Why it’s great to be in Nashville, TN

We in the barcode industry depend on clients who are affected by the recession. However, the southeast and Nashville in particular have been doing well, considering. yesterday Nashville was listed as the #11 city in the country for job growth. This article from the newly released Images Nashville demonstrates one of the reasons:

http://www.imagesnashville.com/article/nashvilles-transportation-hub-reputation-attracts-business

ImagesNashville.com

Inventory counts

Here’s something I learned about myself yesterday: I am a barcode geek, and I don’t care who knows it.

I had to laugh at myself for getting perhaps a little overly excited when I received a call from a warehouse/distributor who really needs to implement a simple, automated data collection system for monthly and quarterly inventory counts. It’s been almost two years since I first met with them, and they are still doing physical counts on paper and a person has to type information into a PC. Many of the SKU’s are very similar, and it takes a significant amount of time for a human to read and distinguish between the numbers. Management tells me they know there are errors and omissions, but they do not know the extent of the problem. They have no idea what’s in stock most of the time, no idea if anyone’s stealing from them. Worst, they have to shut down the business for a week each quarter just to count inventory!

As their barcode scanning and inventory management consultant, I get to design and install an extremely basic count system and train their staff. So why should I be all excited? The solution is not a huge warehouse management system with recurring revenue that will make Team BRS and our descendants wealthy beyond our dreams for generations. But, this is a very simple yet powerful tool that will easily track inventory from the time it arrives at receiving to the time it’s shipped out. A warehouse employee will scan his/her ID badge, the item’s barcode label and the shelf/rack location label, all of which they will print inhouse on a thermal printer. A wireless handheld device will capture, store and transmit the data to the database, in real time or batched, automatically, without any typing (nor errors). Best of all, they will NOT have to shut down 20 days per year to do an inaccurate, meaningless count. I really (really really) hope they will share in my excitement! If I do my job properly, they will soon begin to wonder what they waited for, and be afraid to go back and add up the savings they could have had over the years.

On the other hand – if they decide to put it off another year, I may need to shut my office door and have a good cry.

Then I’ll pick myself up, dust myself off, and smile – thankful that there are so many other warehouses and manufacturing plants in really bad shape, who could use a good barcode geek around. If you are one of them, rest assured your local barcode man is standing by and won’t mind giving away some free advice – he’s a geek and will actually enjoy your free consultation. The success is in the journey!

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Thermal Printers: checklist for moving

Once they are set up and running, thermal printers usually stay in one place in an office or on a plant floor. If you do have to move one, to another location in the building or to another facility, it’s important to keep in mind the following suggestions:

1. NEVER move the thermal printer with paper loaded – it can damage the printer.

2. ALWAYS lock down the printhead so it doesn’t bounce around… it’s a very expensive part!

3. Pack the printer so it won’t tip over, or lay it down with its heavy side down (normally the display side).

4. Unplug all the cables, but keep them with the printer so they don’t get lost. Remember the manuals, too, if you still have ‘em.

5. Consider pre-printing some of the more high-volume labels, in case you need them prior to getting the printer back up and running. Consider that you may run into unexpected problems such as software or driver issues at the new facility, so you may need more preprinted labels than you’d think. Better safe than sorry.

6. Try to keep your equipment and consumables above freezing and protected from moisture during transportation and storage.

Good luck moving, and if you think of any more good ideas during your move, please share!

BarcodeMan

Labels and printers: one more reason for one-stop shopping

At a food processing facility today, I was asked about all of the following challenges faced by the head of IT: freezer-grade adhesive for auto-applied labels, calibration issues on a Sato thermal printer, configuration errors for Intermec wireless access points and available options for scan engines and keypad layouts for CK31 handheld mobile computers. As I was leaving the building, he explained to the warehouse manager why he wanted to do business with my company whenever possible, rather than multiple vendors – we are local, we provide very responsive customer service, and if something goes wrong, he has only one phone call to make, and it will be solved. The buck stops here – now he doesn’t have to worry about vendors playing the blame game with each other, such as the printer guy saying it’s the new labels causing the problem, and the label guy saying it’s a printer issue – whatever the problem, one phone call gets it fixed.

Does anyone have any opinions for or against?

Thanks,

BarcodeMan

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article re: EHRs and mobile computing in Healthcare

I need feedback on this topic! The below link has a summary of the usefulness of mobile computing in hospitals, and is from Motorola’s eZine. [In the interest of full disclosure: BarcodeMan's employer (BRS) is a reseller of Motorola's mobile computers, barcode scanners and RFID equipment.] –BarcodeMan

http://www.ezine.motorola.com/ezine/enterprise?title=EHR%3A+How+Technology+is+Making+%0AHealthcare+Healthier&a=413

www.thinkBRS.com

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RFID: Good, Bad and Ugly

Good: Anyone paying attention to RFID over the years has seen that it can do wonderful things - remove the necessity to have a line of sight to a barcode label, read multiple tags in seconds, and track the movement of assets throughout a facility in real time. It can be easily integrated with existing networks. It removes bottlenecks. It seems too good to be true.

Bad: The non-casual observer will also note that RFID is not (at this time, anyway) a reasonable solution for many applications. Installation can be tricky and time-consuming. RFID technology itself is changing quickly and there are many “substitute” technologies appearing, making strong claims and vying for attention. It can be difficult to predict ROI and to compare vastly different technologies such as 1D and 2D barcode, data matrix, active, passive and semi-passive RFID and ultrasound… especially when you consider the arrival of new proprietary devices and supplies from manufacturers who hope to carve out their own slice of the aut0-id pie, or to usurp RFID and barcodes completely.

Ugly: Still, issues remain: users of RFID (and all of these methods) are unable to acheive 100% successful read rates; water and metal interfere with RFID signal transmission; and, although the prices have been trending downward, the cost of RFID tags will have to drop close to the prices of barcode labels - and companies will need to see a more convincing sign of an improving economy - if RFID is to reach the tipping point and really make sense for more types of businesses.

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog! From time to time I will post questions, comments and tips regarding barcode labels and supplies, and the use of related hardware and software. Primarily this involves projects related to inventory management and asset tracking.

This includes thermal printers, scanners, mobile computers, thermal ribbons, custom labels, repair service, preventive maintenance, RFID, GPS and new/used/refurbished equipment.

Feel free to post a question and I’ll do my best to provide a thoughtful, unbiased answer.

Thanks,

BarcodeMan

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