Use of bar coding technology has grown dramatically over the last several years … and for good reason.
Once a luxury available only to large companies with equally large IT budgets, widespread adoption of bar code technology has led to lowered costs and a wider range of choices and features available to small and medium-sized businesses. Let’s explore why bar code technology is so important.
We All Make Mistakes … But Bar Codes Don’t
Essentially bar coding provides a fast, accurate, and automated way of collecting data and transferring that information to your Sage 100 ERP system. Even the most tight-fisted operations manager can appreciate the benefits of eliminating manual keystrokes, reducing labor costs, and eliminating errors. In fact while a bar code scanner can collect and record data faster than a speeding bullet, the error rate is only about 1 in 3 million.
This level of accuracy can have far reaching affects. Consider the example of a customer that receives an over shipment, under shipment, or just the wrong order due to a data entry error. You’re now in a position where you incur additional shipping costs for the returned items as well as labor costs to process the return and re-process the correct order. Not to mention the “soft” cost of a potentially unhappy customer. By all accounts, companies that have implemented bar code technology have significantly reduced or completely eliminated these situations.
It’s Not Just for the Warehouse
Perhaps nowhere else is bar code technology more beneficial than in the warehouse where personnel are picking inventory, shipping and receiving goods, conducting physical counts, and many other activities that require frequent data collection and subsequent entry into Sage 100 ERP.
But the speed, accuracy, and other benefits of bar coding are not limited to the warehouse. Manufacturers can implement bar coding on the shop floor where work-in-progress, materials, and labor are tracked by scanning a routing sheet with bar codes on them. If you process payroll in-house, you can eliminate manual entry of payroll data by capturing time and attendance using bar codes on employee badges. Finally, bar coding your fixed assets can lead to better tracking and more accurate physical asset inventories which can lower your property taxes.
Soft Benefits are Important Too
In addition to some of the “hard” savings discussed above, the “soft” benefits of bar coding can help improve employee morale by automating boring jobs like repetitive data entry, improve customer service with up-to-date information on product availability, and significantly improve efficiency.
One Size Does NOT Fit All
There are a variety of bar code solutions, from very simple to highly sophisticated, that meet the needs of a wide range of operations. From the basic bar code reader attached to a computer that reads one item at a time to a deluxe warehouse management system with wireless handheld devices and 2-way communication with your accounting system, you get to choose how much automation and accuracy provides the right fit for your business.
Contact us to learn more about the integrated bar coding solutions that we implement for small and mid-sized companies.
