GS1 resolver eco-system, ensuring detailed product information is open to all.
The global adoption of GS1 Digital Link will impact manufacturing, retail and supply chains as trillions of products are assigned a unique web page that is editable in real time. Orca Scan is spearheading an innovative smart solution to simplify the migration to GS1 Digital Link, helping brands accelerate the adoption of the new standard and engage with customers like never before.
John Doherty, CEO of Orca Scan, announced, “This solution will eliminate consumers‘ reliance on search engines for product information, eradicate the need for brands to send product details to retailers via spreadsheets, and negate the pre-reloading of databases with product data in Point of Sale (POS) and Warehouse Management Systems (WMS). We are excited to bring Orca Scan‘s hyper-focus on simplicity to accelerate its adoption.”
Orca Scan is a cloud-based barcode tracking platform that allows companies to build enterprise-grade solutions without code. Since 2016, they have worked with over 355,000 users worldwide to simplify barcode tracking.
The venture was founded in 2016 and supported by Cambridge Judge Business School through the Accelerate Cambridge start-up programme, Barclays Eagle Labs Scale-up programme and Rising Women Leaders Programme at the University of Cambridge.
The Orca Scan team are a fully remote global team with an HQ operating out of the new Allia Future Business Centre in central Cambridge, UK.
Orca Scan provides a fantastic opportunity for brands to build customer engagement with their products. Brands can use the Orca Scan platform to create and manage bespoke QR codes made to the GS1 standard and place them on the product. For the first time, consumers can go beyond the packaging to get the information they need when they need it. By pointing a smartphone camera at the QR code, consumers can instantly access product-related videos, nutritional information, ingredient details, sustainability and recycling information, recipe ideas, how-to guides and quickly connect to the brands’ social media.
Clare Fairs, Co-Founder of Hillfarm Oils, one of the many suppliers who has adopted Orca Scan’s GS1 Digital Link solution, said, “Orca Scan‘s platform has enabled us to reach our customers far easier than before… We have a lot of information to share and are proud of having a new way to introduce our story and promotions to our customers.”
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