How barcodes can be used in a non-retail environment
Do you
automatically think of retail stores when Barcodes are mentioned? If you
answered yes, then we are writing this article to provide additional ways in
which they are used daily in all sectors. There are hundreds of wonderful ways,
but we will just look at a few in this article.
When looking around an office, and taking note of all the office equipment, such as photocopiers, desks, computers, and chairs, one may wonder how do companies keep track of all these assets? The answer is barcodes. These codes are referred to as asset barcodes or formally as Code 128.
These registered barcodes begin with three letters followed by three numbers; therefore, you can assign three letters to certain departments in your company and the numbers will represent the specific assets in that department. It is always a good idea when placing registered barcodes on your assets that a material be used that can withstand environmental factors during the life span of the asset such as aluminium tags or tamper proof labels. Ask us about these when purchasing from us.
Some companies choose to record their asset inventory into a spreadsheet, they insert the barcode number and the asset information that they have chosen to correspond to that barcode whereas other companies choose to acquire a computerised digital system, where they input all the information into a database and they have a scanner which they use to scan the codes on the assets and link them together on the database. This system is quicker for doing a stock or asset recon as well as ensuring all information is up to date.
The second way in which codes are used are in courier and logistics companies. As I am sure we have all at some time or other purchased goods online and we will know that each parcel gets assigned a waybill or tracking number which is loaded onto the courier companies online tracking portal and you are able to see step by step where your parcel is in real time.
These barcodes are highly important as if not adhered to a parcel can so easily go missing or can be delivered without proper documentation and records. Ask anyone who has worked or is working in the courier industry how your day will revolve around waybill and tracking numbers and the importance they hold.
Any format of registered barcodes can be used for these purposes if they are unique to the parcel. Every courier company has their own unique sequences which they use to avoid duplication.
Thirdly we look at how barcodes are used in the Event Management industry. This industry is growing rapidly and can only get bigger. When it comes to the events industry it is mostly QR codes that are used as these codes can store a greater amount of information than any other registered barcodes available today.
They can be used to advertise the event, as well as on the event tickets which will be scanned upon entering. Each ticket will have unique barcodes placed on them, and this also helps prevent people entering the event with fraudulent or duplicate tickets.
Linear barcodes such as UPC or EAN formats however can also be used for conferences on the badges of attendees, for identification purposes as well as who was in attendance. Companies also tend to use this information to put together a database after the conference of all attendees that can be contacted for potential business or perhaps purely for demographics.
Libraries are another way in which they are used, each book in the library contains unique codes which are scanned each time a book is borrowed or returned. It also allows for librarians to be able to see exactly where a specific book is in the library if need be, which we know is quite often when people request specific books.
The same applies for libraries in schools and universities. They also use registered barcodes to keep track of textbooks as well as of their assets such as laptops and laboratory equipment. This is great in preventing theft or the urge thereof. Believe it or not schools are also required at the end of each year to do an administration stock take of all assets and material.
This requires the staff to account for all technology and books. This has been made easier by the introduction of barcodes as they are now able to scan everything with handheld scanners and record the totals electronically, once again this eliminates human error.
And lastly how barcodes are being used in advertising. When you have a business in today’s world, we are constantly trying to find ways in which we can modernise our operations and advertising to appeal to the public. Is that not so?
Well with barcodes you can do this by using barcodes to run competitions and promotions by drawing clients in to scan QR codes to take them through to pages to enter competitions online, instead of the outdated way of manually filling in forms or competition slips. You can also run promotions and your clients can produce the QR code in store or at your offices or even in a retail store to be scanned to redeem offered discounts.
There are so many ways in which barcodes are being used in today’s world, that it is always difficult to choose which topics to choose. But we will keep writing articles on all the different ways in which we find they are being used so that everyone is aware of how versatile they are and how the technology of codes is growing each day.
We are also available to help you if you would like to enquire on an idea on how you can use them in your corporate or home-based business and perhaps let us know about some interesting ways in which they are being used throughout the world that we are unable to find online.
Bibliography:
https://barcodesolutions.co.za
Asset Tracking with Barcodes Wikipedia
SME Paid Under
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