TL;DR
- Paula Rivero, CEO and co-founder of Digital Link, has published her first article as a member of Forbes Business Council.
- Her argument: the move from linear barcodes to 2D barcodes ahead of 2027 affects checkout, recalls, stock and regulation, so it needs an owner at leadership level.
- The full article is on Forbes.com. Below, you'll find our practical guides for each step it describes.
On 24 September 2026, Forbes published After 50 Years, The Barcode Is Being Replaced: Is Your Brand Ready For 2027?, the first article by Paula Rivero since she joined Forbes Business Council earlier this month.
Read the full article on Forbes →
What the article is about
The article is written for business leaders rather than packaging specialists. It opens with a situation Digital Link sees in practice: new checkout scanners that read more than one kind of code can pick the wrong one on a pack, and products come up as "not found". From there, Paula explains why the transition to 2D barcodes is worth more than avoiding that risk. She covers what it means for recalls, stock rotation and waste, how European regulation is turning product information into a digital requirement, and which retailers are already moving.
She closes with three actions for leadership teams, and one idea runs through them:
The code may be small, but the decision belongs with the person at the top.
Going further: our practical guides
The Forbes article explains why the transition matters. These guides on our site cover how to carry it out, following the order of the article:
- Understand the deadline. What is Sunrise 2027 explains GS1's goal for 2D-ready checkouts. Sunrise 2027 vs GS1 Digital Link separates what the transition actually asks for from what you can choose to add.
- Avoid checkout failures. Dual barcode placement shows how to keep a linear barcode and a 2D code on the same pack without the scanner picking the wrong one.
- Turn the code into operational value. GS1 Digital Link for product traceability covers batch and expiry data, targeted recalls and stock rotation.
- Get ready for regulation. Read about the European wine label reform, the battery passport and the wider European Digital Product Passport.
- Choose the code itself. 2D barcodes and our guide to GS1 Digital Link explain how one QR code can work at checkout and on a shopper's phone.
About Paula Rivero
Paula Rivero is CEO and co-founder of Digital Link and COO of QRCodeKIT. As a member of Forbes Business Council, she writes about connected products, the transition to 2D barcodes and the product data that brands will need for it. You can follow her on LinkedIn.
If your brand is planning its move to 2D barcodes, Digital Link can help you get there with GS1 Digital Link.
