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Manage Inventory With Barcode Scanning Technology

High Resolution Lenses for machine vision, instrumentation, inspection and vibration-sensitive applications. Standard and custom hi-res lens assemblies.

Business owners, especially those that carry inventory in the course of their business operations, understand the importance of inventory management. Gone are the days of listing inventory in a ledger and performing weekly or monthly manual inventory management tasks. With the ever-increasing prices of practically everything, tracking inventory has taken on a greater importance. Inventory management can save business owners and retailers thousands of dollars through the ability to reduce overstocking of items, shrinkage and shortages.

Through the implementation and use of inventory tracking and software, tracking inventory is a much more cost-effective undertaking. When you’re looking for an inventory tracking management system you will be looking into bar code scanning technologies and software, but here are three items to take into consideration when making a decision:

  1. Do you already have a system in place that you will need the bar code scanning technology to integrate with? While inventory management software is crucial to minimizing the time it takes to track inventory, if you need to completely overhaul your software and hardware, you may need to consider the return on investment. Look for a software management system that can be integrated with your current software if possible. If your system is out of date and it’s taking you far too long to maintain inventory, it might be time for a change. Consider too that the implementation of an inventory tracking system, when you have none in place, will take time and resources to get it set up correctly. Just as your point of sale system helps you track transactions, your back office systems need to be integrated in a way that allows for easy retrieval of data. Look for software that provides periodic and perpetual tracking capabilities.
  2. Do you need periodic or perpetual inventory tracking information? With periodic tracking, the business owner doesn’t have an up-to-the-minute tally of inventory on hand as he would with a perpetual inventory management system. Perpetual inventory tracking is useful for retailers as it lets them know when a customer purchases an item and will even allow for re-ordering to keep store shelves stocked. Most periodic inventory tracking requires physical counts at the end of a specified period, typically at the end of an accounting cycle.
  3. Do you need an inventory management system that is compatible with your current devices? This will definitely be a money-saver if it’s possible. Also, the use of a mobile or handheld device will save time and effort when it comes to scanning the bar codes of the device you have on hand.

The key to successfully implementing an inventory management system through the use of bar coding technology is to have a baseline inventory count and to follow through with adding new products as they are brought into the business. Business, both new and established, can benefit from the implementation of a bar code scanning inventory management system.