Barcode Systems to Solve Your Warehouse Inventory Problems

Last updated on May 23rd, 2023

In warehouse inventory management, installing an effective barcode system warehouse is an important aspect of an organization’s operational efficiency.

Today, they are utilized across a broad range of industries, and a plethora of systems are available to match the specific business needs in particular industries.

In this blog, we’ll walk you through the basics of barcodes and how it helps solve your warehouse inventory problems.

What Are Barcodes?

Barcodes are termed as a visual representation of letters, numbers and symbols. Every character is encoded in white and black areas.

Barcodes are easily creatable. They can be created in Word, Excel or in Mac or PC application that enables you to transform fonts through online barcode generators or effective inventory management programs.

How Do Barcodes Work?

Businesses utilize barcode inventory management systems to give a number to every product they sell. They can connect many data points to the number, which includes the product dimensions, supplier, weight, and even variable data, like how much is available in stock.

Also, barcodes can be given to locations like a bin on a shelf in a warehouse or stockroom. In contrast, a product is stored in the location. A worker can easily scan both the location and product codes as well as the inventory system will effectively record the location data.

Barcode serves as a license plate on a car. ABC123 has no actual connection to what model, make or year a car is or who owns it. But, the number is stored in a database as well as refers to your car’s registration information, any exceptional tickets, and a lot more. Also, when you just scan a barcode on an item in a warehouse business, you’ll get information on the product itself, whether it’s a black XXL shirt or a replacement for any product for another in the same category.

Understanding Barcode Inventory Control

Barcode systems are exception tools for inventory management as well as control. The pace of the process can be fast for both shipping and delivering goods, making sure an exact count of what’s on hand and decreasing costs. By printing as well as scanning barcodes, an organization can effectively track everything that arrives in and out of a warehouse. Large-scale businesses can effectively track inventory across various locations with instant updates to a database, so any person in the company can understand what’s in stock across the world.

UPC and SKU: What is the Difference? 

SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) and UPC (Universal Product Code) are terms utilized in retail. While both SKUs and UPCs are basically barcodes, they fulfil various purposes.

UPCs are well-coordinated through an organization known as GS1 or global standard. By working with the help of a centralized organization, vendors and manufacturers can sell their items in several places, including online. New consumers and potential customers can utilize the UPC to do proper research and make a comparison of product costs across sites. No other business can utilize UPC for their product.

The UPC standard involves a product code, a manufacturer code and a check digit.

An SKU is widely used in the company and allows companies to keep tabs on products in stock from the time they are acquired until they are successfully sold. As SKUs are completely internal, companies don’t just register them with a central company. Businesses can utilize UPCs as SKUs, but internal SKUs provide more flexibility. Organizations can develop them manually or automatically by utilizing a software package.

What is the Right Way to Read a Barcode?

People could learn to read a barcode by eye, but it widely utilizes a scanner. Below are a couple of facts about scanners:

• The most widely used scanner is the laser scanner.
• Linear imagers capture a photo of a barcode and then quickly analyze the image. This just works on 1D barcodes.
• 2D area imagers are the same as linear images but, likewise, read 2D and well-stacked barcodes.
• Also, you can utilize smartphones as scanners with some apps.

How Barcode Systems Solve Your Warehouse Inventory Problems

While companies are looking for the right way to reduce costs and even save a lot of time, several overlook the worth of utilizing a barcoding system while doing inventory. Barcodes have clearly proven themselves as an amazing tool for any business that wants to decrease overhead and increase the efficiency of employees. Also, barcodes are a non-expensive and most reliable way to keep track of your inventory. This amazing system can help solve your warehouse inventory problems, and here is how:

1. Human Error

With a barcode system used for inventory, you can almost completely reduce the human error that disturbs your system. While employees manually enter data, the occurrence of error is a bit higher than while a barcode scanner is utilized to keep complete track of inventory. Manually entering data also takes some time and a barcode scanner offers a quick and reliable way for your employees to complete their tasks with zero error.

2. Reduce Training Time

Utilizing a barcode is quite simple, even for those who are quite inexperienced with technology. Many people can ace the task of using scanners within a couple of minutes and build up the ability to read barcodes from the scanner fast. With the help of a scanner, you overcome the essential task of teaching your employees you complete the inventory system or pricing process. Your employees should take part in less training, which positively saves your company money and time.

3. Decrease Cost

The most complex barcode system is quite affordable for several companies with inventory requirements. A barcode is simple to design as well as print and won’t need a big investment made by the company. Regardless of where you want to use your barcodes, they will preferable just cost you pennies for every code you print. Also, codes can be tailored exactly how you would prefer them to quickly advertise your brand further and simply set apart your stock.

4. Good Control of Inventory

Barcodes are an extremely accurate approach to tracking inventory. With barcodes, you are capable of determining exactly where your equipment and products are and decreasing your overhead by decreasing your inventory levels. With proper product tracking, you save a lot of money by not buying more inventory that is not required. Also, codes can give you a thought of which of your products are great sellers and which you want to focus more on being highly appealing to consumers.

5. Versatility

Barcodes are quite easy to use for any selection of data that is important for your company. They can be utilized for costing or for inventory collection data. Codes can be linked to any product and can, hence, be utilized to identify any items or shipments that come in or out of your business place.

6. Highly Accurate Data

Also, barcodes bring you extra accurate data for inventory and cost. Every code can be utilized for both, and make sure that the data for both of these categories are available effectively and faster. Barcodes can be tailored in any way possible to assist you in tracking the data you want for your products. With a barcode system, you get a good idea of exactly where your products are and even why they are actually there.

7. Data Quickly Available

When data is entered manually, you may need to wait until the information is entered and transformed into a report before you settle on any decision about your products. With a perfect bar code system, the data is available right away after quickly scanning. Data is scanned directly into your network from a barcode scanner and can be simply accessed by those that have proper authorization. You become quite effective while it is quite easier to get the information you want faster.

 8. Well-Informed Decisions

As a barcode system can offer more reliable data quite faster, it boosts the decision-making process throughout your company. The decision can be easily made based on strong data that quickly comes from your codes. You will not invest time in decisions or ideas that require more money while you have more reliable data to support every one of your choices from your system.

How To Begin With Applying Your Specific Barcode Scanning Process 

It can be a scary task to find out the logistics of utilizing barcodes to keep a record of your inventory. Here are a few tips you might find useful as you start this journey. 

• Initially, bring the suitable scanner that lies within your budget! There are some offers out there. Take some time to settle on the right decision. Although, if this appears to be a lot of work, then immediately check with local retailers. They are able to suggest something appropriate on the basis of different types of inventory or products you have in store.

• When you get a scanner for you, fix a training schedule with new employees to help them learn about particular operating processes. It is crucial that whatever system is selected has a simple way for employees to improve their inventories as well as report shortages if required.

• Also, it’s a great idea to think about whether or not you need inventory updates instantly upon receipt, as well as single products scanned for the cost. If so, then ensure there is sufficient time in advance to get goods for installing software like Microsoft Excel templates which can be utilized as an optional system if email servers ever go down because of power outages.

Related Article: The Ultimate Guide to Warehouse Inventory Management

Are You Looking for Solutions to Solve Your Warehouse Inventory Problems?

Don’t wait until you confront any inventory crisis before installing dedicated inventory management software apart from barcodes. Selecting suitable barcode inventory management can assist your business with making more profits as well as function effectively in the long run.