Barcode Asset Tracking: Importance, How Does it Work, and Benefits

by Business Intelligence 20 November 2024

logistics and manufacturing companies

“Your consignment has reached its destination at 11 am!”

A lot goes behind that update.

UK business owners can bid farewell to the assets, as asset tracking software ensures complete visibility of consignments in real-time.

Asset tracking effectively guarantees your asset’s safety and on-time delivery. Otherwise, imagine the stress the logistics and manufacturing companies have to undergo to ensure the safety of the consignment.

Barcode scanners, invented for technological integration with asset tracking, ease the stress. All you need to do is enter the barcode asset tracking system, which is also a real game changer in asset management. It has deliberately altered asset tracking management from similar administrative work to an improved process.

We are sure you would want to know more about the asset tracking system and how it will benefit your business.

This article will focus on the importance of barcode tracking and how it benefits your organization’s operations.

What is Barcode Asset Tracking?

A barcode asset tracking solution is a cutting-edge solution that allows businesses to design and assign asset labels to important asset details.

The solution has adapted to the changing patterns of business requirements. For example, it now allows sophisticated 2D barcode models that support more than 7000 characters per barcode. Using this model, you do not need to toggle between systems to access and store a large amount of data.

For instance, your business’s warehouse department uses tables with mobile applications to attain orders and handle inventory accuracy. The tables are your assets, and you will want to maintain track of them with barcodes. Barcodes allow you to quickly get the details of asset location, serial numbers, and conditions.

On the other hand, it might be an economical replacement for prolonged manual tracking methods such as paper and pen. Barcode asset tracking system offers comprehensive benefits, such as:

  • Speeding up asset data collection.
  • Increased inventory accuracy.
  • Reduced errors.
  • Lowering asset tracking cost.
  • Simplifying record-keeping.
  • Requiring almost no employee training.

However, other tagging options have more whistles and bells, and the lower running cost attracts companies to adopt a barcode tracking system.

How Barcode Asset Tracking Works?

Industries like travel, education, and construction use barcodes in some way. However, regardless of the application, the procedure behind barcode technology relies on the same attributes: software, barcode tags, and readers.

With these in place, the asset tagging process includes three stages:

  • Generating The Barcode: Barcodes are an effective way to track assets in a business environment. They comprise bars and spaces that encode alphanumeric data. Two primary types of barcodes: 1D and 2D. 1D barcodes, such as UPCs, represent data in a single line of bars, suitable for inventory management. On the other hand, 2D barcodes, like QR codes, store more information and be scanned using smartphones. You can choose to print the barcodes or purchase pre-made barcode asset tags.
  • Reading The Barcode: A barcode reader scans a barcode, decodes it, and then transmits it to a computer in the form of zeros and ones. There are different types of barcode scanners: laser scanners and camera readers. Your mobile device can scan 1D and 2D barcodes, making it an excellent alternative to barcode readers.
  • Managing Barcode Information: An asset tracking system generates, manages, and stores the data assigned to the barcode—for instance, asset location, purchase data, quantity, and maintenance history. So, when a barcode scanner reads it, it conveys the system, which records to update and act on.

Benefits of Barcode Asset Tracking for Business

Similar to other barcodes, such as NFC and RFID, barcode tracking tools can offer business owners a wide range of benefits.

The benefits of using a barcode for an asset tracking system are mentioned below.

1. Cost-Effective Asset Tracking

You can print your business barcodes on-site or purchase them from a distributor, and both methods provide a cost-effective tracking solution.

Therefore, the low up-front costs associated with barcodes make them particularly appealing for businesses that handle warehouses filled with valuable inventory.

In addition, barcodes are an effective tracking method for high-value items and low-value products and equipment. These features will allow your business to efficiently monitor and manage its assets while keeping expenses in check.

2. Increase Speed And Accuracy

Barcode scanners and asset tracking systems significantly improve workflow efficiency. Thus, scanning a barcode and instantly retrieving an asset’s data can be up to 5-7 times faster than traditional manual entry methods.

Hence, this speed streamlines operations and reduces the chances of human error, leading to more accurate inventory management and asset tracking.

Ultimately, the involvement of these high-end technologies can boost productivity and resource allocation within an organization.

3. Reduce Human Errors

The problem faced with manual tracking is the increased number of errors that go unnoticed until it is too late.

Thus, barcode accuracy failure due to human error is estimated to cost the UK between £ 500 million and £1 billion per year.

Where you use a spreadsheet of paper and pen, the typical error for manual data entry is £1 per 300 characters. So, the error rate of a barcode scanner can be as accurate as 1 error in 36 trillion characters.

4. Requires Minimal Training

Barcodes are self-adhesive and can easily be attached to items throughout the workplace.

Thus, pointing it to a reader at the label and scanning it is simple. A computer and an asset management system do the rest.

5. Real Time Equipment Tracking

Real-time data offers instant clarity into the location and status of assets, enabling teams to make informed decisions quickly. This capability assists business owners to:

Your business needs to leverage real-time tracking technologies. This will help them to respond promptly to any issues, whether locating a missing asset or maintenance needs before they lead to more significant problems.

In addition, having access to up-to-date information enhances inventory management, ensuring that assets are readily available when needed.

Summing Up

With the rapidly changing landscape of asset management, businesses can automatically leverage asset-tracking tools. Similarly, these tools offer newer methods of barcode tracking. 

Here, you can easily use mobile applications for scanning that do not require expensive technology. 

Finding the right solution for asset tracing offers a system an additional platform to showcase all tracking functions and activities smoothly and a channel to record asset details.

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Ankita Tripathy loves to write about food and the Hallyu Wave in particular. During her free time, she enjoys looking at the sky or reading books while sipping a cup of hot coffee. Her favourite niches are food, music, lifestyle, travel, and Korean Pop music and drama.

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