Inventory & AIDC Software Blog

A Sweet Beginning: Barcode-Enabled Inventory and Asset Management

22 years after the barcode was patented, Wrigley's Juicy Fruit gum became the first product, using a UPC barcode and barcode scanner, to hit the checkout line in June 1974 at a small grocery store in Ohio. See the pack of gum that was sold, on display at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History. Before the barcode invention, products were hand-tracked, which of course left room for tons of errors and low productivity levels.

Onward and upward! Today the use of barcode-enabled software has revolutionized the management of inventory and assets- spotted across the globe at fashion shows, rental car companies, space stations, airline counters and in the Wild.

An inventory and asset management system uses barcodes to manage or track anything from runway model sequencing at fashion shows, rental car inventory, airline passenger luggage, heat tile replacement on space shuttles, to mating habits of bees. The possibilities for using IntelliTrack software is limited only by imagination. Check out some of our clients.

Photo by jbcurio: Vintage Ad #1,096: Juicy Fruit

Citation: Brown, Stephen. "A History of the Bar Code". EH.Net Encyclopedia, edited by Robert Whaples. August 14, 2001.

Reduce the Cost of Taking Inventory

December 2009 Inventory Tip: Get Inventory Right!

Are you required to take a physical inventory? Are you one of those countless small and midsized businesses that spend hours taking physical inventory by hand with pen and paper? We feel your pain. No matter the size, a small one-person shop or a full warehouse, the process is all the same. Taking inventory is a tedious, time-consuming process and if you are using paper you open the door to human error.

One of our client's stores material for a manufacturer. They deliver the material on demand to this customer. They are required to supply detailed inventory of available material to the customer monthly. Their customer depends on that count to support their lean manufacturing practices. To our client that meant shutting down the warehouse, bringing in the crew, paying overtime and counting over a quarter million individual items. Their problem was solved with a Warehouse Management System (WMS) using barcodes for locations, tracking inventory receipts, moves and shipments using Wireless Portable Data Collectors. The result is that the reduction in time spent taking inventory was 60%. This was achieved by using a mix of cycle counts and only one yearly physical. Inventory accuracy soared to 99.8%.

You do not need to be a big warehouse to utilize an inventory counting system; the technology doesn't have to be expensive. Think about this. Another client of ours runs a small chain of restaurants who, weekly needs to count inventory to determine the next week's bulk food orders for the chain. The only concern was to know what is in the supply rooms now! Each week with paper order slips, a laptop with an excel spreadsheet, the client headed out to take inventory.  It easily consumed a twelve-hour day. Several problems were generated using the manual system and the most important was mistakes in ordering which often resulted in running out of product or worse, the amount of food going stale which needed to be discarded as spoilage.

The solution was a very simple inventory counting system, IntelliTrack Inventory. By implementing this solution using barcodes and portable handheld terminals, the client was able to assign the task of taking inventory to restaurant managers. In addition, each restaurant manager is in charge of setting minimum and maximum inventory amounts. Managers receive an incentive to keep items in stock while reducing spoilage. Three things occurred. First, the reduction in spoilage was over 85%. Over all, inventory is in line with customer demands and this reduced inventory levels for many items in the restaurants. Bulk supply cost is lower. The most important gain in the chain was that food was fresher and the customers noticed! Business grew and the chain is expanding. We do not claim to take credit for everything after all you have to start with good food in the first place. 

To summarize, anytime you use a paper-based system you open yourself up to "human error" and "human decisions". A barcode inventory system is a smart technology. These barcode based software systems allow customers to see available on hand inventory, compare minimum and maximum levels of inventory, control inventory levels and establish reorder points. They reduce loss and limit human error. Small or large, any business can benefit by using this technology over paper.
 
That! Is the way to get inventory right!

-Will Daniel, COO IntelliTrack, Inc.

Badly Printed Barcodes Waste Time & Time Is Money

October 2009 Inventory Tip: Barcode Printing Tips

There are three pieces of technology when considering implementing a barcode supported software application like IntelliTrack. The first is the software where the data is stored. The second is the portable or barcode scanner that scans the barcode to pass the collected data to the database. The third is the barcode itself.

The barcode is an essential component of the solution! It is contrast driven. The blacker, cleaner, more defined the barcode is on a white background the more efficiently it is read. The other more important consideration is the size of the label in regards to how far away you need to scan it. Why is this important? Every minute a user spends scanning and collecting data more efficiently is a savings in labor to you.

So why do many customers short-change themselves when it comes to printing barcodes? It sometimes feels like the barcode printing process is the afterthought instead of the piece of technology that ties the solution together.

Common Problems & True Stories

• Wrong Printer Type: A customer called in with a problem. "There's something wrong with your software!" "My scanner can't read the barcodes you (IntelliTrack) print".
• The facts: The customer was using an old laser printer that not only did not have a high enough resolution it was leaving a dark residue over the label. Not enough contrast.

• Bad Maintenance: A customer expressed concern that the label program in our software failed. It once worked fine. I actually went on site for this one. Arriving at the customer we went directly into the warehouse and the customer showed me a label grabbed a scanner and tried to the scan the label, bad scan!  The label looked good, nice white background good black thermal image. There were no lines running through the barcode and the customer was using a recognized barcode printing program.
  • The facts: The customer showed me the printer that printed the labels, a Zebra 105SE. For those in the know the 105 is a recognized industry standard warehouse print workhorse. I opened the case and it looked good. The printer did not appear dirty or misused. Then I saw the platen. Now the platen is the roller just under the print head that the label presses against as it comes out of the printer. The purpose of the platen is to ensure an even surface for printing. The customer platen had a label wrapped around it. To be more specific it had several labels wrapped around it. Like 10! Well this was not an even surface for printing and the extra diameter of the platen distorted the label just enough so that it was unreadable by a scanner.

• Wrong Size: A customer called in asking for help. Their team was having a heck of a time taking inventory or picking orders.
  • The Facts: The customer had an asset-tracking program and had several thousand blank asset labels they wanted to use. They were .5 inch by 1.5 inch. Instead of labeling the supply room with larger labels the customer used the asset labels and employees literally had to be 2" inches away to read the barcode that not only was printed two small were printed on label sheets out of an inkjet. Very wrong label size and wrong printer

To summarize, it never pays to take shortcuts with the technology that you expect to increase your efficiency. When printing barcodes do yourself and your employees a favor:

• Use a printer designed to print barcodes
• Use labels that are correctly sized for your environment
• Keep your printer clean and maintained by following manufacture maintenance guidelines.

You do these three simple things and the investment you made not only in your application but also in the equipment you invest in will save you time and labor. 

That! Is the way to get barcodes right!

-Will Daniel, COO IntelliTrack, Inc.