Friday, June 12, 2015

Common Features Of Barcode Tracking Software

By Jeanie Bailey


Products, assets, and other inventory should be tracked by all companies. Using barcode tracking software makes the job easier. There are several different software providers that have their own systems and features. Customer demand has pushed these companies to provide a set of standards that are typically included with the product. Most include them as regular program features while others will charge for different add-ons. The main items included are inventory management, asset control, multi-site coordination, scanners, printers, and software system integration.

Controlling the inventory is simply keeping an accurate count of the products or parts on hand. With the older systems, employees would track products on paper forms. This is both time consuming and costly. The manual system slows down the ability to know what is available for shipping and for sale. In order to quickly fulfill customer orders, a company has to know exactly what is available at all times.

Asset management typically includes keeping track of non-product items. Work computers, printers, office furniture, and vehicles are examples of company owned items that are tracked using asset management features. Not only can the assets be tracked, but when used with other programs the value can be tracked. This is important for tax purposes as well as controlling company expenses.

Many businesses have multiple locations to store products. Retail businesses with more than one store may need to tag each product with the store location. Warehouses often ship or trade products in order to fulfill orders quickly. Using this feature a company can easily shift inventory from one location to another without losing track. This provides a better customer experience and eliminates wasted expenses.

Scanners come in various shapes and sizes. One of the most popular style is the wireless hand scanner. These can be carried by employees as they do manual inventory counts. Costly mistakes can be avoided by using scanners due to data entry mistakes. Desk and wired scanners are popular for receiving stations in warehouses, making it easier to mark products as they arrive or depart the location.

Special printers were created to print barcodes on sticky paper. These can been placed on products and allow a company to provide their own codes for each item. These codes can also be printed on regular paper using standard printers. Using these systems makes inventory control very efficient. Inventory sheets can be printed with space for the codes printed from these specialized printers.

Being able to integrate the data with other programs is essential. The software itself provides a powerful way of keeping track of inventory and assets. Many companies need to move the data to spread sheets, financial software, and even the Internet in order to share information across the company or provide financial information based on the numbers provided. Most of the more popular data types are included in the various packages.

Companies must keep track of both inventory and assets in order to compete in today's global economy. The standard features of tracking software provide an efficient and effective way of handling this process. The systems reduce employee time and mistakes that could be very costly to a company trying to grow and compete. Using these systems ensures nearly immediate and perfectly accurate access to company inventory data which allows for better management decisions.




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