Why are barcodes important in inventory management? Inventory management involves dealing with a large volume of items. Whether you need to prepare a shipment for a client, manage return items or import products, barcode scanners are of major importance in ensuring that your business runs smoothly. They are designed to efficiently read and capture data from a wide range of barcode types in inventory management, logistics, retail and other industries.
Therefore, it’s important to consider several factors when selecting scanners for barcodes such as barcode compatibility, software, speed and accuracy, performance capacities and the working environment. Once you’ve determined these factors, finding the right scanner is a breeze. You can easily find a barcode scanner online, and each offer comes with a description and specifics that help you make informed decisions.
Factors to Consider When Selecting Barcode Scanners
When looking for a barcode scanner online, here are some key factors to consider:
Barcode Scanner Type
To reap the maximum benefits of barcode recognition, first and foremost, it’s essential to choose the correct type of barcode scanner for your type of business. There are various types of scanners for barcodes, ensuring efficiency and ultimate performance to help you streamline your inventory management.
Handheld Scanners
Handheld scanners are designed for manual scanning barcodes. They are portable and can be wireless or wired. These scanners are optimal for scanning products on shelves and inventory in warehouses to assess and record the volume of stock.
Bluetooth Scanners
Bluetooth scanners are wireless devices that enable users to move around with ease and utilize wireless connectivity for efficient and quick scanning. They are durable and provide a wide range of scanning and reliability to transmit data.
2D Image Scanners
These scanners are designed for reading data from 1D and 2D barcodes as well as QR codes. They provide fast and accurate reading and can handle complex data.
Camera-Based Scanners
The best thing about these scanners is that they use a camera to capture an image of the barcode which enables accurate reading even when the barcode is obscured. Ideal for reading data Matrix, UPC, EAN, QR codes, etc. Camera-based scanners are mostly used in Inventory management, retail and point-of-sale.
Laser Scanner
Laser scanners are pretty accurate and reliable in decoding barcodes and provide an impressive range of scanning. They can be handheld or fixed-mount (stationary) scanners.
Wand Scanners
They are also known as pen imagers or pen scanners and are used manually for reading barcodes. They are portable, user-friendly scanners that do not require any power source for their use. However, when it comes to speed and accuracy, they show somewhat lower performance capabilities, compared to the rest.
Software
Finding the right software is of major importance for your business. The software plays a key role in efficient inventory management by providing better visibility into your inventory, thus, reducing the potential errors when organizing the inventory. The right software ensures accurate data reading and provides real-time tracking of your stock levels which helps to prevent overstocking or stockouts.
Most importantly, when you buy buy a barcode scanner you need to check if the software is compatible with that of the inventory management software. The right compatibility will significantly improve your business efficiency and promote your business’ success.
Performance
High-performance scanners play a key role in facilitating quick and efficient data entry, optimizing the efficiency of capturing data in challenging conditions. During storage, handling or shipment of the items, it’s common for barcodes to get obscured, blurred or slightly damaged, which leads to difficulties in accurate decoding.
Additionally, the working environments can influence the visibility of the barcode. Therefore, is essential that you choose a barcode scanner that can excel in different conditions, despite the challenges. It’s vital that you invest in a scanner that provides optimal and accurate inventory records across various environments.
Speed and Accuracy in Reading Barcodes
The barcode scanner you choose needs to offer fast and accurate decoding. This is especially important in handling high-volume items as is the case in most warehouses or any other business of large scale, especially during peak times. A fast and accurate barcode device enables business owners to quickly track inventory in real time so they can monitor potential stockouts and track all the inventory that goes in and out. This way they prevent potential financial losses, ensure customers’ overall satisfaction and improve their business.
Portability
Large-scale businesses and facilities, especially in fast-paced environments can benefit greatly from portable scanners. Of course, the level of portability will mostly depend on how big is the facility and if there are facilities in multiple locations. Portable barcode scanners are time-efficient, and offer flexibility and a seamless experience for on-the-go scanning.
They improve agility and allow workers to move around with ease, providing accessibility to areas that may be challenging to reach with fixed-mount scanners.
Scanning Range
Depending on the facility, the stock can be stored in challenging areas that are not easily reachable and the workers cannot reach the items for barcode scanning. In those cases, it is crucial to have a device that can capture data from a distance. The ability of the scanner to read data from a distance will highly depend on the scanning range of the device.
Devices with wide-range scanning capacities are essential in large warehouses and facilities. It helps workers save time and effort on barcode scanning by not needing to get physically close to the items for individual scanning.
Environment
Facilities with poor lighting conditions or bad air quality can affect the visibility of the barcodes, by reducing the readability. This can lead to errors in data entry.
Also, strong brightness or outdoor storage facilities exposed to direct sunlight can affect the efficacy of some scanning devices such as laser scanners. For this case, a better option would be a scanner with LED technology, wireless Mobile scanners or Imaging/CCD barcode scanners.
