Inventory is an important part of any business. Companies need to ensure that the inventory is safe from shrinkage and that it’s not out of date. This article will list and review a few of the inventory control systems available.
Barcode scanners: These babies have been around for quite a while and your company isn’t going to outpace the competition by using them. However, they are a relatively inexpensive option and having a barcode sure beats having nothing.
The basic equipment you’ll need if you want your inventory control management system to be barcode oriented consists of a barcode reader or scanner, the barcodes themselves, a barcode printer, and the software that keeps track of all the information.
The Best Places to Find Barcode Equipment
WaspBarCode.com: They have a professional looking website that actually tells you the prices of everything you need without having to call them for a consultation. Think of these guys as the Wal-Mart of bar code sellers; they aren’t going to hard sell you, they’re just going to give you the facts and let you make your own purchases. They have trial versions and training as well. The only beef we have with Wasp is the fact that they charge $300 for their online training. Seems like if you spend all that money buying items from them, the least they should do is train you how to use it.
Fishbowl Inventory: The website isn’t as intuitive or aesthetically pleasing as Wasp’s is, but they do have one feature that helped them make this list: they have inventory control system software that integrates with QuickBooks. This makes it extremely nice for a lot of companies who are already using QuickBooks, but want to upgrade their inventory control management. If you rummage around their site long enough, you’ll find that they sell the readers and printers as well.
BarCodeHQ.com: If you thought Fishbowl’s website was a little off, then you’ll be shaken by BarcodeHQ’s site. These guys have been in the barcode inventory control business since 1985 and it looks like their website hasn’t been upgraded since then. Still, being in the business for a while means they have likely worked out some of the kinks that comes with technology; and that has landed them on this list.
Another control inventory system worth checking out is the RFID tag. RFID stands for radio-frequency identification, but it might as well stand for magic. Depending on how much money a company is willing to spend, these things can do just about everything an inventory manager could ever want.
The simple RFID systems are similar to barcodes. You run them through a reader and the information is uploaded to the system. However, one basic difference is that you don’t have to align the reader to label. You simply need the reader to be within a certain distance of the labeled inventory and it will pick up all the programmed information. Even better it can read multiple objects at once.
The really powerful RFID systems can track packages from hundreds of yards away. This means that an inventory manager can see on his computer screen exactly where the entire inventory is; these labels can even tell you how long the inventory has been there.
Best Places to Find an RFID Inventory Control System
Assetpulse.com: These guys specialize in asset control instead of inventory control. Due to the newness of RFID technology, it is still not economically feasible for most companies to be slapping RFID tags on inventory that is turned over frequently. Assetpulse has a clean looking website and some good information on RFID systems.
3M: A name you’ve heard of also sells RFID systems. The interesting thing is that 3m is using it more as a file tracker, then an inventory tracker. Again this is because a company’s files stay around for a long time while the hope is that inventory will be turned quickly.
Activewave: This Company actually focuses on using RFID for inventory. As with most companies in the business, they want to consult with you before they will talk pricing.
That sums up our discussion on the inventory control system. For now, if your company has a high turnover of inventory the safe bet is probably the barcode. In five to ten years RFID systems will be the standard.
