Which Type of Scanner Should You Use?
Diving into barcode scanning for inventory management can be overwhelming without the right partner to guide you. This article can help identify the best options for your unique needs.
PURCHASE ORDER AUTOMATION
Our client’s parts and project teams produced large purchase orders on a daily basis in order to procure product for inventory and jobs. These processes required significant data entry and were sometimes error prone. Nobious worked with the team to create a web-based version of their ERP purchase order form. We also created a custom mobile application that was installed on smart barcode scanners so product could be added to an order by scanning a company barcode, distributor code, or manufacturer’s UPC code. The system is integrated tightly with their ERP system and data is synced automatically. Now any authorized user can more quickly create a PO without the need to have access to, or a license for, the company’s ERP system.
WORK ORDER AUTOMATION
Our client’s parts department needed a way for employees to quickly enter work orders and order parts. Their ERP system (Viewpoint) required an expensive new subscription in order to give access to their mechanics, technicians and other members of the field team. Instead of paying these high fees forever they decided to build a solution themselves. They engaged Nobious and we built a custom web and mobile based add-on that tightly integrated with their ERP system. Now mechanics can order parts using their phone from the site of the break down, warehouse teams can scan any barcode, and they have no monthly fees since they own the software.
VIEWPOINT REPORTING DATA WAREHOUSE
Our client wanted to create and publish daily management dashboard reports to their management teams throughout the organization. However, after creating the dashboard reports directly from their ERP system, the reports ran slowly and took a long time to refresh. This frustrated users and dashboard adoption was slow. Nobious created a specialized reporting data warehouse for the client which was optimized for reporting and business intellgence processes. Now the dashboards refresh nearly instantly. In addition, the warehouse can be expanded to quickly analyze any type of data within the company. View the full case study here: Viewpoint Corporate Reporting
INVENTORY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM – ROAD CONSTRUCTION
Our client manages several large warehouses which store parts and inventory for their fleet of large construction, hauling, and road building equipment. Their ERP system tracked this inventory but required significant manually entered data and very little automation. They contacted Nobious and we worked with them to design more automated processes to track inventory in and out of their warehouses. Our solution managed orders, order receipts, equipment servicing, and regular inventory count processes. The software also introduced barcode scanning technology into the process and included a custom mobile application built only for our client, that ran directly on the scanners and integrated with the central system. Now data input is automated through the use of barcode scanners to order and receive product and inventory counts are significantly more accurate, potentially saving the company millions of dollars annually. Now the client is considering how the technology we built for them might also be used to track equipment usage. View the case study here: Viewpoint …
INVENTORY COUNT ADMINISTRATION
Every year our client’s parts management team arrived at the warehouse between Christmas and New Years to complete the annual inventory count. They started with a huge, printed parts list and manually counted each part one by one using paper and pencil. This meant the team had to work extra during the holidays. Also, inventory was only being corrected once a year. They needed a better way to track inventory, so they engaged Nobious to develop an inventory counting solution that used barcode scanners and intelligent count scheduling. Now they can schedule the frequency of inventory counts by warehouse, shelf or individual part number. The solution integrates tightly with their Viewpoint ERP system. Inventory counts are now much more accurate, saving them up to a million dollars in inventory counts per year.
INVENTORY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM – MANUFACTURING
Our client built a 122,500 square foot warehouse to store inventory for their customers. They needed a way to track product coming in and out of the warehouse. The solution also needed to automate billing. They looked at pre-packaged warehouse solutions but they were expensive, required significant configuration and setup, and didn’t manage billing. They worked with Nobious to build a system customized specifically for their business. The new Inventory Management System allowed warehouse employees to identify the exact location of any product in real-time. Using advanced barcoding technologies, the system tracks all loads coming in and going out while fully automating the monthly billing process. Now the small warehouse team can easily manage up to 16,000 pallets at any given time.
SMART BARCODE SCANNING CAPABILITIES
Our client managed several warehouses where they stored thousands of pallets. Pallets needed to be barcoded so they could be tracked appropriately. Nobious developed a custom mobile application that could be installed on a smart barcode scanner device. Now their scanners connect directly to their centralized Inventory Management System. Inventory information can be communicated to and from each scanner and employees can effectively load and unload trucks using only their barcode scanner, even in cold weather, as everything is neatly tracked on the scanner screen for them.