Barcodes are a unique way of representing product information. There is an increasing volume of affordable barcode printers, like those offered by Shopify, and by using them any business can utilize barcodes to increase their efficiency and productivity. Sadly, across many industries, barcodes tend to be underused. Not a whole lot of people understand exactly how powerful barcodes can be when integrated within a company’s operating protocol. The very first step towards making your company more profitable is by understanding how barcodes can help you. There are a handful of things that barcodes can do that really impact the efficiency of a company, such as:

Elimination of Human Error

There is not a single human being in existence that doesn’t make errors when it comes to repetitive task performance. Production of barcodes through a barcode printer eliminates the problem of user entry error significantly. Barcode printers are complimented by barcode scanners to embed information about the product (cost and tax, for example). The human cashier can simply scan it in as opposed to typing in a product code, and the information shows up automatically. This helps make the point of sale far more efficient at checking out and generating a bill of sale in very little time. It resolves the problem of a possible bottleneck within the cashing procedure and also makes it easier on the personnel running the point of sale terminal because they don’t have to memorize the costs of individual products, something that removes the fallibility of human memory from the equation.

Ease of Incorporation

The truth of the matter is that if you implement a labor-saving solution in your business, you don’t want the solution to end up running costs far in excess of the operation of the business without the solution. Barcodes are among the most cost effective solutions available for any business. The only major concerns that a company can have with a barcode system is the initial startup fees and the long term maintenance fees. Thermal barcodes make for a great way to reduce work across multiple departments by automatically updating forms with information. They have an adhesive surface that makes them ideal for attaching to other objects. Barcodes are very effective in getting information from one point to another without any loss of veracity of the data.

Inventory Control and Management

Inventory control for a retail business is a major concern. Barcodes incorporate a system that can be easily integrated into whatever existing series of information the business already has for inventory. The ease of integration makes barcodes the obvious solution for maintaining an inventory with real-time updates of data based on the current point of sale solution that the business is running. Barcodes allow for inventory information to be kept regarding the current levels of stock as well as at what point stock should be repurchased. Depending on the control solution that your business uses for inventory management, automatic warnings can be put in place to inform the inventory manager of a low inventory count or other such situations. The integrated solutions offered by point of sale, inventory management and barcode systems can not only improve a retail company’s efficiency, but also its reputation among its customers, generating more business and larger profit margins in the long run.