What is a WMS?

Your warehouse management system (WMS) is the brain of your distribution operation. Having the right
WMS, you’ll be able to raise your efficiency, increase your on-time, accurate shipping percentage, and lower
overtime costs.

Benefits includes:

• Detailed transaction audit
• Productivity report
• Manage inventory movements
• Inventory adjustments and reporting
• Supports both physical and cycle counts

Read the e-book below, and learn how your operation can benefit from a warehouse management system.

Contact us and we can help recommend the right software and equipment for your solution. We can help you find a compatible warehouse management system along with enterprise handheld devices that can move your business forward, decrease manual operation, eliminate paperwork, and reduce operational costs by increasing accuracy and warehouse functions.

Barcode and RFID labels are choices that enterprises must choose to improve efficiency. Which are the most cost- effective and reliable in the long run for your operation?

Here are a few things you should consider

Barcodes Vs. RFID

RFID labels have electronically generated unique codes and barcodes use standard protocols. In an inventory collection setting, a barcode label can tally up items in the stock according to product type, manufacturer, and stock level. Employees will have to manually check for item specifics such as color, price, and purchase date of individual items. On the other hand, RFID labels are capable of loading up 2,000 proprietary byte of information and be able to tally up individual items in inventory too.

For example: A barcode label would be able to tell a grocer how many gallons Milk A and Milk B was in the cooler but an RFID label will be able to disclose where each gallon of milk came from the farm and distributor.

Ultimately, if printer properly both barcode and RFID tags can eliminate human error and contribute to enterprise efficiency compare to when items are accounted for by hand. Purchasing either barcode or RFID solutions depends on the depth of data required by an enterprise and how the system will be used in the field. Label consumers have to make a decision based on the needs and financial constraints.

If you need guidance on which solution to choose, feel free to contact one of our dedicated account managers and we will be happy to help.

Metalcraft RFID Assest Tags Printed on SATO CL4NX

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) are helping retail stores across the country improving customer experience, inventory accuracy, and a way to present wider sets of products to customers who are a little more selective.

RFID Tags have the ability to hold information that identifies the products, its country of origin, materials used, production date, the handling process, and any other important information that took place in the supply chain. Some retailers are using RFID tagging to track products at all of their locations. According to a research study from the RFID Lab at Auburn University, RFID tagging can increase inventory accuracy from an average of 63 percent to greater than 95 percent. This helps enable speed and accuracy for consumers concerning fulfillment for two-day, one-day, or same day delivery. According to Kurt Salmon and the Platt Retail Institute, with RFID tagging, out of stocks can be reduced by up to 40 percent and increase profit margins by 60 percent.

According to the RFID Lab, manufacturers using RFID tagging will see an 80 percent improvement in shipping and picking accuracy, at the same time being able to increase the receiving time by 90 percent. This will allow retailers to communicate more efficiently with their manufacturers for expedited reorders, improved planning, and forecasting of products.

To read more about how RFIDs can help retail stores click here.

For any questions or a quote on any of your RFID needs contact us at Barcodes, Inc.

MIT researchers have developed a system that will allow small drones to read RFID tags from up to ten meters away, as well as identify the tags locations with an average error of about 19 centimeters. These researchers believe that this system could be used in large scale warehouses for both monitoring, to help prevent inventory mismatches, and to find the location of items to make it easier for employees to quickly meet customer requests. Safety won’t be an issue as these drones will be small and lightweight equipped with plastic rotors.

This will help many businesses as each year billions of dollars are lost all because of mismatches in inventory. Even the U.S. Army has had the problem of losing track of supplies.

“Between 2003 and 2011, the U.S. Army lost track of $5.8 billion of supplies among its warehouses,” says Fadel Adib, the Sony Corporation Career Development Assistant Professor of Media Arts and Sciences, whose group at the MIT Media Lab developed the new system. “In 2016, the U.S. National Retail Federation reported that shrinkage – loss of items in retail stores – averaged around $45.2 billion annually. By enabling drones to find and localize items and equipment, this research will provide a fundamental technological advancement for solving these problems.”

Watch how the system would work below.

Interested in learning more? Read the full article here news.mit.edu.

No matter your business size, barcodes are a part of everyday operations from inventory and asset tracking to any retail check-out.  A barcode is a straight-forward and accurate means to track anything through whatever process you may need. Depending on where in the product chain your business may be, some items may have barcodes already but more often than not you’ll need a flexible barcoding software to make the specific types of barcodes you need.

A it’s most basic, a barcode software will allow you to design and print a barcode with the specific data you need. It could be a simple product number, a unique asset ID, or shipping details for a package. Some barcoding software will provide additional features like the ability for 2D or stacked barcodes as well as automation capabilities from a database or Excel. No matter how simple or integrated of a software you may need, there is a barcoding software solution that can be set-up to accomplish any goal.

Key Barcode Software providers

• Seagull Scientific 
• Teklynx
• Wasp
• NiceLabel

For assistance finding the right software for your business labeling needs, contact one of our printing specialists at Barcodes, Inc.

Valcom, Inc. is a manufacturer of IP and analog voice paging systems, IP centric multimodal systems and telecommunications enhancements. They are focused on manufacturing the best products available in their 120,000 square foot facility and quickly getting the product out to their respective distributors across the world. Valcom, Inc. was looking for a way to print barcode labels for their products and then use a barcode scanner for data entry and barcode verification.

Barcodes, Inc. recommended the AirTrack S1 for Valcom, Inc.’s scanning needs. The S1 is a linear imager barcode scanner that offers 400 reads per second which is ideal for fast scanning and reading poor barcode labels. Additionally, the S1 is able to withstand repeated drops from 5 feet to concrete. AirTrack devices are commonly used in manufacturing, logistics, warehouse, and retail environments. Since implementing their scanning solution, Valcom, Inc. has been able to better organize their inventory and ensure products are being delivered to the right distributors. Furthermore, they were able to gain peace of mind by purchasing an AirTrack comprehensive service contract, which covers them against defects, normal wear and tear, and factory upgrades.

To learn more about Barcodes, Inc.’s solutions and services or AirTrack, contact one of our representatives.

Impinj has introduced the xSpan RAIN RFID gateway to improve item visibility throughout your facility or across your global supply chain. Elegant enough for retail stores, yet rugged enough for warehouses, the Impinj xSpan gateway helps businesses reduce costs and increase sales by providing item monitoring and transition detection in real-time. When combined with the Impinj platform, the xSpan delivers always-on, hands-free Item Intelligence to provide each item’s identity and location along a path, making it ideal for facility entrances and exits, doorways, hallways, and similar spaces.

xSpan’s Features Combine Real-time Monitoring and Transition Detection in a Simple-to-Deploy Package

• Real-time Monitoring: A single xSpan provides continuous item visibility in a coverage area up to 1,000 square feet. Multiple xSpans combined with other Impinj connectivity devices can cover larger areas.
• Transition Detection: Able to track items as they move along a path, xSpan can help companies understand when items are entering or exiting areas, or transitioning between zones.
• Simple Deployment: xSpan is power-over-Ethernet (PoE), low-profile and lightweight, making it versatile and easy to install on both ceilings and walls. xSpan maintains peak performance with Impinj’s patented Autopilot technology, which automatically optimizes xSpan’s settings based on its environment.