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Retailers are using barcodes and scanners to
ring up customer’s purchases and manage their inventory
Everywhere we go millions of retailers are using barcodes and scanners
to ring up customer’s purchases and manage their inventory. Because of
barcodes ability to manage inventory, speed up checkout, and ensure
pricing inventory, it is even being used by smaller retailers for their
business transactions.
Many people, however, are not getting all the benefits they could out of
barcode technology. This is often because they fail to use it properly.
Barcodes, when used in conjunction
with your POS software should give you the ability to:
• Quickly scan barcodes at the point of sale, allowing you to serve the
customer much quicker than if you were entering the UPC by hand.
• The improved accuracy of scanning a
barcode as opposed to typing a SKU should reduce errors in both
inventory and pricing. You can expect a human to make an error in data
entry in 1 out of every 300 characters, while barcode equipment can
achieve an accuracy rate as high as 1 in every 36 trillion characters.
• You will also improve efficiency with
the use of barcodes, saving you time. Having all your products barcoded
allows you to speed customers through checkout, immediately process
markdowns, and ensure that customers are unable to switch price tags.
• When you add a portable data terminal
(PDT) to your inventory system you will be able to count your inventory
quickly. You use the PDT to scan each item into inventory and then it
will keep track of it as items are purchased. The data from the PDT can
be uploaded to your POS software.
• Cost reduction. You can reduce employee
time and handling costs by having UPC codes on all the products that you
sell.
• You will have a more accurate inventory
count, which can lead to a great cost savings. Your inventory will stay
accurate due to decreased errors at both receiving and point of sale.
How Barcodes Work
The barcode tag consists of a series of lines of various widths
separated by spaces of various widths. A barcode reader is able to pick
up the code represented by the various bars and then translate it.
The barcode is converted to an electrical signal when it crosses the
photosensor of the barcode reader. The various widths of both the bars
and the spaces are translated into various characters by the scanner,
which then transmits the information to a computer or portable terminal.
Barcodes can actually have various standards or symbologies, even though
they all tend to look similar. The technical details of the particular
barcode are defined by the symbologies of the bars and the spaces.
Across the United States and Canada the UPC, or Universal Product Code,
is what is seen on almost all products in retail locations. In Europe
the common symbology for retail products is EAN-13. You need to be sure
to have a barcode reader and software that is programmed to work with
the symbology of the type of barcode you are using.
To begin barcoding you
will need these things
1. Special inventory software that will
enable the barcodes to be read at the point of sale.
2. A software compatible barcode scanner.
3. Labels on your products that are a correct match for the symbologies
of the software and scanners.
4. If your products do not come with a barcode already on them you will
also need to purchase a barcode printer.
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