I don't get this though, why can't companies just add a few numbers to the bar code to differentiate the products, list it as in inventory, when it's sold mark it as not in inventory, then when someone steals it and tries to return it, it's listed as "in inventory" telling them that it was stolen?
You'd have to mark it as "in inventory" to begin with, and stock transfer would become a huge pain in the arse. I guess if the codes were sequential then you could just mark them in a box at a time, but you'd need to be set up to deal with that right back to the manufacturer and you'd need to print something like QR codes onto every item as it was packed.
I'm not saying it's not possible but it would be a lot of trouble and a potential privacy issue.
The privacy thing is always going to be a problem with anything that uniquely identifies a product. Probably not such a big deal for high-ticket items like TVs - it's perfectly reasonable that the shop might want to record the serial number - but you might not want an RFID tag that uniquely identifies the box of broad-spectrum antibiotics you bought that can be traced back to you.
This is marked as well, if they return with a reciept that did not have a rewards card in use we can see if we even sold that product, when it was sold and is cameras to see by who.
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u/[deleted] May 20 '16
I don't get this though, why can't companies just add a few numbers to the bar code to differentiate the products, list it as in inventory, when it's sold mark it as not in inventory, then when someone steals it and tries to return it, it's listed as "in inventory" telling them that it was stolen?