Scan the barcode.
The expiry date types itself.
The QR on India’s top-300 pharma brands and the GS1 DataMatrix on serialized packs already carry the batch number and expiry date. ShelfLifePro reads them straight into your goods receipt.
Phone or webcam camera· Any 2D-capable USB scanner gun
What lives inside a 2D barcode
A 1D barcode says what the product is. A GS1 2D barcode also says which batch it is and when it dies, via standard Application Identifiers.
AI (01)
GTIN
The product identity, what the item is
AI (10)
Batch / lot number
Fills your batch field, no typing
AI (17)
Expiry date
Fills your expiry field, no typing
AI (21)
Serial number
Unit-level identity on serialized packs
The QR codes are already on your shelves
Two forces put batch and expiry data on the pack. Most software ignores both.
India’s pharma QR mandate
Under G.S.R. 823(E), the top 300 drug brands (Schedule H2) carry a QR or barcode with the unique product code, batch number, manufacturing date, and expiry date, on every batch manufactured since 1 August 2023. That QR sits on packs your pharmacy receives every day. Scanning it should mean zero-typing batch entry; in most pharmacy software it means nothing.
GS1 Sunrise 2027, the global transition
GS1’s Sunrise 2027 initiative aims for retail POS systems worldwide to be capable of scanning 2D barcodes by the end of 2027. FMCG brands are already dual-printing QR and DataMatrix codes alongside the familiar EAN. The expiry and batch data inside them is free, if your software reads it.
Scan to goods receipt, in three steps
The flow is the feature: the data on the pack becomes the data in your system, without a keyboard in between.
Scan the pack
Point a phone or webcam camera at the 2D code, or zap it with a USB scanner gun, right inside the goods receipt screen.
The barcode is decoded
ShelfLifePro reads the GS1 Application Identifiers inside the code: GTIN, batch number, expiry date, serial where present.
The receipt line fills itself
Product matched, batch and expiry populated. You confirm the quantity and move to the next line. Typing becomes the exception, not the workflow.
No 2D code on the pack? Nothing breaks: scan the 1D barcode for the product and let supplier-file receiving or invoice OCR fill batch and expiry instead. 2D scanning removes typing wherever the pack carries the data.
Questions
The ones store owners actually ask about 2D barcodes.
Which barcodes does ShelfLifePro scan?
GS1 DataMatrix, GS1 QR / GS1 Digital Link QR, and ordinary 1D barcodes (EAN-13 / UPC-A). 1D codes identify the product only; 2D codes additionally carry batch and expiry, which is what kills the typing.
Do I need a special scanner?
No. A phone or laptop camera works out of the box. If you receive at volume, any 2D-capable USB scanner gun (most models sold today) types straight into the same field.
Which medicines carry the QR code in India?
Under G.S.R. 823(E), the top 300 drug brands listed in Schedule H2 must carry a QR or barcode with the product code, batch number, manufacturing date, and expiry date, on batches manufactured from 1 August 2023. A proposed amendment (G.S.R. 757(E), Oct 2025) would extend this to vaccines, antimicrobials, and anticancer drugs.
What happens when a pack has no 2D barcode?
Everything still works the way it does today: scan the 1D barcode to identify the product, then enter batch and expiry manually, or skip both and let supplier-file receiving or invoice OCR fill them. 2D scanning removes typing where the data exists on the pack; it is never a requirement.
Does this help with audits and recalls?
Yes. Because batch and expiry come off the pack itself rather than a keyboard, your batch records match the physical stock, which is exactly what a lot-level trace or recall pull needs.
Go deeper
The background reading, written for store owners, not standards bodies.
- The QR codes on your medicine packs: what Indian pharmacies can actually do with them
- GS1 Sunrise 2027: what the 2D barcode switch means for your store
- QR codes vs DataMatrix vs UPC: a store owner’s guide
- How 2D barcodes kill expiry-date typing
- FMCG distributors: your retailers will expect 2D despatch data by 2027
Your packs already carry the data.
Start a free trial, scan a pack, and watch the batch and expiry fields fill themselves. Every trial includes the 2-minute waste diagnostic on your own stock.