3 Uses for Barcodes Besides for Tracking Inventory

With the recent advancements in technology and the huge price reductions in the cost of barcode printers and barcode scanners, business owners are embracing barcoding technology for accurate tracking of their inventory.

However, there are other uses for barcoding than just to keep track of your inventory. Here are just three other ways you can use barcoding in your business:

(1) Tracking Paperwork / Invoices - A high quality Point of Sale (POS) software will allow you to print a barcode at the top of each invoice, receipt, purchase order, credit note, or any other paperwork you print out on a regular basis. This way, if a client brings back an item or if you simply want to enter in an invoice number or purchase order, you can just scan the barcode on the page instead of having to manually type in the document number.

This improves accuracy and makes dealing with paperwork more manageable.

(2) Tracking Employees - Through the use of employee id cards with printed barcodes on them, you can track employees signing in/out for their shifts. Simply assign an employee barcode card to each employee and have them scan in/out of the system when they start and end their shifts. This once again improves tracking accuracy for payroll, and also improves your security as well.

(3) Tracking Customers - Similarly to tracking customers, you can assign customers a customer loyalty card with a printed barcode on it and each time the customer purchases something you can simply scan their card and track their purchases. This is much more convenient and secure than having the customer tell you their phone number or name as a way of tracking them. Most customers don't like saying their phone number out loud with a lineup of people standing behind them listening but won't hesitate to hand you a card with their barcoded customer number imprinted on it.

These are just three ways in which you can use barcode printers and barcode scanners to improve your business.

Using Barcodes With Supply Chain Management

Supply chain management is the system of managing the entire set of interconnected businesses including the storage and movement of raw materials, inventory and the whole range of finished goods from their starting point to the final point of consumption. Thus, in a typical business it involves the management of all related activities including sourcing, conversion, procurement of supplies and logistics. It also encompasses activities with intermediate associates, suppliers, service providers and the final customers.

Supply chain management is easily manageable through specialized software, which makes integration of businesses easier. The process becomes even simpler with the aid of barcodes. Barcode technology helps to identify and track products and services since it is an effective identification tool.

Barcodes have been incorporated into supply chain management for decades since they first identify products, trace their movement and sale right till the time they have to be transported to customers. While their usage in the retail realm remains unparalleled they have also proved to be effective in every other aspect of the business.

The most important aspect of supply chain management is the need for facts and figures. Information is believed to hold the key to a successful business venture, and companies lacking in keeping track of information now find themselves at a distinct disadvantage. Barcode technology helps keep track of products and services that they identify, and hence provide all the necessary information about them. Every point of the supply chain involves vendors and suppliers who must be able to provide all details when asked. Their inability to do so will mean being left behind and their job assigned to a competitor who has his information ready. The use of barcodes would ensure detailed and correct information, which helps in cutting costs incurred in maintaining high inventory levels for customer products. If barcodes are used then inventory levels can be maintained at low levels and replenished only when the need arises. Barcodes provide accuracy and speed that no other system can match, and help in reducing expenses incurred to rectify errors made by manual oversight or faulty data entry.

Barcode systems include mobile devices that can be used at every point due to their ease of use and time saving advantages. Once a product enters the materials inventory, barcodes help in product identification, its location and tracking its movement. They help in product line applications, and newer manufacturing processes. Barcodes facilitate quality control and the handling of complaints, and finally in shipping at the right time to the right place and the right customer.

In short barcodes assist effective supply chain management in the following ways:

• Time saving by reducing data entry and processing times
• Cost efficiency
• Improved quality of data
• Reduced paper work
• Access to accurate information
• Timely action
• Improved efficiency levels in all business aspects
• Higher returns on investment

Companies providing barcode solutions for supply chain management include Zebra, Naxtor Technologies, Lawson Mobile and hundreds of other companies.