Manufacturing Supply Chain Management

As companies expand globally, their supply chains become increasingly complex.

The number of companies not looking at supply chain automation investment falls year on year and is set to drop to 17% by the end of 2018. That’s for good reason – these days it’s more cost-effective to invest in technology to assist your warehouse staff than it is to simply employ more workers.

VisionID works with global industry leaders like Zebra and Honeywell to bring you a varied and flexible range of supply chain management solutions.

Whether your organisation needs an installed base of handheld devices to improve communication and data capture on the move, or you’d benefit from improved barcode tracking, we can supply several infrastructure systems to make supply chain management easier for your company.

Development of barcodes in Supply Chain Management

In the past, barcodes were used most commonly in point-of-sale applications, such as in supermarkets at till points.

Nowadays, they’ve developed to serve multiple additional purposes, including:

• Track and Trace
• Inventory management
• Asset Management
• Proof of delivery

Barcodes are an effective supply chain management solution which helps to reduce stock wastage, manage materials, ensure data accuracy, and improve the production process.

Over five billion barcodes are scanned each day, according to GS1. Because of this, ensuring barcode readability on a universal scale is a vital part of supply chain management. The ISO/IEC/ANSI grades by which barcodes are verified for standard compliance cannot be ignored.

Companies won’t accept unverified barcodes and are growing increasingly intolerant towards suppliers who periodically allow printing errors to leave the warehouse uncorrected.

The technology to ensure quality control on both linear and two-dimensional barcodes is readily available, meaning that unchecked labelling shouldn’t be a problem you have to face. VisionID provides barcode labelling systems, as well as handheld devices capable of both scanning, verification, and communication.

Supply Chain Management with VisionID

From the raw material producer and all the way down the supply chain to the customer, it’s becoming increasingly important to make each product traceable. At each stage of the supply chain, there are infrastructures VisionID supply in order to make the process more efficient and cost-effective.

Raw Material Producer

At the raw material producer, mid-range barcode printers such as the Zebra ZT410 print readable barcodes for each box of material. Barcode verifiers are used to quality check the printing, before employees using handheld devices such as the Zebra MC67 deliver the materials to the component manufacturer.

This removes paper-based processes and allows for real-time visibility of the materials as they travel through the supply chain.

Component Manufacturer

As the materials arrive at the component manufacturer, an employee with a Zebra DS8108 barcode scanner checks each item.

With the barcodes verified by the raw material producer, the necessary information is successfully loaded into an inventory system and the material status is communicated to both producer and component manufacturer.

After the component parts are manufactured, they’re shipped off in barcoded packaging to the general manufacturer, but not before the codes have been printed, updated on the system, and verified.

General Manufacturer

For items that require constant tracing, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) can be used. Depending on the type of tag applied, these systems allow for constant tracing and communication as the product passes through various RFID readers on its journey.

A general manufacturer may have a fixed position scanner such as the Cognex DataMan 50, which is capable of reading fast-moving 1D barcodes; including those on ultra-fast beverage or food production lines; and moving 2D barcodes at a slightly lower speed.

This type of supply chain automation features parameters which can be adjusted depending on your individual needs, whilst reducing the need for handheld or worker-operated barcode scanning.

Supplier, Retailer, Customer

By the time the product gets to the wholesaler or supplier and then finally arrives at the retailer ready to be bought by the customer, it will have experienced a variety of different barcode scanner models in any number of different locations – that’s why barcode verification and quality control is so crucial for ensuring your supply chain runs smoothly.

Whether you’re looking at industrial factory applications, a self-service checkout scanner, or a mobile barcode printer for traceability on the go, VisionID supplies a range of products to suit your needs.

For example, our work with Musgrave Retail Partners allowed them to track assets using barcoding systems supplied by us, and their drivers were able to log hours onto the handheld MC67, which linked with the payroll software.

This allowed them to reduce administration (thanks to automated driver time sheets), as well as experience advanced fleet efficiency assisted by real-time mapping of vehicle locations and route optimisation.

Supply Chain Management solutions from VisionID

Implementing technology supplied by VisionID to solve your supply chain problems brings several advantages to the table. It standardises the process and makes use of enterprise grade solutions in order to make the supply process as smooth as possible.

Barcode technology cuts costs incurred in maintaining high inventory levels. Nowadays, most manufacturers receive their materials on a ‘just-in-time’ (JIT) basis, meaning the barcodes on the packaging need to be error-free in order to avoid delays. In these high-pressure, high-inventory level situations, the ability to scan and read high quality barcodes ensures the manufacturing plant runs smoothly, and in turn, the retailer receives the product on time.

Internal quality control is key for maintaining healthy relationships with those either side of you in the supply chain. A company with industrial barcode printers, barcode verifiers, and employees armed with handheld PDA’s or mobile computers will be able to speed up the production process without compromising on quality, all because they invested in the right tools.

Return on Investment

Technology of this scale is an investment in the future of your business. Your investment in barcode technology is paid back significantly quicker than choosing competing technologies that try to do the same time.

To consult a VisionID expert about how our supply chain management solutions could make your company a more effective part of the chain, get in touch today on +353 (0)52 618 1858 or at info@visionid.ie for an assessment of your situation.