Bye, Bye Barcode?

For more than 70 years, the barcode has been an integral component of nearly all supply chains. But is the ubiquitous technology taking its last breaths after Amazon announced it is developing a new warehouse reader technology?

The retail giant indicates that barcode reading may hinder plans as it integrates robotics solutions into warehouses and distribution centers. Amazon says that legacy code-reading technology has gotten in the way as it attempts to move forward with robotics.

Variances in barcode placement, along with sizes and shapes of products, create difficulties for robots attempting to read the codes. Amazon anticipates that machine learning can change the game.

Currently, Amazon needs to catalog products by photographing them; an intimidating step given how many different SKUs the retailer offers. In an early pilot, images were translated into a vector, which allowed Amazon to apply machine learning to the process. Early attempts demonstrated that the robots were about 80% accurate in matching the image with the item. With a few tweaks, investments, and time, match rates are now near 99%, according to the project team.

The new process also pairs with Amazon’s inventory tracking system that can identify specific bins that house 12 different products. This can simplify the process by allowing the algorithm to identify items against only those within a specific bin.