Gone are the days that you took a product off the shelf (with a price label stuck on each and every product) and took it to the till, where the cashier manually ticked in the price on a register. Technology has taken over most of the world, including the retail world.
When you purchase a product nowadays, you will see that not one product has a price sticker on it but is rather linked up to a scanning system. The barcode at the back of each product is scanned at the counter, giving you the price of the product.
It is much quicker and more convenient for the shelve assistants as well as the client but have you ever wondered how a barcode works?
In essence, a barcode is just another way to label a product. This innovation has so many more advantages than the original, for instance that it much more time consuming as well as cost consuming, saving money on price tags.
It works in the way that it runs across the barcode scanner that picks up the code within the barcode. The scanner reads the code by picking up the bars as well as the spaces between the bars. The information of the bars is then sent to the computer which finds the information relating to the bars. There is more information on the system than just the price though. Information on the product contains the price, number of items left, manufacturer and even the distributer. As it includes the number of items left, it is very easy for management to then know when to purchase new stock.
One very interesting point is that, if you look on the barcode and you see the numbers included into the code, this has nothing to do with the information of the product and is merely there for human reference.
Barcodes are such a great invention for the following reasons:
It greatly assists with stock control as every product in the shop has been accounted for and is on the system
It helps the stock department of the shops management to keep track of stock and therefore be informed as soon as a certain type of product is running low.
It helps with customer service as this system, when properly managed, prevents stock shortages which could be frustrating for the customer that desperately needs a certain product.
This system has proven to save money and frustration with always replacing missing or faulty price tags as well as data entry errors.
So when you next go to the shop, look at one of the barcode labels and see it as more than just a price label. You could see it as a better way to service clients and improve the quality of their lives.
When you purchase a product nowadays, you will see that not one product has a price sticker on it but is rather linked up to a scanning system. The barcode at the back of each product is scanned at the counter, giving you the price of the product.
It is much quicker and more convenient for the shelve assistants as well as the client but have you ever wondered how a barcode works?
In essence, a barcode is just another way to label a product. This innovation has so many more advantages than the original, for instance that it much more time consuming as well as cost consuming, saving money on price tags.
It works in the way that it runs across the barcode scanner that picks up the code within the barcode. The scanner reads the code by picking up the bars as well as the spaces between the bars. The information of the bars is then sent to the computer which finds the information relating to the bars. There is more information on the system than just the price though. Information on the product contains the price, number of items left, manufacturer and even the distributer. As it includes the number of items left, it is very easy for management to then know when to purchase new stock.
One very interesting point is that, if you look on the barcode and you see the numbers included into the code, this has nothing to do with the information of the product and is merely there for human reference.
Barcodes are such a great invention for the following reasons:
It greatly assists with stock control as every product in the shop has been accounted for and is on the system
It helps the stock department of the shops management to keep track of stock and therefore be informed as soon as a certain type of product is running low.
It helps with customer service as this system, when properly managed, prevents stock shortages which could be frustrating for the customer that desperately needs a certain product.
This system has proven to save money and frustration with always replacing missing or faulty price tags as well as data entry errors.
So when you next go to the shop, look at one of the barcode labels and see it as more than just a price label. You could see it as a better way to service clients and improve the quality of their lives.
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