Top brands to pilot Udex barcode plan

A start-up company aiming to forge a common global currency in barcoding has signed up top marketing names, including Asda, Procter & Gamble, Lever Bros, ACNielsen and Taylor Nelson Sofres, to pilot the scheme.

Udex has been set up by four founding directors, with 1m backing from venture capitalist 3i.

Currently, there is no commonly accepted means of coding products, which makes it difficult to exchange data between manufacturers, retailers and market research companies.

Udex says it has created a system of structured, commonly coded barcodes, operating to global standards within product groups.

The company’s four founders are: chairman Maurice Marks, who has occupied senior positions at Unilever and Granada; managing director John English, a partner in research company the Human Factor, who previously spent over ten years at AGB; operations director Mike Walton, who has worked for ACNielsen and AGB; and finance director Chris Evans, an accountant.

Alan Mitchell, page 34