Video Library

• Early U.P.C. Scanning Companies:

We are collecting video oral histories from people who participated in creating, establishing, or managing the creation of the U.P.C. Barcode and the initial equipment that used it at checkout. These are the people with hands-on experience in making it reach the acceptance level to support well over a trillions transactions a year as it does now.

• Industry Participants
  • Tom Wilson was the McKinsey & Company Principle Partner that guided the standardization process which resulted in the U.P.C. Code and Barcode Symbol from the early 1970s through to the 1990s assisting with stragy, issue resolution and many other elements required to make the program a success.
  • Larry Russell was the McKinsey & Company consultant that guided the food industory in the UPC investigation, creation and symbol selection process. Day by day in the early 1970s Larry worked with the industry professionals, executives and other leaders which resulted in one of the most pervasive and successful, voluntary standardization efforts of all time.
  • Alan Haberman was a member of the Ad Hoc Committee and chaired the Symbol Selection Subcommittee which received, tested, and analyzed tens of proposals submitted by prospective equipment suppliers to automate checkout using the Universal Product Code and defined the code based on various inputs.
  • Barry Franz a manager in Procter & Gamble's Information Systems Division was assigned to assist with the symbol selection process and provides a detailed description of their meetings.
  
  
• Datachecker Division of National Semiconductor


• Fred Bialek, the founding General Manager of Datachecker.


• Chuck Rungie was one of the first five employees of Datachecker and managed much of the early development and organization of the Division.


• Ken Joyce, Optical and Mechanical Designer for Datachecker Scanners.


• Frank Check and Peter Edler discuss Datachecker Scanner technology and the contribution of Frank Nickl




• IBM
  


• Marvin Mann is the key IBM executive most responsible for IBM's participation in the UPC standardization effort and the entrance of IBM in the Checkout Systems business.


• Bill Jones relates how the UPC expands from the Food industry into General Merchandise.


• Lee Dickson, Principal Design Engineer for IBM Scanners.


• George Laurer, Engineer and creator of the Symbol that became the U.P.C. symbol.


• Bill Selmeier, Program Administrator in IBM Store Systems Market Support Center.


• Hollis Posey, System Microcoder, Systems Manager and Distinguished IBM Engineer.




• RCA


• Francis (Fran) X. Beck Jr, Technical Director, RCA Princeton Laboratory, in charge of Bullseye supermarket system development.