Contemporary Supply Chains Powered by Barcodes and RFID

The rise in high-speed supply chain operations has given companies many opportunities to better serve their customers. Logistics operations with a heavy dose of automation and analytics have the potential to perform more quickly and efficiently than ever before, and the financial and performance benefits can be felt throughout organizations.

There are some important must-haves for companies hoping to adopt these kinds of modern processes, however. For instance, without an updated barcode or radio frequency identification system, these supply chain participants may be unable top track goods through their accelerated systems.

Stickers Play their Part

Creating tracking systems that can keep up with contemporary supply chain demands is a necessary part of modernizing a logistics business. BarTender Enterprise Sales Engineer Peter Hernandez recently explained that companies need automated links between the various points of contact that make up a complete supply chain. Products are rapidly shifting between different departments, from the factory to the consumer, and proper labeling practices keep them visible and on track through this whole process.

Hernandez stated that once organizations adopt standardized labeling systems, with one set of barcodes or RFID tags recognized throughout all relevant stops on the supply chain, the benefits are quick to arrive.

These include consistency, compliance with relevant regulations, data accessibility and the creation of a single source of truth. The last point means that every employee studying the progress made by the supply chain will be working with the same figures, so their reports will complement each other rather than contradicting one another.

Real-time Visibility a Key Feature

As organizations implement fast-paced and heavily automated tracking features to speed up their supply chains, they’re realizing the indispensability of tracking technologies. An AT&T and Eye For Transport study noted that organizations are pushing toward real-time visibility of items in transit. 

To make this happen, they are planning on investing in barcodes and RFID tags. Nearly 60 percent of companies told the survey’s authors they consider RFID a key technology to purchase, and approximately half said the same about barcodes.

Intelligent Investments

Organizations that don’t have tagging systems for their items in motion, or that can’t follow information from one corner of the supply chain to another, may find their ability to keep up with contemporary logistics demands flagging.

The fact is, systems that rely on human observation and manual entry of data are slower than those with automation built into their frameworks, and changing systems between links in the supply chain can similarly act as a speed bump. These kinds of back-end weaknesses can make their presence felt in the customer sphere.

This is why organizations may want to invest in label software that will keep their operations running and accounted for. DuraFast offers solutions from BarTender, NiceLabel and more to give supply chain leaders a choice of direction.

Whichever option these managers select, their organizations stand to benefit from the digital conversion of a process that could slow their operations down if left unattended. Becoming a modern supply chain organization isn’t a one-step process, but it does start with a few particular decisions. Gaining more inventory visibility is one such move.