Switching to 2D Barcodes: A Manufacturer's 2027 Roadmap

Retail is in the middle of a global shift — GS1 Sunrise 2027 — whose goal is that checkouts can read 2D barcodes by the end of 2027. The forty-year-old striped barcode is being replaced by a single 2D code that works at the till and, when a shopper scans it with a phone, opens the product's digital page. For manufacturers exporting into the EU that means a planned transition in packaging and in data infrastructure. Here is the roadmap.

Why the linear barcode is running out of road

EAN-13 says one thing: "this is that product." It carries no batch number, no expiry date, no serial number; it tells the consumer nothing. A 2D code carries both the checkout data and a web link in the same physical space. The retailer's need for stock accuracy and traceability, the consumer's expectation of information, and the EU's digital product passport obligation all converge on the same answer: a GS1-compliant 2D code.

Choosing the symbol: EAN-13, QR, Data Matrix

For the retail-plus-passport scenario the practical answer is clear: a QR code carrying GS1 Digital Link. Data Matrix wins on small surfaces; where consumer interaction and passport access are the goal, QR's phone compatibility decides it.

GS1 Digital Link: the trick behind the single code

You can put any address you like into an ordinary 2D code — but the checkout will not recognise it as a product. GS1 Digital Link embeds the GTIN using a standard URL syntax. That way the same code identifies the product at the till, opens the product page on a phone, and points to passport data once the delegated act for your category lands. The critical architectural rule: the code must resolve to a domain you control — printed codes outlive software vendors. The technical detail is on our GS1 Digital Link page.

A five-step roadmap for manufacturers

1. GTIN hygiene (now). Does every SKU have a unique, correct GTIN? Reusing one GTIN across two different products is the most expensive mistake in this transition.
2. Pick a pilot product family (one to two months). Start with a best-seller whose packaging is due for revision anyway.
3. Code generation and a print test. The code's size, contrast, quiet zone and placement have to meet checkout scanner requirements; curved surfaces, transparent film and dark backgrounds lower the read rate — run a print proof with your packaging supplier.
4. Customer checkout tests. Confirm that the code actually scans in your EU buyer's retail chain — this is the step skipped most often.
5. Plan the passport link. Today the code can open a product page; tomorrow the same code becomes the passport carrier. Using GS1 Digital Link from the start avoids a second packaging revision.

What is happening on the retail side

Seeing the other end of the transition sharpens your own timing. For retailers, Sunrise 2027 means three jobs: checkout software learning to parse 2D codes (extracting the GTIN from a Digital Link URI), scanner hardware able to read 2D at all (image-based scanners do; old laser scanners do not), and supplier packaging arriving in stages. Large chains recover that investment by turning it into a supplier expectation: "are you 2D-ready" is the question every retailer who has paid for the checkout upgrade will ask. The implication for a manufacturer is direct — asking your retailer for their transition schedule is the shortest way to set your own.

A 90-day pilot plan

Print quality checklist

Five checks at the proof stage: (1) size and quiet zone — has the empty frame around the code survived the design; (2) contrast — dark substrates, metallic foil and transparent film lower the read rate, a dark code on a light background is essential; (3) surface — test on the real product where surfaces curve or crease (pouches, label folds); (4) resolution — the longer the URI, the denser the code, and a long URI on a small label is a risky combination; (5) verification — every proof is scanned with a phone AND, where possible, with a checkout-class scanner, and the GTIN in the URI is compared with the EAN on the label. The manufacturer who skips the fifth item learns about the error in a container.

Three edge cases exporters keep asking about

Private-label production. If the packaging carries the customer's brand, whose domain should the code resolve to? The practical answer: the customer's — but GTIN management and code generation can stay with you. A manufacturer who does not settle this in the contract ends up running a separate code regime for every customer.

Existing label stock. How do you switch when thousands of printed labels sit in the warehouse? A stock run-down schedule is part of the transition plan: the new design is approved, both layouts run until the old stock is used up, and what matters is GTIN consistency across the two. Scrapping stock is rarely necessary; only a missing plan makes it so.

E-commerce products. For goods that never cross a till, Sunrise pressure looks absent — but the passport requirement is channel-independent, and returns and resale flows can touch physical retail. Setting up one code regime without splitting by channel is always cheaper than managing two.

How to manage the dual-symbol period

Through the transition most products will carry two codes for a while: EAN-13 for the checkout, a 2D code for digital access. Three practical rules: leave enough distance between the two symbols (so the scanner does not catch the wrong one), put the 2D code on the face the consumer naturally looks at, and verify at every revision that the GTIN in both codes is identical. If your retailer has a symbol placement guide, ask for it before design work starts — it differs from chain to chain.

Cost and timing: why 2026 is the real start

Costs fall into three items: packaging and label revision (the largest, volume-dependent), code generation and management software, and testing and verification. The biggest saving is consolidation: doing the 2D switch in the same cycle as a packaging revision you had planned anyway and as your textile DPP preparation removes a second and a third revision.

The timing arithmetic is simple: design revision + running down print stock + customer approvals = 6–12 months. A manufacturer who wants to be ready at the end of 2027 has a real start date of 2026. Given that the delegated act for textiles is indicated for 2027 (expected) as well, merging the two transitions into one revision is the cheapest scenario available.

Further reading: What is GS1 Sunrise 2027? · GS1 2D barcode guide · What is a Digital Product Passport?

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