Barcode technology has been a part of the manufacturing and supplying industry for the last three decades. They allow us to have greater visibility over the operations of our organizations. They are also known to make certain operations where identification and data collection are necessary, to become significantly more efficient. In this blog, we will talk about two such operations. So, let’s talk about the importance of barcode labels for shipping and receiving.
What are Barcodes?
This is a type of AIDC (Automatic Identification & Data Collection) technology used in almost every single industry globally. Barcodes are used to identify asset groups and track items along the supply chain. These codes store information in bits format, in the form of black & white bars or cells (dots).
Barcode labels come in all sizes and are very easy to implement on items. They are also easy to make, all you need is a barcode-making software & a barcode printer.
How to Use Barcode Labels in Shipping & Receiving?
Barcodes provide excellent AIDC services to its users. In receiving and shipping operations, there are multiple areas where you can implement this technology.
Streamline Supply Receiving
Every business must deal with incoming supplies of essential goods to keep its stock replenished. In industries like warehouses, asset tracking becomes a very difficult task due to its sheer volume. With the help of barcode labels, dock employees can easily identify incoming supplies and complete the receiving manifest and check for any missing shipments.
Preparing Dispersal Orders
After receiving an order of items to be dispersed, the first step is to locate and retrieve all the items from within the facility. Now, in large facilities like warehouses, it becomes a very time-consuming and frustrating task. But, by implementing a barcode system, you can find out the shelving location of each item by their group designation. This makes the retrieving process far quicker and reduces the chances of errors.
Receiving Returned Items
During the return, the biggest problem is to authenticate whether the item that is being returned came from your inventory in the first place. Without such protocols, anyone can claim that they bought something from you and ask for a return. With the help of barcodes, you can easily read the product code & check if the said item was ever in your inventory by checking the inventory history in the database.
Benefits of Using Barcodes for Shipping & Receiving
Now you know how to use barcodes in operations dealing with receiving and shipping of goods. But, is it necessary to use barcodes in your business? Can’t you cut costs by not spending money on these? The answer is not so simple, yes you can save some money by not investing in barcodes, but it will not increase your overall net profit it will decrease it.
In short, there are plenty of benefits to using barcode technology in your business. These benefits improve the productivity of your business by a lot, and that is why every business invests in them. So, let’s check out some of the benefits.
Easy to Train & Implement
First and foremost, the biggest benefit of barcode technology is that it is profoundly easy to implement. It is also very simple to teach your workers to use these systems effectively. In the spectrum of AIDC technologies, barcodes are considered to be the most cost-effective.
Improved Security
Barcodes allow its users to have some level of asset tracking capabilities, enabling them to know the general location and movement of their assets within the facility. This improves the security of your facility by alerting you of any unauthorized movement of items in and out of the gates. It also helps in keeping your inventory database updated in real-time, therefore giving you better monitoring ability over your items.
Increases Accuracy
Human labor is always prone to the risk of error/mistakes. These mistakes can sometimes lead to the disruption of operations or even losses. With the help of barcodes, you can rest assured that the margin of errors can be reduced significantly. As all barcodes are unique, it reduces the chances of reading an item twice. Barcode scanners also perform multiple scans on a barcode to make sure that the scan is clear and accurate. With greater visibility into the operations of your business, you not only prevent loss but can also improve productivity.
Aids in Warehouse Management
Managing a warehouse can be a tedious task, you need to look after a combination of factors like the traffic of incoming and outgoing items, maintaining a fresh & adequate amount of stock at all times, managing inventory, etc. And as you already know from the above information, the help of that barcode will all of these operations and make them more efficient. In conclusion, the implementation of AIDC technologies like barcodes can streamline tasks like warehouse management.
Types of Barcode Formats Suitable for Shipping & Receiving
As mentioned above, with time, we’ve developed a variety of barcode types with different characteristics & applications. Different types of barcodes may have different storage capacities, different formats, sizes, etc. So, which type of barcodes are suitable for use in shipping & receiving operations?
Conclusion:
Shipping and Receiving are essential operations for any business that deals in physical products. They allow a business to keep up with the needs of the supply chain and fulfill its purpose. To ensure this, you must deal with major tasks like inventory management, supply receiving operations, Shipping operations, monitoring, etc. These all tasks can be optimized with the use of barcode technology.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. What is barcode on shipping label?
Ans - The collection/pattern of black lines on the surface of a package’s shipping label is a barcode. These are simple data storage & identification technologies that can easily be read by a scanner and allow businesses to track identify & track their items for logistical operations.
Q2. How do barcode labels work?
Ans - When we say simply ‘barcode’, we mean 1D barcodes. These are capable of storing data in the form of binary data. The black & white bars in the code are representative of a bit. A scanner can be used to read these bars and convert the received binary information into readable format.
Q3. How do shipping barcodes work?
Ans - A shipping item's packaging can consist of multiple barcodes. These all share different sets of information to allow for proper transit of the items along the supply chain. These barcodes can contain information like Product Code, Product Group, Origin Location, Shipping Location, etc.
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