Why You Should Use Barcodes for Asset Tracking?

Let's remember where it all started.

Asset Tracking?

Barcodes?

Barcodes for Asset Tracking?

Who has thought that this tiny tool i.e. barcode will create this big impact on operations of daily purpose?  

Regarding thanks to the scanning of barcodes for asset tracking, daily operations of a company have become very easy.

From where it started?

Can you guess from how much time the equipment tracking is in existence? It has been thousands of years since its existence. Yeah right, humans have been tracking their goats or sheep they had and wrote it down. Starting from clay tablets then moving to paper.

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Over the period, the material to write on has evolved but the basic approach of count and write remains the same. The hunter-gatherers evolved into a more advanced civilization with more supplies of food, transport, clothes, and other belongings.  

The first breakthrough came from the 1980s. Technology sparked with new and exciting innovations in logistics planning. The 1980s was the time when personal computers were introduced. Spreadsheets made tracking efficiency easier.

What are Barcodes?

The Barcodes are the representation of a combination of black and white bars which speaks for different text characters which follow a set algorithm for that barcode type.  

A barcode is essentially to encode information in a visual pattern that can be read by a machine.

A barcode scanner reads the alternately black and white bars in the barcode which follow a specific algorithm that apparently turns into a corresponding text string by the scanner. This information is sent to the computer.

Benefits of Barcodes:

In point of management, the barcode can provide up-to-date information that too in detail required for the business. The Barcode system has become successful in boosting the confidence of the organizations with its assistance in accelerating decisions. With its importance, your business can achieve a lot.

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Some such examples are:

• Data history can be used to predict fluctuations, frequently.  
• Sale price and price increase can be reflected through on the shelf if prices of the items are changed.  
• The product changes can be monitored, which allows fast spacing and more profitable items to be get replaced.
• Fast selling assets can be identified quickly so that they can be ordered again automatically.  
• Whereas slow-selling assets will help in building up updated inventory.  
• On the pack of shipment box, a Unique Identifying Number (UID) is assigned to the box.  
• All the shipments are checked on the Distribution Center (DC). On the destination location of the shipment, the UID gets Scanned so that the store knows all the information of the shipment which includes the shipment's source, contents, and cost.  
• The UID number can link the relevant information of the shipment to the database such as order number, items packed, quantity packed, destiny, etc.
• The information is transmitted through an electronic communication system that is Electronic Data Interchange (EDI), which helps the retailer with the information of the shipment before it's arrival.  
• Barcode system besides sales provides inventory tracking, with that barcodes, are useful in logistics and supply chain management.  
• Barcodes are also relatively low cost, and extremely accurate with respect to the manual entry system.

Why use Barcode System for Asset Tracking?

Through the scanning of the barcodes, assets are can be easily tracked regardless of the of its where they are. It gives you the real-time information of the asset's location, from where it is moved and to where the site's location or the location to which it is assigned for maintenance.

The use of a barcode system reduces the risk of human error which can be entered incorrectly through manual procedures.

Still, stuck on the thought if Barcode System for Asset Tracking is good for your organization?

Following are some of the benefits of a barcode system that will prove to be cost-effective for your business for asset tracking:

• Increase in accountability.
• Reduction of errors.
• Storage of most of the asset's information.  
• Reduction of missed maintenance schedules.  
• Accurate and immediate access to an asset's location.
• Reduction of manpower due to less time investment in inventory data entry.
• A simplified version of record-keeping.  
• No time investment in employee training.

Except for these basic benefits, you can achieve a milestone with some of the other benefits including:  

• You can choose between two types of barcodes that are 1D- linear and 2D- matrix.  
• Most popular among all the barcodes is QR code which is a type of 2D barcode.
  Being an optical label, its point information of the item is deflected to the site or an app. QR codes are different because they can store information like:
  - Position marking
  - Alignment marking  
  - Time pattern  
  - Format information  
  - Quiet zone

• You can choose the option for an asset tag, from its varieties of shape, size, color, and material. Depending on your industry need, you can choose between different barcode tags as metalized polyester for the harsh internal environment or anodized aluminum foil for outdoor scanning.

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Conclusion:

Barcode Asset Tracking is the easiest, most appreciable, successful, and cheapest asset tracking method for keeping the track of your assets. You should definitely go for the method and processing which benefits your business in all sections and Barcode system is one of them.