Woolworths Australia: reducing waste and boosting productivity with 2D barcodes

For nearly a century, Woolworths has been staple of everyday life for millions of Australians.

Since its founding in 1924, multiple generations have grown up shopping at "Woolies" which, with a 33 per cent market share of the Australian supermarket sector, is now the nation's biggest grocery chain.

With over 3,000 stores serving over twenty million customers each week, Woolworths Group's supply chain is large and complex. The organisation works with a vast network of over six thousand suppliers across Australia and prides itself on sourcing 96 per cent of all its fresh produce from Australian farmers and growers.

Branding themselves as "Australia's fresh food people," Woolworths has long been committed to providing customers with the freshest home-grown produce possible.

That is why in 2019, Woolworths collaborated with GS1 Australia to become the first Australian supermarket to trial next-generation, data embedded (or 2D) barcodes in-store. This has since enabled them to unlock a new dimension of capabilities, substantially increase food safety and reduce food waste by up to 40 per cent.