Top benefits of implementing a barcoding system in Inventory management software

“Efficiency is doing the things right, while effectiveness is doing the right things.” – Peter Drucker

Inventory management is not an easy task. It can be hard to keep a track of where any particular part is at any given time. Indeed inventory management has always had a reputation for being a logistical nightmare, which is why when barcoding was introduced it helped to actually revolutionise the process!

Barcode systems and the usages of barcodes have been introduced for a while now. In fact, it is used in most retail outlets and supermarkets for tracking and checking-out purposes. However, it hasn’t yet been adopted by several small and medium-sized companies. There are several reasons why using inventory management software with barcodes will improve your daily operations and boost your sales in the long run. 

Storeroom workers and supervisors use barcoding system to ensure that work orders are linked and purchase orders also tie in to the amount of stock that is replenished and that all spare parts and equipment is tracked.As soon as an item leaves the stockroom, it is immediately fed into the system and it becomes easier to know the status of the stock- what needs to be replaced and whether stocklimits are within acceptable margins.

Previously, the inventory department had to rely on lots of paperwork and staff who kept count of’ stock levels through perpetual stock reconciliations. These ways of managing inventory were not efficient as the barcoding technique can be viewed as being the most logical way of addressing problems within inventory management.

 

In order to ensure that the information that is processed by the barcode is useful, a best fit  ERP system can be used as the backbone of the barcoding system. Without relevant information and the ability to effectively track and account for stock, the use of barcodes is not effective – so it’s important to consider how barcoding will fit in with the ERP. 

1. Ease of use

You don’t have to be an expert to use inventory tracking software. There is the misconception that an Excel spreadsheet is an easier route. Having to manually input the SKU number of hundreds of items daily is not an easy task.

When your inventory has a unique barcode label, you can recall associated data with one quick and simple scan, and you can add information to certain items in the inventory. Also, it allows you to view your inventory in real-time and anytime with just one scan.

2. It is Cost Effective

A Barcode offers extremely fast recognition and implementation of data. On top of that, it allows automatic product identification across many industries. Although application complexity may vary, a barcode label costs very less. Further, you can improve productivity, lower your overhead costs and cut down on labor and training time. It can help to lower the costs of capital required to carry excess inventory since you have the exact statistics of what you have in stock and you can avoid ordering an abundance of anything. Inventory can also impact your taxes, so by knowing the exact amount of inventory in stock will allow you to make accurate deductions.

3. Barcode is easily integrated with your ERP software

We all know how fast technology advances and barcodes are not an exception. It can be easily integrated with your best-fit ERP software. Implementing the best inventory management practices and being proactive will save you time and money in the future.

Many businesses wait until they face loss, missing, or damaged inventory before making the choice of investing in an inventory management system.It is best advisable to implement a barcode integrated inventory management system at the earliest for receiving the best returns. 

4. Accuracy

Manually tracking numbers or handwriting can be very taxing and is an absolute impractical method in the age of technology. There is an average of 10 errors made for every 1000 keystrokes made by a person. However, with a barcode scanner only one error is made for every 10,000 scans. When employees have to search for items that may be misplaced or out of stock it may cause errors in the front-end which may eventually mean delays in shipments. Beyond that, data mistakes can also cause overspending when you order too much inventory.

5. Barcodes Provide Security

The problem of inventory going adrift is a perennial problem in inventory management. Although in some instances there may be problems with regard to items being stolen, there are also products or items which may not have any resale value, but which will still go adrift. Historically this has been the result of poor record keeping, where items are simply not accounted for as they leave the stockroom.

When items are barcoded, then the risk of them going awol is far less, because the barcode enables items to be tracked at any given time.

6. Inventory Tracking with Barcodes Saves Time

Employees  spend a lot of time writing down inventory and physically searching for items in your warehouse to ship when the inventory in your warehouse is not organized with an automated system is extremely time consuming.The main benefit of a barcoding system is the speed with which information can be fed into the database and then analysed. When dealing with high levels of stock, it can be almost impossible for a person to gather this information and then process and analyse it, within a short timeframe. 

7. Figuring demand trends

Using a barcoding system helps to analyse the demand trends in terms of inventory being used or leaving the stockroom/storage facility. Without a barcoding system it is difficult to assess the demand spikes or troughs in a timely fashion. By the time the information has been processed, it may no longer be pertinent. So the barcoding system can be an analytical tool as well, which is actually quite a different role for inventory management, which historically has been viewed as very much a ‘back room’ function.

So there are a number of benefits to be derived from barcoding in inventory management and indeed in the future, it is likely to become more efficient and hence widely used for effective business growth.

 

Having enlisted all the crucial and most tested benefits of a Barcoding system, I bring greater news to you. Expand ERP software solution provides integrated barcoding along with a best fit ERP inventory management system. It hosts all the above mentioned benefits along with plenty more to add to your business growth.

Our client, M/S Cottons4infants, is a mid-sized manufacturer in pure organic cotton infant wear. Before implementing Expand ERP Inventory Management software, found a lot of challenges in tracking their inventory as their business was gradually expanding. Without a best-fit ERP system, their product demands in the market could not be efficiently met. The production was adequate but not organised. They decided to re-organise their system of work and adopted Expand ERP. Thereafter, the company could effectively meet demands of their product.They are now running an over 150 crore organisation effectively.

 

Expand smERP is India’s best fit ERP software for mid-sized manufacturers in export and retail industries. Invest in Expand smERP software now and watch your business grow in leaps and bounds. 

For more information contact us at +91 9007026542.