According to a report by Wasp Barcode Technologies, 43% of small businesses do not track their inventory. With growing competition, warehouses are expected to be more efficient in every aspect, ensuring competitive pricing, minimal errors and on-time services. While there are many ways of achieving this, barcode scanners have emerged as a way to gain multiple benefits for the supply chain. Here’s a look at the top 5 benefits of barcode scanning.
Reduced Errors
On average, there is only one error for every 70 million pieces of information read by barcode scanners, according to an article by Explain That Stuff. Warehouse scanners are capable of reading labels at lightning fast speeds, without any errors. With proper integration, barcode scanners have the ability to reduce error and increase data collection speed for receiving, picking, shipping, and inventory management tasks, according to experts at Key Software Systems. By using barcode scanners, the flow of information increases, not only within the company, but also between the consumer and the company.
Greater Mobility
With advances in technology, barcode scanners have evolved from being bulky devices, attached to a terminal, to lightweight, wireless, easily portable devices. Barcode scanners also have the ability to capture information from great distances. A common sight in warehouses used to be workers struggling to scan objects they could not reach, however, with the use of long-range scanners, even objects 25 to 70 feet away can be read. All of this has led to greater efficiency and reduction of unnecessary delays.
Cost Effective
Barcode scanners used to be expensive in the past. But, advancements in technology have come to the rescue here too. Not only are they compact now, but very affordable too. Although there can be some variations, the cost incurred per barcode label is just a few cents, according to an article on FitSmallBusiness. Barcode scanning also reduces labor costs, since labor intensive processes can be completed almost instantaneously. Each minute shaved off a process adds to the cost savings.
Time Saving
Writing down inventory manually, or physically searching for goods in the warehouse used to be incredibly time and effort intensive tasks. With barcode scanners, this time has been drastically cut down to just a few seconds.
Real Time Visibility
Using digital barcode scanners, data can be transmitted to a cloud server or host computer almost instantly. All stakeholders in the logistics supply chain, from sales executives to managers and finally the customers can track the movement of an item in real time and be prepared to take any action required at their end. This helps in resolving any problems or bottle necks without delay.
Inexpensive as well as user friendly, barcode scanners have become an indispensable tool in the supply chain industry.
RSS Feed