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How bar codes can help your small business

Bar codes give you the ability to handle your inventory at a much faster rate than doing it manually, says Nicole Ferrar, content developer at Barcodes 123.

Johannesburg, 02 Dec 2019

Almost every person has seen a bar code on a product they have purchased at a shop, although almost all of those people pay little to no attention to them. It would be quite an impossible feat finding a business that carried products of any kind, but does not make use of bar codes. It would be even more impossible to argue that a business not making use of them wouldn’t benefit from a bar coding system of some sort in this day and age.

The most commonly used excuse for this archaic way of doing things is that these businesses assume that implementing a bar coding system would run at a high cost. Which, let me tell you, isn’t all true. In reality, a bar coding system can transform even the smallest of businesses and has the outstanding ability to improve productivity, precision, speed and reliability. Let’s take a closer look at how bar codes can transform a small business and all the benefits they carry, says says Nicole Ferrar, content developer at Barcodes 123.

Bar codes save time

The crucial advantage of using bar codes within any business, even the small ones, is the fact that they save time. Bar codes give you the ability to handle your inventory at a much faster rate than doing it manually. This will free up a lot of time and allow you to focus your energy on other important parts of the business process.

Your business procedure will become more accurate

Because using a bar code cuts out the possibility of human error in the inventory system, the occurrence of errors is greatly reduced. Using bar codes means the computer can do all the work for you! This allows for your business’s productivity to increase and creates overall growth because mistakes in the recording of information about inventory are mitigated. This means you will not miss any sales, have any surplus inventory or, alternatively, be short of stock because someone entered in a number incorrectly or overlooked an important piece of information.

Bar codes mean you can have a real-time inventory system

Real-time inventory control is a vital business tool for progression. It is the administration of the process of taking record of sales and purchases of inventory instantly via the usage of computer software, allowing your company to acquire a full picture of what is happening in your inventory and allowing your business to have a quicker reaction time in meeting the needs of your supply chain.

This means you will not be affected if your employee in charge of inventory goes off sick or cannot be at work for some or other reason – meaning there is no one there to manually input inventory information and lowers the risk of backlog. Have a look at Barcodes South Africa for more information on this and more!

You will prepare your business for growth

If you only have a few products, you might not see the point of implementing a pricey bar coding system right now. But what about when your business takes off and you have a huge growth spurt in your inventory? By implementing a bar coding system off the bat, you are building into your business the capacity to change in size sooner rather than later. Having a business that has the potential for scalability means it doesn’t matter if you have two products or 2 000 products, your bar coding system will always function. No matter the size of your business, it is never too early to start.

Bar codes are expensive at first, but will lower costs eventually

While installing a bar coding system might be a costly venture at first, because this system is so popular today, this cost is not as heavy as it used to be. With local sites where you can buy a bar code that is unique and at ridiculously cheap prices, there really is no excuse not to bar code your business. It might seem expensive at first, but it will pay off eventually as it mitigates against you having to employ staff to carry out the same tasks for a fee that a computer can do for free.

It will make your small business more professional

Imagine how much more professional and well organised your business will look if you can simply scan your customers' items instead of making them wait at the till for a prolonged period of time while you manually input each item’s code into your system? Not only will this mean customers will get a far better impression of your store and will be more likely to return to your business, it also means you will have a more precise and well organised system.

Bar codes can never be anything but beneficial for a business, no matter how big or small, and with local businesses like SA Barcodes, bar coding has never been easier. Bar codes improve productivity and increase profit, take the task out of multitasking and allow for a smoother process overall. Computers don’t get tired or mistakenly press the F key when they actually meant to press the G key. They are so accurate, why not use them?

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