| Products | All About Bar Codes | Search | Y2K Information |
| Printers | Data Collection | Software | Point of Sale |
What's a Bar Code?
Benefits
of Bar Coding
Bar code data-collection systems provide enormous benefits for just about any business. With a bar code data-collection solution, capturing data is faster and more accurate, costs are lower, mistakes are minimized, and managing inventory is much easier. The following are some of the benefits of bar code data entry.
Fast and Reliable Data Collection
Faster Data Entry: A bar code scanner typically can record data five to seven times as fast as a skilled typist.
10,000 Times Better Accuracy: Keyboard data entry creates an average of one error in 300 keystrokes. Bar code data entry has an error rate of about 1 in 3 million.
Reduced Costs
Labor Costs: This is the most obvious benefit of bar code data collection. In many cases, this cost savings pays for the entire data-collection system. Don't put all of your attention on this benefit, however. Even though this is the most apparent benefit, it is often overshadowed by even greater savings from other areas.
Reduced Revenue Losses Resulting from Data Collection Errors: This benefit often surpasses the savings in labor costs. You know that if you make a significant error on an invoice in the customer's favor, you will never hear about it again. However, if the error is in your favor, you will hear about it immediately. In most companies, it doesn't take many errors to amount to a great deal of lost revenue.
Necessary Inventory Levels: Using bar codes is one of the best ways to reduce inventory levels and save on capital costs. Keeping a tight handle on inventory can save significant amounts of money.
Improved Management
Better Decision Making: Although hard to measure, this is an important benefit. In many cases, improved management due to automated data collection technology could be the best benefit of a bar code system. A bar code system can easily gather information that would be difficult or impossible to gather in other ways. This allows managers to make fully informed decisions that can affect the direction of a department or company.
Faster Access to Information: This benefit goes hand in hand with better decision making. With better information, you can gain opportunities and get the jump on competition.
