Tracking physical inventory appears to be easy until you have hundreds or even thousands of pieces being transferred across various facilities.
The two popular solutions to tracking your physical inventory include barcodes and RFID (Radio Frequency Identification), which differ from each other in several aspects and have distinct advantages.
How Barcode Works
A barcode contains information in a visual form that can be decoded by either a scanner or a mobile device.
For instance, an employee in a warehouse can scan a barcode placed on a piece of equipment whenever it arrives or gets transferred to another location.
Barcodes are great for the following reasons:
They are easy to use
Cost effective
Can be replaced easily
Supported by most inventory systems
The drawback is that scanning a traditional barcode usually requires the device to see it, and each item should be scanned separately.
How RFID Works
RFID operates using radio waves to send signals from the RFID tag to the reader.
An RFID tag may be applied to an asset or an inventory product. Unlike a standard barcode, it doesn't have to be in view of the reader.
It may be convenient for places where identification of many assets needs to be done in a quick manner.
As an example, instead of having each item scanned manually in a warehouse, multiple items can be detected by an RFID reader within the read range.
*RFID vs. Barcode
*
However, this is not the case of which system is simply better.
Barcodes may be appropriate for small inventory operations and low-cost requirements.
RFID, on the other hand, may be preferable for bigger inventories where there is a requirement for rapid identification and automation of data collection.
A business that works with several hundred items could be very happy with barcodes. A warehouse dealing with thousands of products that need to be transported around may find RFID more useful.
Where RFID Can Make a Difference
RFID systems can prove helpful in such instances:
Speeding up inventory checks
Minimizing manual input of information
Identifying physical assets
Conducting inventory reconciliation
Tracking equipment
Providing visibility into physical assets
Moreover, RFID technology can be used together with other solutions. For instance, GPS technology will deliver data outdoors while BLE will come in handy when tracking indoors or at close distance. There will be additional information from IoT sensors related to temperature, motion, vibration, etc.
Bigger Context
The key point is to select a tracking technology depending on the actual needs of the environment.
An ordinary barcode technology may be enough for simple inventory management. For bigger and more sophisticated operations, RFID technology and its combination with other technologies like GPS, BLE, and IoT can prove a good solution.
The main objective isn't just to label an asset. It is to get useful data about that asset easily.
For more info, explore assettrackpro .com
Top comments (0)