If you have a large amount of products, multiple warehouses, or are a logistics provider, you may want to invest in inventory-specific barcode software. If you have a retail operation, you can probably use your POS system to create barcodes. But it can perform other functions, depending on your needs: theft prevention, order fulfillment speed, and first-in, first-out (FIFO) accounting. Sure, barcode inventory management keeps you updated on what you do and don't have in stock.
#Cheap barcode inventory system for small business software
You'll also have more data for inventory control processes such as setting safety stock levels, calculating reorder points, and determining economic order quantity (EOQ).īefore you print barcodes and put them on products, however, identify what you want to achieve from a barcode inventory system and assess your software and hardware needs. You'll enjoy multiple benefits from using barcodes to track inventory, starting with perpetual inventory counts instead of a periodic inventory system. What to consider when creating a barcode inventory system Source: The advantage of using your own SKUs instead of UPCs is they store more information than the product name and manufacturer, including store location, department, item category, size, and color. SKU barcodes are used in retail environments. Over 30 major barcodes with different applications exist today, everything from Bookland EAN-13 barcodes that embed product, publisher, and pricing data on the back of a book to single-use barcodes with shipping information. A two-dimensional barcode is either square, such as a QR code, or rectangular and consists of many dots, which can store much more information.
Introduced in 1951, adoption was not widespread until supermarkets began automating the grocery checkout process in the mid-1970s with universal product codes (UPCs).Ī UPC barcode identifies two pieces of information: the product and its manufacturer.Ī UPC is a one-dimensional barcode: Data is encoded using different widths of parallel lines and spacing between them. We'll go over barcode basics and the steps to set up your own system, so you can decide if your small business would benefit from implementing one to aid in your inventory management.Ī barcode is the visual representation of data using lines and spacing, which is readable by digital scanners. We could have avoided that hassle - and likely sold more merch, too - with a barcode inventory system. The owners' inventory management "system" consisted of us running to a storeroom to dig through confusingly labeled plastic containers to see what was in stock. I always cringed, though, when someone asked which brewery t-shirt styles and sizes were in stock versus what was on display. When I worked part-time in a craft beer brewery taproom, the pouring beer part was never a problem.
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