When it comes to inventory management, installing a barcode system for warehouse is an integral part of an organization’s operational efficiency.
They are used across a broad range of industries today and a variety of systems are available to meet the specific needs of business in specific industries.
Barcode system for warehouse, retail and even e-commerce activities have long become the foundation for effective inventory management.
Within the barcoding devices, mobile barcoding scanners have already become the most favoured option for most warehouses. Warehouse barcodes are also useful in other areas, from taking inventory to checking out books. Inventory management systems use barcodes to automate all aspects of inventory management and improve inventory positions and forecasting models.
There are some common advantages across all industries that a barcode system offers. We will look at some of them below.
7 guaranteed advantages to having a powerful warehouse barcode in place are given below
benefits
1. Human errors are minimized
Often in warehouses and such, a fatal human error could snowball into a crisis. If errors happen on a regular basis, the company could suffer significant losses every year.
Errors and mistakes could develop from a range of issues like incorrectly labeled items, items being lost to issues like items being delivered to the wrong location or customer.
Such repetitive errors could also hamper your online selling prospects since large online retailers like Amazon and others, flag retailers who commit repetitive mistakes or errors.
An efficient barcode system will ensure that such mistakes are minimal. In warehouses, a barcode system will rarely type the wrong number or skip a number/entry. Barcoding is almost always a few steps better than manual entries.
2. Overall productivity increases
Manual data collection is replaced with barcoding. This automatically increases the data accuracy. Analyzing such data is easier and less time-consuming since you do not have to create laborious excel sheets to compile all the data. All these advantages lead to an overall increase in the productivity of the business.
3. Key Performance Indicators can be easily tracked and monitored
Data is collected in real-time. This leads to faster reports being made, monitoring how the process was completed and the progress being evaluated at any given time. S.M.A.R.T. objectives and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) can now be tracked productively.
When you are equipped with such options, you are in a better position to set benchmarks for your departments, employees and the company in order to achieve higher profits, efficiency levels etc.
The main KPIs that can be tracked are given below:
- Accuracy of your inventory
- Accuracy of Order filling
- Order cycle time
- Employee performance
- On time shipment & on-time ready-to-ship
- Inventory turnover
- Carrying costs
- Backorder rate
- Stock write-offs
There are also several other advantages that require no detailed explanations and are self-explanatory in the business world. Some of them are given below:
4. Employee training is made easier as barcode training takes only a short time to master. It also makes the process inexpensive.
5. Safety and quality assurance is increased since theft, loss etc can be tracked and thereby minimized.
6. Easy to install with minimal cost is another advantage you gain when you install a barcode system for warehouse. It is not a complicated system that takes several weeks to install.
7. There is a professional & appealing look when you add a barcode sticker with interesting factual information added to it. Perception makes a lot of difference in the business world and as such this is another important advantage.
Barcode system for retail & e-commerce
The potential of barcodes were first realized through grocery retail stores. It then spread rapidly to other areas like warehouses and e-commerce activities too. Today, it is a common practice to install a barcode system for retail and e-commerce sector.
Retailers also require barcode scanners that integrate properly with the POS software as well. Along with the general advantages of the barcode systems, retailers have a few unique advantages as well. These include updating the customer about the package status, easily attaching barcodes to clothes, food items and other retail product etc.
In short, barcode system for retail sector makes life easier at all stages of their sales and operations process be it customer queues or inventory control.
Similarly, using a barcode system for e-commerce activities are gaining prominence as well.
It becomes more important when you have items to choose from a large inventory. A large inventory list requires a lot of space and organizing capabilities. Barcode systems, like wireless barcode scanners with sufficient range, provide the answer to such requirements.
Barcodes can also isolate specific orders (say in e-commerce shipping) and apply shipping rules, for example, and complete the automated purchase and label printing without human intervention.
E-commerce sellers can start with simple order-number scans (to save typing) and then move on to automating more aspects of the process gradually.
Warehouse Barcode systems have come a long way but its evolution is far from over
It is an easy, accurate way for tracking inventory, retrieving data and gives you an overall control of your inventory management system. It is also a cost-effective and user-friendly tool that helps you through various stages like pricing and inventory. Implementing a comprehensive warehouse barcode system ensures that you start reaping the benefits right away.
Apart from the traditional advantages stated above when you install a barcode system for warehouse, retailers or for e-commerce activities, there are non-stop fresh innovations taking place that could further revolutionize the way barcode systems work.
For example, Sustainable Fashion Coalition (SAC) is pursuing a quick response (QR) coding system that could enable consumers to scan labels and get background information about the items and its environmental impact.
The QR code system is based on the same principles of the barcode system and is a successor of the same. Another example is that of a project called International Barcode of Life.
They are attempting to assemble the archive of all the species on earth. If successful, it won’t be long before you see customers scanning a fish or any food product using their smartphones (or even a DNA scanning device!).
Though these are work-in-progress projects, it is amazing to observe the possible (and highly probable) potential of this brilliant technology.
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