Monday, May 16, 2011
Make Bar Coding Work for Your Company
A bar code is any optical machine-readable representation of data in the form of specifically spaced parallel lines. The most prevalent bar code is the universal product code, or UPC, which is on almost every product sold in the retail industry. However, a bar code can represent any form of text, which in turn can be read by a computer using inexpensive bar code scanners. This input can be used with any software in place of a keyboard.
In the current issue of Welding & Gases Today, the journal of the Gases and Welding Distributors Association (GAWDA), Iain Hodgekins, vice president of operations for Superior Products of Cleveland, Ohio, shares his expert insights on the use of bar coding in business.
"Since 2003, Superior Products has used a bar coding system in multiple departments and has been enjoying hefty cost savings and committing fewer errors," Hodgekins reports. "When employees were typing or recording information by hand, the accuracy rate was approximately 90 percent, due to lost tickets, transposing of numbers or other human errors. That accuracy rate has increased to more than 99.9 percent since the switch to bar codes.
"Making the switch to bar coding has brought an enormous amount of time and cost savings to our company, and we are closer than ever to becoming an error-free establishment," Hodgekins says. "The benefits to the level efficiency and organization that come with implementing a scanning-based business are simply too great to be ignored."
Read "Scanning the Way to Savings" at Welding & Gases Today Online—the leading trade journal for the welding, welding equipment, industrial gases, medical gases and specialty gases industry—and find out more about bar coding technology and how it can enhance your business.
For more information, contact Jeffrey Charboneau, editor of Welding & Gases Today, at editor@weldingandgasestoday.org or 315-445-2347.
About GAWDA
Founded in 1945, the Gases and Welding Distributors Association (GAWDA) is the premier source for manufacturing knowledge, education and networking. Through its member journals (www.welding andgasestoday.org), e-magazines, newsletters and industry wiki (www.gawdawiki.org), GAWDA connects suppliers of gases and manufacturers of related equipment as well as manufacturers of welding equipment and distribution leaders, for the purpose of safely delivering optimal solutions to the users of those products. GAWDA publications are the industry's voice for all matters related to the latest technology and the most up-to-date processes spanning welding equipment and products and services related to industrial, medical, specialty and cryogenic gases. A 501(c)3 organization, GAWDA members are located throughout North America.
Read more at http://www.articlealley.com/article_1098005_15.html?ktrack=kcplink
In the current issue of Welding & Gases Today, the journal of the Gases and Welding Distributors Association (GAWDA), Iain Hodgekins, vice president of operations for Superior Products of Cleveland, Ohio, shares his expert insights on the use of bar coding in business.
"Since 2003, Superior Products has used a bar coding system in multiple departments and has been enjoying hefty cost savings and committing fewer errors," Hodgekins reports. "When employees were typing or recording information by hand, the accuracy rate was approximately 90 percent, due to lost tickets, transposing of numbers or other human errors. That accuracy rate has increased to more than 99.9 percent since the switch to bar codes.
"Making the switch to bar coding has brought an enormous amount of time and cost savings to our company, and we are closer than ever to becoming an error-free establishment," Hodgekins says. "The benefits to the level efficiency and organization that come with implementing a scanning-based business are simply too great to be ignored."
Read "Scanning the Way to Savings" at Welding & Gases Today Online—the leading trade journal for the welding, welding equipment, industrial gases, medical gases and specialty gases industry—and find out more about bar coding technology and how it can enhance your business.
For more information, contact Jeffrey Charboneau, editor of Welding & Gases Today, at editor@weldingandgasestoday.org or 315-445-2347.
About GAWDA
Founded in 1945, the Gases and Welding Distributors Association (GAWDA) is the premier source for manufacturing knowledge, education and networking. Through its member journals (www.welding andgasestoday.org), e-magazines, newsletters and industry wiki (www.gawdawiki.org), GAWDA connects suppliers of gases and manufacturers of related equipment as well as manufacturers of welding equipment and distribution leaders, for the purpose of safely delivering optimal solutions to the users of those products. GAWDA publications are the industry's voice for all matters related to the latest technology and the most up-to-date processes spanning welding equipment and products and services related to industrial, medical, specialty and cryogenic gases. A 501(c)3 organization, GAWDA members are located throughout North America.
Read more at http://www.articlealley.com/article_1098005_15.html?ktrack=kcplink
The Benefits of Bar Coding
Using a bar code system helps ensure you have the right merchandise in the right place at the right price at the right time.
Bar coding is the perfect solution for many day-to-day business problems, including:
• Tracking lost shipments
• Resolving receipts vs. invoice discrepancies
• Determining where your goods are located at any point in time
• Tracking out-of-stock items
• Speeding returned goods to the selling floor
• Reducing long lines at the checkout counter
• Eliminating time-consuming paperwork
• Helping to keep your employees focused on customers rather than tasks
Bar Code Basics A bar code is a series of black bars and spaces that are used to encode a series of characters. The bars and spaces can represent numbers or letters of the alphabet or both. Differing "symbologies" have different structures and capabilities. For example, the UPC bar code has only numbers in it. Code 39 bar codes have both numbers and letters. The various widths and spaces of the parallel bars stand for a particular character, so the spaces are just as important as the bars.
Key Benefits of Bar Code Technology
Fast and Reliable Data Collection: Code scanning is 5 to 7 times faster than manual data entry and is 10,000 times more accurate!
Consider this: Keyboard data entry creates an average of 1 error in 300 keystrokes. Bar code data entry has an error rate of 1 in 3 million!
Printer Systems Division
Reduced Cost: Code labeling increases productivity to such a level (it's 5 to 7 times faster than manual methods) that labor savings alone can often pay for the cost of the data collection system. In addition, you can reap the financial benefits of reduced revenue loss due to data collection errors and maintaining a more accurate inventory level.
Improved Management: You have better information for better decision making! More information. Timely information. Accurate information.
Benefits for Retailers
Merchandising: Improved data integrity allows decisions to be made with real time, accurate data, improving product and category management decisions. Bar code technology facilitates the use of automated replenishment or vendor managed inventory so the right product is always at the right store at the right time.
Retail Distribution Centers: Using code technology means fewer order and invoice discrepancies, saving you money. It also speeds product flow to stores, increasing inventory turns and reducing out-of-stock scenarios.
Stores: Faster receiving of goods and accurate back room inventories improve product movement to the floor, increasing sales. Hot products are more often in stock, on the selling floor, directly leading to improved customer satisfaction and higher sales. Slow moving items are identified and taken out of rotation. With bar code labels, you have faster check-out, shorter lines and happier customers. You can also eliminate the entry of incorrect SKU's or the use of department numbers, streamlining your processing and increasing productivity.
Printer Systems Division
Streamlining your process also allows your employees to spend more time helping customers and less time performing tasks.
Benefits for Manufacturing Operations
There are many benefits to the manufacturer when code technology is used, including: • Facilitating electronic transactions via EDI (electronic data interchange). EDI streamlines your ordering process and reduces errors caused by manual order entry.
• Improved product flow - helps you get your products to your customers when they need it where they need it.
• Reduces inaccurate shipments, saving you time, money and increases customer satisfaction.
• Reduces operating costs and improves cash flow.
Benefits for Shipping and Receiving
Coding is considered a cost-effective investment for assisting in the physical count of your inventory. Why not adapt bar coding to your other inventory-related transaction and have a completely automated warehouse?
• Receiving clerks save time by scanning products as they are received, rather than manually checking each item with paper and pencil.
• By scanning codes printed on both the pick ticket and pin, shipping clerks increase accuracy by immediately verifying the right product was pulled to fill an order.
• Radio frequency (RF) bar code units can electronically transmit customer orders to warehouse personnel, avoiding the need for printed picking documents and resulting in paperless warehouses!
Kris Thrasher, marketing communications manager at Avery Dennison, is the author of this article about bar code labeling, and inventory labels. Avery Dennison helps businesses move products through the supply chain efficiently. We've designed process improvement programs for retail stores, distribution centers, and manufacturers. Our consultants work with you to gain a thorough understanding of your goals and recommend turnkey solutions to your critical business issues.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kris_A_Thrasher
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/5673319
Bar coding is the perfect solution for many day-to-day business problems, including:
• Tracking lost shipments
• Resolving receipts vs. invoice discrepancies
• Determining where your goods are located at any point in time
• Tracking out-of-stock items
• Speeding returned goods to the selling floor
• Reducing long lines at the checkout counter
• Eliminating time-consuming paperwork
• Helping to keep your employees focused on customers rather than tasks
Bar Code Basics A bar code is a series of black bars and spaces that are used to encode a series of characters. The bars and spaces can represent numbers or letters of the alphabet or both. Differing "symbologies" have different structures and capabilities. For example, the UPC bar code has only numbers in it. Code 39 bar codes have both numbers and letters. The various widths and spaces of the parallel bars stand for a particular character, so the spaces are just as important as the bars.
Key Benefits of Bar Code Technology
Fast and Reliable Data Collection: Code scanning is 5 to 7 times faster than manual data entry and is 10,000 times more accurate!
Consider this: Keyboard data entry creates an average of 1 error in 300 keystrokes. Bar code data entry has an error rate of 1 in 3 million!
Printer Systems Division
Reduced Cost: Code labeling increases productivity to such a level (it's 5 to 7 times faster than manual methods) that labor savings alone can often pay for the cost of the data collection system. In addition, you can reap the financial benefits of reduced revenue loss due to data collection errors and maintaining a more accurate inventory level.
Improved Management: You have better information for better decision making! More information. Timely information. Accurate information.
Benefits for Retailers
Merchandising: Improved data integrity allows decisions to be made with real time, accurate data, improving product and category management decisions. Bar code technology facilitates the use of automated replenishment or vendor managed inventory so the right product is always at the right store at the right time.
Retail Distribution Centers: Using code technology means fewer order and invoice discrepancies, saving you money. It also speeds product flow to stores, increasing inventory turns and reducing out-of-stock scenarios.
Stores: Faster receiving of goods and accurate back room inventories improve product movement to the floor, increasing sales. Hot products are more often in stock, on the selling floor, directly leading to improved customer satisfaction and higher sales. Slow moving items are identified and taken out of rotation. With bar code labels, you have faster check-out, shorter lines and happier customers. You can also eliminate the entry of incorrect SKU's or the use of department numbers, streamlining your processing and increasing productivity.
Printer Systems Division
Streamlining your process also allows your employees to spend more time helping customers and less time performing tasks.
Benefits for Manufacturing Operations
There are many benefits to the manufacturer when code technology is used, including: • Facilitating electronic transactions via EDI (electronic data interchange). EDI streamlines your ordering process and reduces errors caused by manual order entry.
• Improved product flow - helps you get your products to your customers when they need it where they need it.
• Reduces inaccurate shipments, saving you time, money and increases customer satisfaction.
• Reduces operating costs and improves cash flow.
Benefits for Shipping and Receiving
Coding is considered a cost-effective investment for assisting in the physical count of your inventory. Why not adapt bar coding to your other inventory-related transaction and have a completely automated warehouse?
• Receiving clerks save time by scanning products as they are received, rather than manually checking each item with paper and pencil.
• By scanning codes printed on both the pick ticket and pin, shipping clerks increase accuracy by immediately verifying the right product was pulled to fill an order.
• Radio frequency (RF) bar code units can electronically transmit customer orders to warehouse personnel, avoiding the need for printed picking documents and resulting in paperless warehouses!
Kris Thrasher, marketing communications manager at Avery Dennison, is the author of this article about bar code labeling, and inventory labels. Avery Dennison helps businesses move products through the supply chain efficiently. We've designed process improvement programs for retail stores, distribution centers, and manufacturers. Our consultants work with you to gain a thorough understanding of your goals and recommend turnkey solutions to your critical business issues.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kris_A_Thrasher
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/5673319
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