|
Barcoding: Nigeria
Needs it
Post Express - March
13, 1997
Page 17
By
March Oyinki
Provided
our public utilities fail to measure up to international standards,
the question of national development will continue to face us.
National development and technological advancement are closely
related, and this inter-twinning relationship hinges primarily on
information technology (IT). The slow pace of development in the
country is not unconnected with our reluctant to wholly embrace
modern technology policy.
The
absence of a clear cut science and technology policy thrust in
national development planning and implementation is responsible for
the confusion and inefficiency that has continued to plague our
public utilities such as electricity and water supplies,
telecommunications, and transportation.
Banking
and finance, trade and commerce, oil and gas, the mining sectors
have continued to receive government priority attention. Science and
technology, which is the main trust of industry, have suffered total
neglect. Without the entrenchment of a sound science and technology
policy, growth in all other sectors will be hindered, and
inefficiency, ineffectiveness and wastefulness will continue to
afflict our public utilities. The low performance of our public
utilities comes as no surprise.
There
are many fronts to advancing technological development in the
country. One of the ways is by the implementation of a national
bar-coding policy. Such a policy will expedite the introduction of
computer business control systems in both the public and private
sectors. Benefits derivable include; easy identification of persons
and products, reduction in the use of cash in business transaction,
and efficient and speedy inventory control.
Bar
coding comprises labels, symbologies, standards, hardware, software,
systems integration etc. Barcodes are symbols consisting of a series
of bars and spaces, which can be applied to tube, cartons, bottles,
packages, books, cards documents, and a number of other media.
The
automatic identification industry’s primary focus on capturing
information both quickly and accurately, provides the fastest and
most effective means of gathering data that is vital for expedient
business transaction. Bar-coding applications are embraced such
industry segments as post and telecommunications, banking and
finance, retails, manufacturing transportation healthcare,
warehousing and distribution, shipping and receiving document
processing and tracking and libraries.
|
