2003

March

UCC announces end of UCC EDI Communications ID assignment.

February

UCC and EAN International launch the annual update (version 4.0) of the General EAN.UCC Specifications that includes a brand new section on GTIN Allocation Rules.
EbusinessReady, under joint partnership of the UCC and Drummond Group, announce 19 software products certified for AS2 EDI/XML interoperability.

January

UCC forms Implementation Services division to focus on a variety of activities to facilitate industry adoption of standards.

2002

December

The UCC and the Electronic Commerce Council of Canada (ECCC) join EAN International as member organizations representing North American companies, formally solidifying global reach of the EAN.UCC System.

October

UCC and EAN International release the EAN.UCC Global Data Dictionary (GDD)
UCC and EAN International agree to endorse UCCnet's GLOBALregistry.

August

RosettaNet merges with the UCC - unified organizations will promote global leadership of B2B standards.
Seven vendors achieve CPFR data interoperability in UCC-sponsored test.
UCC and the EFS Network collaborate on standards for foodservice industry.

July

The Meat and Poultry Data Standards Organization (mpXML) and the UCC announce an initiative to synchronize efforts to develop global electronic trading standards for perishable meat and poultry products.

April

UCC and EAN International release global business message standard for CPFR.

2001

November

UCC's eBusinessReady program certifies 35 software products in its first year of operation.

July

The UCC and the Global Commerce Initiative (GCI) announce the release of the world's first open, global standards for XML schemas.

June

UCC releases first XML schemas based on EAN.UCC System standards.
UCC President and CEO Thomas Rittenhouse awarded the Roger Milliken Career Achievement Award by the VICS Association.

May

Reduced Space Symbology (RSS) makes bar code history at Dayton, Ohio supermarket.

January

Michael E. Di Yeso named Executive Vice President and Chief Operations Officer of the UCC

2000

December

The Uniform Code Council and the National Retail Federation (NRF) announce plans for future cooperation and communication on standards issues in order to bring improved efficiency to the retail industry.

October

The Uniform Code Council and EAN International announce formal plans for two Global XML Pilot Projects.

August

EAN International and the Uniform Code Council announce that the RFID Global Tag (GTAG) program will expand the proposed UHF frequency range to increase the speed of open, standards-based RFID development around the world.

July

UCC and EAN International plan for a joint Global Tag (GTAG) program to promote a supply chain-wide standard for RFID activities.
EAN International and the Uniform Code Council announce that the Global Commerce Initiative (GCI) has selected the EAN.UCC System as the foundation of its effort to simplify standards for retailers and consumer goods manufacturers around the world.

March

UCC announces a change to the structure of serialized shipping container codes (SSCC)

January

UCC announces it will develop a comprehensive electronic commerce strategy built around Extensible Markup

1999

November

UCC announces it will begin to issue Variable Length Company Prefixes as early as February, 2000

October

UCC announces a strategy for Electronic Commerce that includes use of XML technology
UCC and Rosettanet announce "Econcert Readiness Day" initiative to develop a standard global business language for supply chain e-commerce by February 2, 2000.
UCCnet holds first Grocery Executive Action Group meeting in Chicago.
UCC announces plans to begin issuing new leading digit Company Prefixes by First Quarter 2000.

September

UCC announces creation of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Auto ID Research Center, with seed funding provided by the UCC, Procter & Gamble and the Gillette Company.
The twenty-fifth anniversary of the Universal Product Code is celebrated at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History.

August

EAN International and the UCC announce plans for developing standards for space constrained applications, including Reduced Space Symbology and Composite Symbology.

January

The UCC opens new corporate headquarters in Princeton, New Jersey. The Operations Center remains in Dayton, Ohio.

1998

November

The UCC announces the initiation of a proof-of-concept project for the development of a universal foundation for electronic commerce, called UCCnet. The UCCnet is envisioned to span all industries and geographics regardless of company size and offer its participants an open, standards-based Internet trading community.

August

The Dayton office is moved to 7887 Washington Village Dr., Suite 300, Dayton Ohio.

July

The UCC announces the launch of the first phase of a multi-phase expansion that will see it enlarge its operations capabilities in Dayton, Ohio and relocate its headquarters to the Princeton, New Jersey area to better serve the growing global market for its business solutions.

June

The UCC announces its support of RossettaNet, a global initiative to adopt common business processes created to advance IT supply chain interaction world-wide.
The Voluntary Interindustry Commerce Standards Association (VICS) announces at its VICS Board of Directors meeting that the Uniform Code Council will become its Secretariat effective November 1, 1998.

May

UCC and EAN International jointly announce specifications for a new class of symbology for space constrained products. Reduced Space Symbology and Composite Symbology capture more information in less space.

1997

June

The UCC announces that retailers in North America must be able to scan 13 digits by January 1, 2005. Expansion of the databases to 14 digits is encouraged.

May

The first joint meeting of the EAN Management Board and the UCC Board of Governors occurs in Chicago. The beginning of a new age of global standardization is noted.

April

James J. Muenz, EDI Technical Director for the UCC is awarded the prestigious Edward A. Guilbert Professional Award by Data Interchange Standards Association for his leadership in pioneering EDI standards for the grocery industry.

February

Thomas S. Rittenhouse becomes UCC´s President and Chief Executive Officer. Rittenhouse is the third individual to lead the organization.

January

There are now over 200,000 UCC member companies in 141 countries around the world.

1996

November

The UCC Board of Governors formally accepts Standard Interchange Language (SIL) as a UCC standard and authorizes its support and maintenance by the SIL Standards Maintenance Committee.

June

ISO/IEC JTCI/SC31 is convened for the first time to focus on global standardization for data carrier symbologies, data content structures, and conformance. UCC agrees to serve as Secretariat.

January

Three joint projects are initiated between the EAN and the UCC: Tec-Core, App-Core, and Trans-Core.

1995

November

Global EDI (GEDI) is initiated as a joint effort between UCS and VICS.

May

The UCC and the EAN form the Global Policy Committee (GPC) to advise the governing boards on global strategy and cooperation.

January

There are now more than 145,000 UCC members, representing many industries around the world.

1994

February

The UCC is officially accredited as a Standards Development Organization (SDO) by ANSI.

1993

May

The International Data and Application Standards Committee (IDASC) is formed as a joint technical committee between EAN and the UCC, signaling a major commitment toward the global coordination of standards.

Fall

UCC becomes a member of both the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the Information Systems Standards Board (ISSB).

1990

October

The UCC and EAN sign a cooperative agreement formalizing their intent to co-manage global standards.

1989

March

The UCC Board of Governors formally approves UCC/EAN-128 for use with serialized shipping containers.

1988

January

UCC becomes the management and administrative body of VICS EDI.

October

The UCC, in coordination with EAN, endorses Code 128 to encode supplementary information on dispatch units.

1987

December

UCC agrees to administer both the Voluntary Interindustry Commerce Standard (VICS) EDI and the Warehouse Information Network Standard (WINS) EDI standards.

1984

November

To reflect the administration of the new UCS standards, the Uniform Product Code Council becomes the Uniform Code Council, Inc.

1983

May

UPCC agrees to administer the Uniform Communications Standards (UCS). UCS is an electronic data interchange (EDI) standard that permits computer to computer ordering and invoicing for the grocery and public warehousing industries.

December

Harold P. Juckett is chosen as the successor to Dick Mindlin as the Executive Vice President of the UPCC. He will assume the leadership post at the end of 1984.

1981

May

Interleaved 2-of-5 (ITF) symbology is adopted for shipping containers.

1978

January

Richard J. Mindlin is hired as the sole paid executive at the UPCC. His title is Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer.

1977

February

The European Article Numbering Association is chartered in Belgium. Its EAN-13 code is developed to be fully compatible with the U.P.C.

1976

December

The UPCC membership is now at 4,720 members and growing at the rate of 300-400 new members per year. There are 106 stores scanning U.P.C. symbols nationwide.

1975

June

Over 3,000 companies are members of the Uniform Product Code Council.

1974

September

The Uniform Grocery Product Code Council becomes the Uniform Product Code Council.

1973

March

The design of a linear bar code is chosen as the Universal Product Code symbology.
The federal government institutes new requirements for nutritional labeling on food contaners. This historic event hastened the adoption of the U.P.C.

1972

January

The first Board of Governors meeting for the Uniform Grocery Product Code Council (UGPCC) is held in Chicago. The UGPCC will administer the new Universal Product Code (U.P.C.).

December

Over 100 manufacturers and 84 retailers have joined the UGPCC.

1970

August

The Ad Hoc Committee on a Uniform Grocery Product Code convenes for the first time and agrees to jointly pursue a uniform grocery product identification code.

1969

September

Members of the Grocery Manufacturer´s of America (GMA) and the National Association of Food Chains meet to express a need for an "interindustry product code."