What are Barcodes? As suggested within the FAQ section of this website, a barcode is merely a graphic representation of data which can be either numeric, alpha characters or both. They allow for numerous automatic identification (Auto ID) processes to take place using a wide range of barcode hardware such as plug in scanners and portable data capture devices often referred to as PDT's or PDA's. In short - barcodes are the simplest and cheapest method of  ensuring that a particular object is instantly and accurately identified.

The benefits of using Barcodes Apart from the improved accuracy, there's also a noticeable reduction in labour costs to consider. Imagine you have 5000 stock items to scan and then count, it takes a lot of time to write down the data in the first place but remember that's 5000 entries which also need to be made onto a computer using a keyboard which will not only take several hours, but all of those hours are usually paid for as overtime. Contrast that with data that has been collected using barcode technology which would take just a few seconds to upload the same amount of data and it's not difficult to see that a relatively small investment can have a very quick payback.

How to create Barcodes How to create Labels Barcodes can be be generated in a number of ways, and at very little cost if you're not using them for retails purposes. Barcodes are more often than not printed onto self adhesive labels which are then applied to products and onto stock locations and bins but can also be printed onto many different types of other media too such as plastic ID cards, Job cards etc. Barcodes are also commonly printed directly onto packaging and marketing materials too. Barcodes can either be generated using a Windows true type font which is then incorporated into a document for printing or by using a specific labelling package which will have the facility as standard. Either method will allow you to send print jobs to a standard laser/inkjet printer or to drive a dedicated thermal transfer label printer. It's not difficult to make barcode labels but for anyone considering printing lots of labels through a laser or inkjet printer, we'd thoroughly recommend investing a relatively small amount of money in a label printer. Self adhesive sheet labels have a habit of regularly jamming up laser and inkjet printers quite easily and the cost to repair them can be quite high as a result.

How to Implement Barcodes The concept should be reasonably simple, for example if you want to start performing Stock Takes with barcodes in order to improve the accuracy and efficiency of recording stock data then you would first need to perform the following steps: 1. Identify any stock locations clearly using barcode labels within your warehouse stores area. We'd recommend using some form of durable synthetic material for this which can be wiped clean and won't perish easily in cold weather. 2. Apply barcode labels to the products that you want to stock take. This will enable you to quickly and accurately identify the product part numbers you're counting. Normally this labelling is done at the point of packaging whether it be at the end of the manufactuirng process or if the products are being re-boxed into different quantities for re-sale. 3. Introduce suitable scanning hardware for the process to be recorded. Take into consideration such things as the environment in which they need to be used and the type of data you wish to record such as whether you need to type in numbers and text information on the keypad. 4. Ensure that a suitable system is put in place to transfer data back to the PC or server. This can be done locally using a client PC (a batch upload system) and software to handle the transfer quickly and easily, or via a wireless network which will update live stock data to the server.

How to Use Barcodes The barcodes now all need to be scanned in order to mean anything and so on the basis that the the labelled products and locations cannot both be brought to the computer, a portable data capture device needs to be deployed around the warehouse to collect stock data using the integrated barcode scanner and keypad. A properly programmed portable data capture device is a valuable asset, it should ensure that only relevant data is recorded for each process. A series of prompts on the device screen should aid the operator and the program should also have a number of checks put in place to validate data entries and make sure that no erroneous information is collected. The collected data format from the hardware is also very important as it can usually be imported into a stock database or accounts package. Thorough invetigation needs to be done prior to deployment to enure that the file format and data fields match up. This is where a good project management team can be invaluable to ensure that the hardware and software are compatible together.

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