Retail barcodes have now been taken to the next level. Starbucks, the global coffee chain, has rolled out its new app that allows its UK customers to be able to pay for their coffee and snacks using their handset. They have also improved the features on the app, which can be accessed through the Apple App Store.

Barcode labels are not only useful for a business such as Starbucks to control its stock levels and organise its operations effectively, but these electronic versions have been used to make the customer experience easier as well.

iPhone users simply have to scan their device at the till. The barcode technology then checks the purchase and takes this amount from the customer’s account.

Apple product owners can already use the app to search for the store nearest to them and access nutritional information on the Starbucks range of food and drink.

This retail barcode service is now available in the 600 Starbucks stores located throughout the UK.

Starbucks UK’s Vice-President of Marketing, Ian Cranna, said of the venture:

“Customers are looking for extra value. This scheme allows us to be more personal, rewarding the most frequent customers with extra benefits”.

The stock you hold within your business can account for a good deal of your company finances. And the only way you can work out how much stock you hold and what this stock is worth is if you do a stock take.

Stock taking is the procedure by which you can verify the quantity and condition of the assets you hold. And this can be performed at regular intervals or as an annual review so that company finances can be assessed,
Stock taking can however be a very time consuming process and a complete stock take can be a very costly exercise for a business to complete. But one technique which can dramatically cut the time it takes to do a stock take is to use asset labels or barcode labels on all the stock you own.

Asset labels help you keep track of the items you own and it is significantly quicker to scan a barcode than to manually input data about an item into a computer. By hence reducing the time it takes to capture this information you can thus save a significant number of man-hours, which would normally be lost to manual stock taking procedures.

Portable appliance testing is carried out at most businesses across the UK. It is a way of labelling each portable appliance that a company owns and a way of making sure that the appliance is safe to use.

Some insurance companies will insist on regular portable appliance tests if they are to insure your building or employees from damage or harm.

One of the easiest ways to label and hence find and record information about all the appliances you have on site is to use portable appliance asset labels. These labels have pre-printed information on the label which can be read by the portable appliance tester or by a barcode scanner. This information is then entered into a database so a user will have access to all the portable appliances on site and whether or not they have passed the relevant test.

Some portable appliances are used in heavy industrial environments so require a label which will not fade, rub or lose its adhesion. But, if you use high quality asset labels, and speak to your supplier, they should be able to recommend something which will work well in all scenarios.

Barcode labels are one of the best ways that you can speed up the data processing at your business site. Because of this it is vitally important for businesses to have a thorough understanding of the uses of barcode labels and what savings can be made by using them.

Barcode labels and asset labels are the perfect way of labelling any items or stock that you own. Whether a laptop, flash drive, tools or other equipment, if they are all labelled, the chances of them going missing or even being damaged are reduced dramatically.

Tracking of any items which have a label affixed also becomes very easy and speed at which data is collected and entered into a database is also improved. Instead of a manual data entry system, a barcode scanner can be used to scan the item which has the barcode attached. This also eliminates human data entry error.

It doesn’t matter if it is a small business, a commercial premises or large industrial site. If asset labels or Barcode labels are used, product visibility increases and major savings can be made.

We have discussed previously what benefits can be had by using asset labels in your business operations. Loss of assets can have a huge impact on a company’s finances, so it’s important for business owners to effectively manage their fixed and portable possessions. Asset tags are thus commonly used across a range of businesses to enable easy identification of items or products. The labels also feature strong adhesive to prevent peeling.

There is a wide range of information which can be printed onto an asset tag, this includes:

• Asset number or name
• Asset barcode
• Asset part number or serial number
• A company name or logo
• A marketing message
• Safety information
• Information about product contents

With so much information which can be printed onto an asset label, it’s easy to see how stock-taking can become a very simple process indeed. In fact, when a barcode label is used, all that is needed is a quick scan with a barcode scanner and asset information in the database can be updated accurately and efficiently.

When you are starting out in business you will need to make saving wherever possible, as money will undoubtedly be tight. And one area where you can save some of your hard earned cash is in your asset tracking and stock taking procedures.

The security of the products you manufacture or keep in stock is very important. This is why regular stock-takes are imperative. One of the best ways to protect goods is to use asset labels or barcode labels. Asset labels are a way of identifying every product that you own. Information about every item, which will feature a number or barcode, can then be kept in a database or asset register, so you can monitor products and stock.

Other asset label advantages include:

• You can identify similar items when you use asset labels
• All products you own will have a label attached with a number, name or company logo
• Asset labels make equipment audits easy
• Loaned items are always returned
• Time searching for lost items is minimised
• Additional marketing benefits can be had by using asset labels with logos or company names attached

When used properly, asset labels can be of great importance to a business, and not just for improving security but also for improving efficiency and making monetary savings.

Being able to keep track of what is in stock is vitally important for many companies across the UK. A small asset label fixed to expensive items can therefore be an invaluable tool and can make a big difference in terms of tracking of goods.

Asset labels can be purchased in a wide range of different sizes, shapes and materials. Because a third-party company will print the asset label for you, they can even be customised and ordered in exact quantities to suit your business needs. An asset label could have a company logo, a barcode or even a sequential numbering system printed on the label, making tracking of goods even easier.

Tamper evident asset labels are currently proving very popular. These perform all the tasks of a standard asset label but are very hard to remove easily. If the label is peeked away a ‘VOID’ message is left behind, showing that the item has been tampered with. These labels are perfect to use on the seam of a desktop pc or on the seam of any equipment which contains expensive parts within.

Destructible asset labels are also available which work in a similar way to a tamper asset label, but instead of a void message, the label breaks up into many tiny parts if someone tries to remove the label.

Barcode labels are a simple and effective way of labelling a product or an item so that information about that item can be held elsewhere on a database. And barcode labels are thus often as important a commodity for a business as the item to which they are fitted.

Barcode labels are being used in the commercial sector with increasing regularity. And one of the places which have seen exponential barcode use over the last few years is in warehouses.

Warehouses need different types of barcode labels, depending on how the warehouse operates and how stock is stored within the warehouse.

Floor barcode labels

Barcode labels can be affixed to the floor and pallets stacked behind or adjacent to the label. These labels need to be made out of a strong durable material such as metal due to the heavy traffic they see.

Reflective barcode labels

Reflective barcode labels are easy to see in dim warehouses when money needs to be saved on lighting. The reflective part of the label catches a person’s eye, so that the label can be found and hence scanned easily.

Location barcode labels

Location barcode labels are perhaps the most commonly used label in a warehouse. The location labels are usually affixed to every location where an item is stored. This way a warehouse operative can easily find the item’s location and scan the label when they remove one of the items from stock.

Barcodes are used by businesses across the worlds as a way of unique product identification. But Australian food scientists have now found another use for the simple barcode label - as a way to help shoppers make healthy choices when buying food from a supermarket.

A new iPhone application, which has just been launched, allows shoppers to find out the nutritional information of a product and hence help them to avoid fatty, salty or sugary items.

The senior director at the University of Sydney, Bruce Neal, stated:

“FoodSwitch’s three-step approach marries the latest technology with cutting edge research. Australians can now scan barcodes, see what’s in a food, and switch to a healthier choice in an instant,”

A poor diet causes some of Australia’s biggest health problems, but by simply scanning the barcode of the item they may wish to purchase, shoppers can get a wealth of information about that product and then make an informed choice whether or not to buy. Neal concluded:

“Choosing a healthier diet has to be made easier, because good eating habits are one of the best and most cost-effective ways to prevent disease. For long, Australians have grappled with confusing food labels. And with FoodSwitch there is no reason why this should continue,”

A business has many assets, from the people who strive to make it a success, to the items they use on a day-to-day basis as part of their role. Assets can be things such as machinery, tools, desks, computers or even floor coverings. And it’s these assets that make a company what it is.

The assets a company may own may be worth thousands of pounds and some may even be irreplaceable. It’s for these reasons that businesses want to protect their assets.

Many companies are now realising the benefits of using asset tags to identify each and every asset they own. The asset tags or labels contain a unique identifier, such as a number or a barcode and the asset details are stored within a database on a computer system. This allows business owners to keep an up-to-date inventory record of all their assets, which can be used for insurance and stock-taking purposes.

If any asset needs to be checked, it can simply be looked up on the computer system and its location, date of purchase and any other relevant information found.

Asset tracking is really easy when asset labels are fitted to the items a company owns. And when you use a barcode system and barcode scanner, asset tracking not only saves you money it is also a quick way of checking assets and stock.