What to do when you outgrow Excel for Inventory Management
There comes a time when virtually any business will find itself outgrowing the functionality provided by Excel. While often useful for minor administrative purposes, spreadsheets are extremely limited in their options and have significant downsides when used for inventory management.
The Problem: Why Excel Is Not Ideal for Inventory Management
Inventory management is an area that is extremely important for cataloging and analyzing your data. You need the ability to run complex reports regarding past inventory needs in order to predict consumer buying patterns. Purchasing appropriate inventory amounts – the goal of all businesses large and small – keeps the probability of future write-offs or write-downs at a minimum. It’s very difficult to cull that information from data sets in Excel due to the way Excel gathers information. An inventory management program, however, makes this data analysis much easier.
The Benefits and Advantages of Security Labeling
Industry Need
Brand owners face many challenges in developing and maintaining a positive impression with their customer base. Strategies for product performance, reliability, and value must be carefully developed and flawlessly executed to remain effective. However, counterfeit goods can tarnish positive perception in the marketplace, while gray market redistribution can undermine pricing and profitability. Intermec’s suite of security media products can strengthen defenses against these threats.
Security can have one or several layered attributes to validate chain of custody from a brand owner to the consumer. Serialization from variable information printing, the core of bar code and RFID applications, verifies code synchronization with trading partners. Overt designs convey consumer confidence, while covert features such as small hidden characters or UV fluorescing inks are known only to the brand owner.
Cardinal Tracking Chooses Janam for Mobile Computing
Janam, a leading provider of rugged mobile computers that scan barcodes and communicate wirelessly, and Cardinal Tracking, a mobile solution provider specializing in public safety and parking management systems, today announced that Janam’s rugged mobile computers are now available as a leading hardware component of MobileCite, Cardinal Tracking’s automated citation issuance system.
MobileCite is specifically designed for issuing moving violations. The solution, which uses 2D barcode scanning or a magnetic stripe reader to automatically import data from a driver’s license and vehicle registration, puts mobile technology to work to reduce stop time and increase officer safety. The system not only improves accuracy and efficiency of the issuance process but also enables officers to capture digital signatures, collect recipient profiling data and record images and audio of the traffic stop.
Star’s WebPRNT Technology Changes the Game for Cloud POS
To run a cloud POS, only an Internet connection and a browser are required to access the solution. However, in a typical retail environment, printing receipts is a must. Pairing a POS terminal with a receipt printer in a Cloud environment is a challenge. With traditional printers, the communication between the Cloud Application and the printer is achieved through the POS Terminal – that is – by installing a driver on the POS Terminal to manage the printer.
The way the traditional printers communicate with the POS and the Cloud solution means that the browser and the printer driver need to be set up together. And very often when the browser is updated, the drivers also need to be re-installed because of other conflicting updates. Â When this happens, for each POS, the whole printer set up needs to be updated. Not only is this a costly and time-consuming process but it also means staff involvement is needed in each store.
RFID Labeling for Retail
Industry Need
In today’s fast paced retail environment, to remain competitive and profitable it is important that retailers and brand owners have a high level of real time visibility of inventory throughout the supply chain and including the retail shelf itself. Accurately tracking products from the manufacturer and through the DC’s in combination with a good alignment with backroom replenishment processes are critical in addressing and improving operational concerns such as inventory related costs associated with cycle stock and safety stock levels.
To be successful in managing inbound and outbound operations as well as in stock and out of stock inventory, retailers must have a way to streamline their processes that will enable them to improve operations and efficiencies on all levels with the end result of increased sales and revenue. Major retailers are looking at multiple areas in their supply chain and at store levels that the integration of RFID into these operations could provide opportunities to make significant gains in speed and accuracy as well as multi-channel inventory management.
Standardized Media on the Intermec PM23c
Printer media can often be an overlooked part of any printing application which can lead to some inefficiencies and added costs. Many businesses use both desktop and industrial printers or end up migrating from one to the other as their printing needs increase. Both types of printers use different label rolls which normally are not cross compatible. This is where the media flexibility of the Intermec PM23c can make ordering media and migrating to a higher duty cycle printer easier. With the ability to accept multiple roll core sizes and types, it’s one printer that you can grow with and ensure any label roll you use will work.
The Intermec CN51: Made for Mobility
The new Intermec CN51 has been designed specifically for the mobile workforce. Rugged enough to withstand the rigors of any environment but still compact and feature rich to keep you connected to the resources you need, the CN51 provides a superior user experience. For any business that relies on mobile workers, having the most capable tools in their hands ensures the success of any application.
Datalogic’s Memor Enhances Productivity at Stadt-Parfümerie Pieper
Overview
One is met with attractive scents upon entering the shop. The colorful shelves full of bright and beautiful packages invite the customer to take a look around. The wonderful fragrances, creams and cosmetics found throughout the shop add that extra touch to make any occasion special. Stadt-Parfümerie Pieper (Pieper Perfume Shops) emanates everything that exemplifies beauty and well-being. It is the largest family-owned retail perfume and cosmetics company in Germany with one hundred and twenty shops spread out across the country. It offers all the top international brands of cosmetics, fragrances, skin care and make-up products.
The Challenge
The extensive range of products pleases the customer’s eye, but when it’s time for inventory, the many small packages found in the perfume shops can pose a daunting challenge. Stadt-Parfümerie Pieper wanted to automate its time-consuming and error-prone manual inventory procedure to assure accuracy. A variety of factors were taken into consideration: which hardware is right for us? To what point can the software be personalized? What kind of solution do we need regarding existing workflows?
Understanding Epson Endorsement, Slip, and Validation Printing
As a long standing POS printer manufacturer, Epson has provided some of the most capable and flexible printers in the market. The most common need at the POS for printing is usually a basic customer receipt, but handling things like checks, deposit slips, prescriptions, and returns will require a multi-functional printer like the TM-H600iv. These types of printers have multiple means to print on externally feed documents making them the perfect all-in-one solution for financial institutions, pharmacies, and general retail applications.
Understanding the differences between the 3 types of printing (Endorsement, Slip, and Validation) can be confusing at first but we’ve broken it down in these simple definitions and included diagram.
Printronix RFID: Prevent Compliance Fines with Online Data Validation
Printronix has built a reputation for building top-of-the-line line matrix and thermal barcode printers and is doing the same with their superb line of RFID printers which are becoming some of the top devices in the RFID industry.
What makes the Printronix RFID printers, the SL5000r and SL4M, Â unique is their ability to incorporate Online Data Validation (ODV) to their RFID printing solution. ODV technology ensures that all barcodes being printed are meeting the most stringent standards set by vendors such as Walmart and the Department of Defense. Maintaining compliance prevents hefty fines that can range up to $20 per box plus the cost to rework, pack and ship the corrected boxes. Thus, a return on investment for a Printronix RFID printer can be achieved on as a little as one poorly labeled shipment.
To learn more about the Printronix RFID printer or how ODV works, please contact one of our Barcodes Inc RFID experts.
