Monthly Archives: October 2017

You cannot overemphasize the importance of barcoding solutions in data collection. This amazing technology helps enhance operational efficiency in any setting by simplifying data collection activities that would otherwise be too tedious and resource-intensive. Barcoding systems are used to speed up and simplify such processes and also to ensure that the data or information gathered is accurate.

 

In order to do so, barcoding equipment and software feature specialized technologies that are able to record, read, interpret, process, and display data in a very efficient way. Take for example the movement of stock in a huge retail chain like Wal-Mart. Instead of spending endless hours manually recording every transaction on a physical ledger, customized barcoding systems collaborate to ensure seamless and accurate data collection and recording per transaction. The collected information is then compiled and analyzed using various financial and business functions to give a definitive report on the state of inventory at any given time. Considering the incredibly important role that barcoding systems play in personal, business, and industrial operations, one must be extra careful when acquiring one. The following tips cover the main guidelines for acquiring an excellent barcoding solution.

 

Your Needs And Preferences

 

When shopping for barcoding equipment and software, you should always be guided by your needs and preferences. The barcoding industry is quite monolithic and there are all sorts of innovative kits designed to solve or handle a hodgepodge of data collection needs. You need to consider your specific data collection needs and then choose the most befitting solution. This means that you have to outline your data, hardware, and software needs in order to select a suitable barcoding solution.

 

Quality/Condition

 

While you are still defining your barcoding needs, you should go a step further and consider your system preferences. This is more to do with the physical and operational competence of a prospective system than its basic functionality. Simply put, instead of just settling for a certain barcoding solution because it fulfills let’s say your inventory tracking or event attendance needs; you should also consider its physical and technological condition before acquisition. This should be fairly easy because you just need to select trusted models with the latest and best technologies and any other technical characteristics.

 

Availability

 

Then you have to confirm that the desired barcoding solution is available. Again this should not be a big hustle because of late there are so many dealers and manufactures offering all kinds of innovative barcoding solutions. The internet has made things much easier because product access is no longer constrained by geographical boundaries or distances. Pick a competent and reliable dealer after evaluating his industry reputation and assessing his online catalog for quality and variety. Place the order and you are good to go.

 

Terms Of Acquisition

 

tradeshow-scanners

 

All the aforementioned factors are irrelevant if you can’t afford the product. Despite high industry competition, some barcoding systems are still quite pricey. Luckily for us customers, competition has brought forth a new acquisition option: renting or leasing. You do not have to invest huge sums of money to access high-end barcoding equipment — just hire. You can rent barcode readers, scanners, printers, and even software at a cheaper rate for all your data collection needs.  Other crucial considerations include maintenance, additional setup costs and accessories, terms of payment and delivery, and after sales service.

Although it has only been around for a few dozen decades, barcode technology is ranked among the most important business technologies. Up until a few years ago, barcodes were exclusively used for data collection in conventional business activities like inventory management and event attendance control. But advances in other technologies in the recent past have spurred other innovative applications in things like advertisement, video games, health and nutrition etc. Even the original barcoding solutions have expanded to include special applications like equipment inspection, delivery tracking, and labor production reporting and management.

 

As you can see, barcoding technology is vastly popular, which is mainly due to its many functional applications. But despite its immense popularity in the business world, some people are still ignorant about its nature and usefulness. The following discussion aims to shed some light on some of the most important features and characteristics of this wondrous innovation. Read on for an insightful lesson on barcoding solutions.

 

What Is A Barcode?

 

barcode-inventory-rental

 

It is a unique marker or identifier that is encoded with some descriptive information about a specific object. The data is encrypted or coded and posted on a label by a barcoding printer and then the label is attached to the object of interest. The coded data is optically read and interpreted by special devices called scanners and readers. It is then processed and analyzed by a customized barcoding system to infer various changes or alterations in the whole ecosystem. Barcodes are of two types, linear and 2D or matrix, and they can be encoded in many different styles or languages like the Universal Product Code (UPC), Code 128, and CPC Binary etc.

 

Applications

 

As discussed above, barcodes are used in many different business activities. The main business applications include inventory control and asset tracking where bar-coded stock items and business assets are scanned and the data recorded/stored in various systems respectively. There is also the aforementioned event attendance tracking solutions, which are variously designed to track participation in a group setting. Applications include tracking arrival and departure times of individuals in group events like employees in a tradeshow, students in school, or invited guests at a seminar. The system uses data collected using scanners and readers from bar-coded badges and IDs to create data reports. You can buy any of these barcoding solutions or you can opt to hire everything. Today there are even barcode software rentals where you can lease customized programs for your data collection exercise.

 

Fundamental Features

 

There are thousands of barcoding solutions in countless industries and businesses around the world today. And although they are all customized to suit specific business tasks, they all share some basic characteristics. For starters, they are all defined by their data collection methodologies. Secondly, all barcoding systems are supported by or feature some hardware components, which are usually regarded as accessories during setup, for physical data collection. And last but not least, every barcoding solution features a certain type of application software customized to solve a specific data collection problem. For instance, one type of application program enables a barcoding system to track event attendees and another to report and monitor workforce productivity.

 

Manufacturers And Dealers

 

There are countless technology companies dealing in barcodes. Every component in a barcoding system comes from specialized manufacturer. Some of the most esteemed brands for hardware devices like printers, scanners and readers include Godex, TSC, Intermec, Zebra, Datalogic, Brother, CipherLab, Opticon, Honeywell, and Motorola. Software companies like Wasp, Redbeam, and Foxfire specialize in creating barcoding programs.