Summary
This article explains that scanning a barcode should give users the ability lookup the details behind the barcode as well as initiate an action within their cloud-based inventory system.
A Barcode Is More Than Its Number
When you scan a barcode, you want it to mean something, right?
For example, if you want to scan to receive products into your warehouse, the scanning of the barcode should trigger the action of bringing it in and then updating the quantities reflecting on your computer screen back in the office. People who are looking for barcoding software might actually be needing a complete inventory system, warehouse management system, or manufacturing software.
A good inventory (barcoding) software will be able to pull up product information about the product, its description, the quantities you have of it, and its unit of measurement with a single scan. Not to mention, you could be potentially adding, subtracting, or moving the product that you have scanned, so good software has these functions.
When you scan a barcode, it’s supposed to be linked into inventory software. That’s the brains of the operation. Your smartphone can use the camera to scan barcodes, but you’ll need to do it while you’re inside an app made for inventory management.
Conclusion
Get inventory software. This is how your barcodes mean something. This little set of characters on a label are meant to conjure of a plethora of information within your inventory software. You need a system backing the barcodes so that when you perform a scan, you’re also performing an action upon a product, asset, or work-in-process. The point of barcodes is not the scan; it’s what happens after the scan.