Govt pushes businesses to check out using barcodes
Govt pushes businesses to check out using barcodes
The commerce and industry sector is looking into making better use of barcodes as part of the government's efforts to modernise the sector by making better use of technology.
Lao businesses will need to use technology more effectively to be innovative and shift from local commerce to competing on an international level.
The Lao National Chamber of Commerce and Industry and GS1 Thailand yesterday organised a seminar on integrating barcodes into the Lao business sector.
The seminar aimed to increase understanding of barcodes, their importance and why business entrepreneurs should be making use of them, the Department of Standardisation and Metrology's Deputy Director General Mr Bounpone Bouapheng said at the seminar.
Participants also took this opportunity to exchange experiences with each other and learn from Thai technicians.
The Ministry of Science and Technology, especially its subsidiary the Department of Standardisation and Metrology, has previously made efforts to push integration of the barcode system but is yet to do so effectively.
Some Lao businesses already use barcodes but on the whole usage is still poor, Mr Bounpone said.
Laos recently became a member of the World Trade Organisation and will integrate with the Asean Economic Community in 2015, meaning businesses will be under greater pressure to use the system.
Barcodes and the GS1 Identification System have provided benefits to consumers around the world for over 40 years.
Thailand has only been operating the systems for 25 years.
Over one million companies subscribed to the system are doing business in 150 countries around the world and enabling over six billion transactions per day.
Barcodes make customer service easier because they are faster than taking notes and relying on memory, which can be prone to mistakes.
vientiane times
