With barcode scanning now such an integral part of modern day warehouse operations across the globe, it is incredible to think that there are still some businesses relying on paper notes within their warehouse in order to perform tasks.
Paper notes are renowned for being highly unreliable, often riddled with inaccuracies or lost during transfer through the warehouse causing efficiency to drop. Solving this issue, barcode scanning enables businesses to increase accuracy and streamline tasks to ensure that a higher level of productivity is achieved through quicker data entry and the ability to pick multiple orders simultaneously.
This has resulted in many companies striving for paperless warehouse environments where tasks are performed and information is seamlessly transferred through mobile barcode scanning devices. However as barcode scanning continues to evolve, there are now more enhanced ways for businesses to use barcode scanning technology, with this evolution driven by GS1. GS1 are global leaders in providing supply and demand chain barcoding standards across a wide range of business sectors.
Currently GS1 barcodes, which can come in a 1D or 2D format, are used by over two million companies around the world including major retailers, popular online marketplaces, food service operators and healthcare organisations. These include high profile names such as the NHS, Boots, Coca-Cola Enterprises, Morrisons, Nestle and Tesco.
The reason for many of these major companies turning to GS1 barcodes is down to the accurate recording of product traceability and major efficiency benefits the use of these barcodes is able to provide. These encoded barcodes allow several different fields of data to be instantly transferred into a device with a single scan, including a product’s EAN codes, Batch Numbers, Expiry Dates, quantities and more. By using these GS1 barcodes alongside compatible mobile devices, your business can not only benefit from accurate data transfer through paperless management but also much greater efficiency in task performance.