As businesses grow, so do the deliveries, with growth in the volume of scale, keeping track of incomings and outgoings of raw materials and finished products become more difficult and cumbersome. It is possible to keep count of inventory by hand or via spreadsheets, but increasing in order makes it more difficult and prone to errors and mishaps.
Due to the above-mentioned problem, in recent times, more and more entities have adopted the system of barcoding to overcome this barrier. As orders increase, the business enters a critical stage wherein, the expectations of the consumers have to be made, therefore, barcoding is an effective inventory system to keep track of suck.
This article lets us understand the barcode inventory system in depth.
A barcode is a unique graphic with numbers or text, as seen on products in supermarkets. The graphic given on the products is seen visually. When the barcode is scanned, the data from the product is instantly transferred to the computer.
Let us understand the two types of barcodes.
1D or one-dimensional barcodes are the most used and common type of barcode, usually found on FMCG or consumer goods. 1D barcode labels consist of a unique pattern of vertical black lines on a white background. There are spaces given between the vertical lines, which the barcode scanner scans to obtain the information.
1-dimensional barcode scanners are essential for businesses with large stock-keeping units. They help in keeping track of inventories easily with the prevention of manual tracking of inventories.
Two-dimensional or 2D barcodes use a pattern of dots, squares, and other shapes to encode the data. The complex style of 2D barcodes allows them to store more amounts of data than 1D barcodes. Some of the information which can be stored in the 2D barcodes is website information, images, and voice.
A really simple and day-to-day example of a 2D barcode that we all use in day-to-day life is the QR code, which people can scan with their smartphones to open websites.
But why should a business organization or entity use a barcode inventory system? What are the benefits?
The key advantages of using a barcode inventory system are as follows:-
1. With the help of a barcode inventory system, fewer mistakes due to human errors are made, while tracking inventory. This leads to smoother supply chain management in the organization
2. Keeping track of inventory in real time helps you stay ahead of the sales cycle to maximize your profit and keep the order management process
3. The versatility of barcodes makes it useful to keep track of all sorts of information, such as price and product information within seconds
4. Employee training becomes easier since they just have to familiarize themselves with the technology of barcode instead of keeping track of the inventory itself.
If you have decided on implementing the barcode inventory system for your business, these important steps will help you successfully implement it
1. Define your SKUsThe foundation of using the barcode inventory system for your business is developing SKUs (stock-keeping units) or UPCs (universal product codes). It is important to use either to keep track of the iventory. It should include some or all of the descriptions including:-
2. Item dimension
3. Purchase price
4. The minimum amount you need in your inventory
5. A physical description of the item
6. Choose the appropriate barcode inventory software
It is important to have appropriate barcode inventory software for this system to work. Choosing the right software which fulfills your needs is important. The swipe app, one of the top-rated apps, comes with barcode scanning capabilities to reduce errors and automate your business.
a. With the help of the swipe app, business automation with the help of barcode software becomes easy and simple
b. Your team’s mobile itself becomes an efficient barcode scanner
c. Determine the types of barcodes you want to use
The type of barcode you need to choose depends on the type of information you want to convey. If you have a small amount of inventory and only need to track information, then a 1D barcode is sufficient
However, if you have an expansive database of information and need to track detailed information, 2D barcodes, like QR, need to be implemented.
7. Create your barcodes
With the help of inventory software, you can create your barcodes to correspond with your information.
8. Apply barcodes on your inventory
This is the most important step of the process, print your barcode labels and stick them on your inventory for ease of access. Make sure it’s visible and can be easily printed.
It depends on the type often referred to as symbology. The number of characters held on a barcode ranges from up to 128 characters on a 1D barcode to 4000 on a 2D barcode.
Yes, there are many software products out there that will allow you to create 1D and 2D barcodes. Many free online tools will allow you to create open-source barcodes for internal uses.
A barcode scanner is simply an input device, like a keyboard. The scanner reads or “scans” the black and white lines by illuminating them with light which is reflected into the decoder cell which decodes the analog signal and converts it into digital text for your computer system
ELECTRICAL TRANSFORMERS - GST RATES & HSN CODE 8504
What is credit transfer document in GST?
Levy of Goods Services Tax (GST) on the fees payable to SEBI
.jpeg)
