The purpose of this standard is to assist manufacturers of consumer electronics in properly applying bar code symbols to products that will move through the retail channel of distribution to the ultimate consumer. EAN/UPC bar code symbols are being accepted worldwide for point-of-sale data capture by retailers. These bar codes uniquely identify the manufacturer and the product at the Stock Keeping Unit (SKU) level. Products marked per this Standard shall also comply with the product marking requirements in Section 7 of EIA-802 "Product Marking Standard".

There is further need to identify some consumer electronics products uniquely by means of a serial number. Use of a serial number for a given product is at the discretion of the manufacturer. Bar code marking of a product's serial number can assist manufacturers and retailers in areas such as:

• Manufacturer distribution inventory control

• Packing slips and invoices generated with SKU and serial number for inventory flooring, transport pilferage reporting, etc.

• Dealer receiving inventory control

• Warranty control and reporting

• Automated warranty establishment

• Service contracts

• Serial number control of rental equipment

• Retail invoices generated with SKU and serial number for warranty or insurance claims

• Warranty claim forms generated with SKU and serial number

• Verifying revision level of equipment for servicing purposes

This standard applies to the use of the EAN/UPC bar code symbol on consumer electronics products, and the sales packaging used for containing and displaying the product on the retailer's shelf/counter.

If the product has a serial number, this standard applies to the use of a bar code symbol to encode the item serial number on consumer electronics products and on the sales packaging used for containing and displaying the product on the retailer's shelf/counter.

If the product has an interior service number or secondary serial number, this standard applies to the use of a bar code symbol to encode an interior service number (secondary serial number) that is different from the item serial number seen on the outside of the product and the sales packaging used for containing and displaying the product on the retailer's shelf/counter.

This standard applies to the use of a bar code symbol to encode an electronic serial number used for a cellular mobile telephone (CMT).