This article was originally written by Hans de Gier, CEO of SyncForce, and first published on his personal LinkedIn profile. We share it here so more readers can benefit from his insights on the real story behind QR codes and the possibilities of the GS1 Digital Link.

QR codes have become a familiar part of daily life. From scanning menus at restaurants to checking product information on packaging, they act as a bridge between the physical and digital world. Yet despite their widespread use, many misconceptions still surround them. In this article, Hans de Gier explains what QR codes really are, debunks common myths, and highlights why GS1 Digital Link is changing the game for packaged goods.

A Brief History: One Code to Replace Many

The QR code was invented in 1994 by Masahiro Hara of Denso Wave in Japan. At the time, car manufacturers were struggling with too many different barcodes on each component. A single part could carry multiple codes for different purposes, such as production runs, customer IDs, and supplier references.

Hara’s idea was simple but powerful: replace all of these with one code that could carry more information.

Unlike traditional linear barcodes, the QR code could also hold letters and special characters, including Japanese Kanji, not just digits. In practice, this meant one QR code could replace several barcodes with different formats. Its first real-world use cases were in automotive production lines, where scanning a single code revealed everything needed about the part.

Myth-Busting: There Is No “Smart” QR Code

Fast forward to today, and we see a new wave of misconceptions. You will often hear claims that QR codes can directly store videos, documents, or entire product histories. The reality is far less magical: a QR code is simply text in a box.

The “smart” part happens only in the software that interprets the text. Apple and Google built recognition rules into smartphones:

• Wi-Fi login: instead of typing long, awkward passwords, you can scan a QR code that contains the network name and password in a specific text format.
• Website URLs: at exhibitions or on posters, QR codes became a shortcut to a web address. Instead of typing “https://…”, your phone camera recognises it and offers to open the link.
• COVID-19 menus: during the pandemic, restaurants replaced paper menus with QR codes linking to their websites.

In all these cases, the QR code does not store the Wi-Fi itself, the menu, or the website. It just passes the text along, and your phone decides what to do with it.

Think of a QR code as a keyboard shortcut for lazy people: it types the web address or password for you. Nothing more, nothing less.

From Two Codes Back to One

If you look at a consumer product today, you will often see two codes:

• A linear barcode (EAN/GTIN), used by retailers for checkout and logistics.
• A QR code, added by marketing to guide consumers to campaigns, promotions, or product websites.

We are back to where Masahiro Hara started, with multiple codes serving different functions on the same pack.

This is where GS1 Digital Link comes in. Technically, it is nothing more than a web URL, but with a specific structure that ensures the GTIN (the unique product number) can always be found inside it.

That way:

• Checkout scanners can extract the GTIN directly from the URL, ignoring the rest.
• Smartphones see only a normal web link, asking the consumer if they want to open it.

With GS1 Digital Link, the industry can return to one code per product, serving both supply chain and consumer needs.

The Role of the Resolver: Air Traffic Control for Links

But there is one more challenge: company websites are not structured in the GS1 Digital Link format, and landing pages often change when web platforms are updated. To solve this, the GS1 Digital Link framework includes a Resolver standard.

Think of it as an air traffic control tower. A consumer scans the QR code, the GS1 Digital Link sends the request to a GS1 compliant Resolver, and the Resolver redirects the consumer to the right destination. That could be:

• A brand’s sustainability program
• A Dedicated Product Site (DPS) with videos or spare parts,
• Or a promotion page for a World Cup competition.

The QR code is always the same. Where it leads can change, safely and consistently, even after the product has left your distribution centre.

Closing Thought

The QR code has come full circle. Born to unify multiple codes into one, it is once again solving the same problem in packaged goods with GS1 Digital Link. The code itself is not smart. The intelligence lies in how we use it, in the systems, the websites, and the experiences we connect to it.

Higher standards for product data

A lot has changed at Spirotech in recent years, too: “We sell our solutions through wholesalers to installers and consultants. As a result, these wholesalers started asking for product data to be supplied in a better way. In the past, you could manage with Excel or PDF files, but that has really changed.”

Spirotech has used SyncForce for years. When Digital Marketer Laurens Costa joined, the team realised they could get much more out of the software. “SyncForce was mainly used as a media library,” says Laurens, “so a central place to store documents, brochures, and videos.”

A huge opportunity

When Spirotech needed a new website, the team saw a huge opportunity: making the product data from SyncForce Circular PIM available on the website. They chose the Optimizely Content Management System and delaware as the implementation partner. “delaware and SyncForce had worked together before, which gave us confidence that we could connect the PIM system and the CMS properly.”

To make the launch successful, a lot of work was still needed to enter product data. Laurens: “We have ETIM standards for all our products. That’s a really big advantage for us: standards make it much easier to share data, in our case with wholesalers.” The team worked hard for months to collect all the data and enter it into the PIM system. “But it was definitely worth it. Thanks to this effort, we now have 95% of all ETIM properties filled in.”

A smart move

The combination of the new website, the link with SyncForce, and using ETIM turned out to be a smart move. “On one hand, as a supplier, we are simply expected to provide data,” explains Joost. “If a certain amount of data isn’t filled in, wholesalers won’t sell your products. But we found many more benefits. For example, we discovered it’s very easy to automate price lists using SyncForce. It used to take three months to create a price list; now, it takes less than a week.”

Spirotech also becomes more visible to our end-users, such as consultants and contractors. Joost: “Right now, we have all our products in SyncForce and have linked all available data for each product. We even have CAD drawings available that can be used in system designs. When the design is finished, and the installer requests a quote, SyncForce allows us to add information like user guides for installers, installation videos, and line drawings.”

Improved relationship with wholesalers

This has greatly improved the relationship with wholesalers, says Joost: “We have review meetings with wholesalers every year and always score very high on data. That gives them confidence to do business with us. They can be sure our data is correct, whether it’s about our stock levels, the number of products on a pallet, or the dimensions.”

Automating product data sheets

The next step was automating product data sheets. “Now that we have all the data together, we can serve our customers even better. Product data sheets are an example. They help customers choose between different products based on practical and technical, standardised data. We already offer this data on our website. By automating the product data sheets, we can provide the most current data at any time.”

Single source of truth

The increased use of SyncForce is not just noticeable within the marketing team; the entire Spirotech organisation now uses the software, says Laurens: “At one point, we had so much data in the system that we decided to use SyncForce as the single source of truth for the marketing team.” “That also has many benefits for our sales colleagues,” adds Joost. “They can find everything they need in SyncForce. If you can’t find it here, we don’t have it. More importantly, we now know for sure that everyone is sharing the same information. Previously, we lacked insight into what was shared with customers. Different spreadsheets and PDF files were always going around.”

It has also become much easier for Spirotech to enter new markets. Laurens: “Suppose we wanted to become active in Norway; we could basically launch a website within a week, based on available data. Thanks to AI, we can easily translate the website and product information in SyncForce into Norwegian.”

Future

A future dream is to use this new way of working right from the design phase, says Joost. “Although we’ve made big steps, we still only use about half of what SyncForce offers, namely Product Information Management and Digital Asset Management. It would be great if we could gradually fill in all the ETIM data during the product development process. That would make marketing easier and shorten time-to-market. As soon as a product is ready, so is the data to launch it.”