On Trend – QR Inventory Tracking and Barcode Scanning

Technology is constantly changing and evolving and with that, so do the practices companies undertake to manage and grow their business. Asset and inventory tracking is quickly being recognized as vital for any business or industry and it’s proving to positively impact the way a company conducts business and its bottom line. Features such as barcode scanning and QR inventory tracking are revolutionizing the way businesses keep up with assets and inventory. If you haven’t considered it before, now might be the time!

When it comes to asset and inventory tracking, today’s companies are looking for systems that their employees can and will use that require very little to no training. It used to be that companies tracked their assets and/or inventory by a hand-written ledger or an online spreadsheet. Both had the potential for numerous errors and mistakes. They are both very time consuming when it comes to entering or updating data. We live in a mobile society where time is money, and employees don’t have the time to search for missing assets or try to determine how much of a product they do/do not have in stock and if they can meet customer demands.

One of the most useful features of asset management tracking products is the use of built-in scanners to read barcodes and QR codes, capturing and sharing more data than ever possible with ledgers and spreadsheets. There are many people who do not know the difference between a barcode and a QR code. So here’s a quick lesson on each and their use:

Barcode: (1 dimensional) A barcode, most recognized as a UPC (universal product code), is a machine-readable code composed of numbers and a pattern made of parallel lines of varying widths used to identify a product. The lines and patterns on a barcode are actual representations of numbers and data. It allows basic information about a product to be easily read by a barcode scanner and automatically recorded into a system. Barcode systems track items such as assets, products, prices, and stock levels, allowing productivity and efficiency to increase.

QR Code: (2 dimensional) A QR (or Quick Response) code, is used to store and transmit data. QR codes are more complex than barcodes and can include more information on assets or inventory such as a web address, videos or images. QR codes can hold as much as 7,000 digits or 4,000 characters of text – much more data than their barcode predecessors.

Users now have the ability to scan barcodes or QR codes using their own mobile devices and integrated cameras. Smartphones utilizing asset management software can track assets anywhere, anytime – in the office, from one facility to another, in the field, or if an item is in for maintenance. The built-in camera allows users to attach an image to the asset or inventory and many products include GPS capabilities to drill down the exact location of an item. All with one click of a barcode or QR code. Companies are no longer required to purchase extra equipment or expensive hardware in order to track their assets by using barcodes. Many products on the market offer free and unlimited downloads of mobile apps for an unlimited number of users who need to track assets or implement QR inventory tracking procedures.

While many are aware that Asset Panda features a barcode scanner, what many may not know is that Asset Panda also has a state-of-the-art QR code generator built into the product. The QR code generator platform runs on both iOS and Android and is robust and simple to use in the cloud and on mobile apps. Asset Panda’s QR code generator allows you to create your own QR code and barcode scanner fields anywhere in the tool. Our tool will adapt to the way that you work giving you the most efficient process to implement.

Asset Panda’s QR code generator was created to work in a high availability environment and designed to be dependable. The app uses the autofocus camera feature on smartphones and eliminates the need to buy or carry around expensive third-party scanners. You now have the ability to get the full function of a traditional hardware scanner on the device your employees already carry.

So whether you need a tool for barcode scanning or QR inventory tracking, Asset Panda has you fully covered. Visit assetpanda.com for more information.