What is barcode inventory management system ?
In layman's language, Barcode Inventory Management System is a system where every product or package is assigned a unique barcode. These barcodes are linked to the inventory software that keeps a track of the entire stock. At the point of sale, the respective product is scanned and the stock is updated accordingly.
Why You Should Invest In A Barcode Inventory Management System
Why You Should Invest In A Barcode Inventory Management System
An ideal businessperson is a one who knows all about their business, even when they are away from their business. From keeping a ab on their sales to ensuring inventory management , from keeping eyes on changing trends to ensuring adaptability.
Like we said, all! Intervention of information technology becomes indispensable in such a case.
Barcode inventory management system in challenging times
And this pandemic is proof, that information technology-- that was considered side pillar, held the sectors firm in these times.
Inventory management became more crucial during this Covid era, as back-to-back lockdowns posed a major challenge for the businesses. The ones dealing with perishable items, like the restaurant industry, were more vulnerable.
Barcode Inventory has proved to be of high assistance in tracking asset , maintaining a supply chain.
And consequently, helping the restaurateur place orders as per the need.
Running out of inventory is not a good thing for any business.
If you run out of inventory people will go elsewhere to find what they are looking for.
Why you should invest in Barcode Inventory Management?
All business heads love to see a high bottom line. And almost all of them would agree that cost-effective approach is one of the guaranteed ways to reach there. Let's see how the barcode inventory system helps us leash expenses-
Reap benefits of inventory management system in Pandemic-hit era
The US restaurant industry reported a $863 billion in sales in 2019-- as per a report by National restaurant Association. In a Covid-hit 2020, the figure dived to $659 billion-- $240 billion below the pre-pandemic forecast. As over a hundred thousand food joints had to shut down; ones that survived underwent an operational makeover.
The association termed 2020 the most challenging year for the industry in its history. The report predicts restaurant sales to post double-digit growth in 2021. But that won't be nearly enough to make up for the substantial losses in 2020.
Use barcodes as your new employee
In COVID times, every penny spent is counted. A limited staff can definitely help businesses save a lot. With barcode inventory system, no special staff would be needed to monitor chain management, asset tracking and check order fulfillment The tracking software, single-handedly, can perform for upto several employees.
It's challenging to ensure that you have enough inventory to keep your customers coming back. To ensure this is to invest in a barcode inventory management system.
Having an ineffective barcode inventory management system can cause you to lose customers.
When you are not using an inventory management system?
A supply chain is quite complex as it includes several parties and bulk orders. More hands can mean more recipes, more results. And not necessary, these results are in tandem with each other. As we say...too many cooks spoil the food. It is better at every stage to have an expert deal with all these numbers. And trusting a human with such a hefty job is too ambitious. The App Store is full of economic inventory solutions these days.
Let cloud based expert track inventory
For a perfect recipe, let Cloud be your expert. A Barcode Inventory Management System provides a unique code to each product or parcel, minimizing the scope of error. Scanners read these barcode labels at the point of sale and adjusts the inventory accordingly. It informs the stock manager about sales and purchase orders. No gaps, no discrepancies.
More benefits of using an inventory system
Here is a fact- America wastes around 40% of its food every year. Of this over 120 billion pounds of food is actually nutritious and edible, as per an article published by FoodPrint. The US restaurant industry alone accounts for around 30 billion pounds of total wasted food every year. There are several reasons of what leads to so much wastage annually. Primary is lack of customer awareness, unsystematic manufacturing and processing units.
Inventory management can save your food and the bottom line
A lot of restaurants are taking initiative in the direction, by offering small portions, however this is not enough. We will need to do more or let's pass it on to some tech savvy. The inventory management software tracks the stock levels in the warehouse or cold storages. It then updates the managers on what needs to be ordered to keep the supply chain running. A restaurant industry that directly deals with the perishable items. Here the stock tracking gains more significance to control the wastage and consequently the losses.
Inventory management is directly impacts your balance sheet
These barcode labels assigned to packages store information like manufacturing date of the product, the date of purchase and quantity. During scanning , the system reads the information and reminds managers to use products on First in first out basis. This will not only save food from turning bad, thereby reducing wastage. But can help restaurants cut unnecessary costs to gain a desirable profit.
With QR Code, scan, store and sit back!
The fact that QR code can store upto 2500 characters makes it highly effective. In case of larger business with warehouses across cities, these QR codes can be of much assistance. Apart from basic information like manufacturing date, weight and quantity, it can encode details like delivery address and tracking number.
As a result, it helps the inventory manager to locate the package both--inside and outside the warehouse. While sipping coffee in California, you can easily track the inventory in your New York stockhouse. And keep a check on inflow and outflow of inventory. Another important feature of these QR codes is that it remains functional even when it gets damaged in transit.
Small business relish the changes to stay ahead
Inventory management system keeps a track on inflow and outflow of goods. This helps the companies to know what products are in demand or if there is a switch in customer preference. Following the trend, inventory managers can place orders accordingly. If a product has suddenly gained demand, the inventory manager would know and will make sure to keep adequate stock.
How should you pick the best inventory software ?
The answer is subjective. Before picking the best inventory management system, it is crucial to factor in size, nature and needs of the business. It's important to see what your business demands? Locate the pain points and challenges and choose accordingly. For instance, companies with warehouses at multiple locations might be looking for a consolidated approach.
However, this can prove to be expensive for the small companies.
Now make sure you pick the right one
A clearly defined inventory control policy can help you decide what inventory system is best for you. And so can the nature of businesss. An e-commerce company would want all their data at the backend platform. And will need a system that integrates accounts and asset tracking and more.
Check the kind of data your inventory system can store and buy only if it is meeting your business needs.