Are the codes all unified across stores and POS systems? Is it an extension of the UPC? I assumed the code was like a part number from that store chain’s inventory.
They are called PLU numbers and I’m assuming they’re regulated because bananas are the same code everywhere I’ve been, as with grapes. Maybe certain produce between regions or chains is different but I think most are similar.
Yeah I think the PLU codes (like 4011 for banana) are the same practically everywhere. The codes used in Australia are the same as those used in the USA
Most use the PLU system. There’s a handful of (imo stupid) smaller stores that have their own system/ codes, but then it doesn’t even match the sticker on the fruit/ vegetable. For the most part, it’s universal.
Most produce you find at larger grocery stores, have stickers applied before they arrive to the store. Nobody there gets paid enough to care if the apples all have their stickers (or bananas, or pears, or - insert food item here)… So many are fairly standardized.
I’m not sure where in the production and distribution chain that the stickers end up on the produce, but it’s before the stores.
I worked produce department for a few years when I was a teenager, and we got shipments from our own internal distribution, and the manager would suppliment anything they couldn’t provide with a smaller, more local distributor. AFAIK the local guy had more reliable stock, but cost more (not enough to create a loss, as far as I was aware - but enough to reduce profit margins); so the thinking was: get it cheap from distribution, if they can’t or won’t, then fill in whatever is lacking with this other guy. It was almost always the same stuff regardless (in the same boxes, from the same growers, etc) and everything from both sources always had the exact same labels/stickers/codes on them. The workers only needed to get it from the truck to the shelf for the most part. The only produce we touched any more than that, was the stuff that went on the wet display; mostly lettuce, celery and such.
I’ve worked at several stores and I’ve noted the few codes that I actually know are consistent among different local stores.
IMO, it might change from country to country or something, but largely, the numbers are the same.
Are the codes all unified across stores and POS systems? Is it an extension of the UPC? I assumed the code was like a part number from that store chain’s inventory.
There are standard sets of PLUs, yes. Not every store uses them, but you’ll definitely find them at most large chains.
https://www.ifpsglobal.com/PLU-Codes
They are called PLU numbers and I’m assuming they’re regulated because bananas are the same code everywhere I’ve been, as with grapes. Maybe certain produce between regions or chains is different but I think most are similar.
Yeah I think the PLU codes (like 4011 for banana) are the same practically everywhere. The codes used in Australia are the same as those used in the USA
Most use the PLU system. There’s a handful of (imo stupid) smaller stores that have their own system/ codes, but then it doesn’t even match the sticker on the fruit/ vegetable. For the most part, it’s universal.
Most produce you find at larger grocery stores, have stickers applied before they arrive to the store. Nobody there gets paid enough to care if the apples all have their stickers (or bananas, or pears, or - insert food item here)… So many are fairly standardized.
I’m not sure where in the production and distribution chain that the stickers end up on the produce, but it’s before the stores.
I worked produce department for a few years when I was a teenager, and we got shipments from our own internal distribution, and the manager would suppliment anything they couldn’t provide with a smaller, more local distributor. AFAIK the local guy had more reliable stock, but cost more (not enough to create a loss, as far as I was aware - but enough to reduce profit margins); so the thinking was: get it cheap from distribution, if they can’t or won’t, then fill in whatever is lacking with this other guy. It was almost always the same stuff regardless (in the same boxes, from the same growers, etc) and everything from both sources always had the exact same labels/stickers/codes on them. The workers only needed to get it from the truck to the shelf for the most part. The only produce we touched any more than that, was the stuff that went on the wet display; mostly lettuce, celery and such.
I’ve worked at several stores and I’ve noted the few codes that I actually know are consistent among different local stores.
IMO, it might change from country to country or something, but largely, the numbers are the same.