Table of Contents

The ad hoc committee; the symbol selection subcommittee; UGPIC; public policy; distribution codes, Inc.; symbol technical advisory committee (STC); UPCC - in its own; electronic data interchange (EDI); beyond retail; coupons - quid pro quo? spreading the Word; formal challenges; UCC - a broader vision. Appendices: giants of the revolution; The Board of Governors of Uniform Code Council, Inc.; the U.P.C. symbol.

About the Author

Stephen A. Brown is an attorney in Alexandria, Virginia.

Reviews

Revolution at the Checkout Counter is an absolute must for both business and food watchers. It deserves to be a classic. Stephen A. Brown, a Virginia attorney, was himself part of the plot, legally advising the pioneering grocery executives, many of whom he sketches. The tale he tells is riveting. He plots the people and companies who believed 30 years ago that there might be a value in having a universal product code to help data processing in the food trade… This is a wonderful book, telling an astonishing story clearly. With the bar code, informatics came of age. Even the introduction by two Harvard Business School academics is a gem.
*Times Higher Education Supplement*

The Universal Product Code—the familiar bar code in consumer products—is one of the most pervasive technologies of the late twentieth century. This excellent book is the first substantial history of this important innovation… The implementation of the bar code across the grocery manufacturing and retail industry was a phenomenal achievement of co-ordination and promotion. The project faced the network externalities that all technological systems have to overcome, from Edison’s electric light to the World Wide Web… This book is a very welcome addition to the literature of business history and the history of computing.
*Business History [UK]*

[A] comprehensive insider’s account of the Universal Product Code.
*Smithsonian Magazine*