Mobile technology is penetrating every function in the business world. It has been used successfully in distribution operations for some time. One of the capabilities that has proven to be beneficial is mobile barcode label printing.
ASI offers products with mobile barcode printing options with our Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software solutions. Designed to print directly from your smartphone or tablet, mobile barcode printing allows you to eliminate time walking back and forth across the warehouse floor to retrieve the labels you need. Now you can print and apply barcode labels right where you are standing. Simply plug in the hardware, and you’re ready to print! Barcode label printing has never been easier.
The Benefits of Mobile Barcode Label Printing
You’re probably thinking – warehouses and distribution centers have been using portable barcode scanning and printing applications for years, so what’s the big deal? How does mobile barcode label printing any different than walking around with a small, portable printer? For one, the solution allows you to print directly from your mobile device, whether it be a smartphone or tablet. This allows you to perform all the tasks you need within one application – printing, scanning, routing, etc.
In addition to simplifying warehouse management processes, the mobile printing options reduce the bulk your employees have to carry with them as they move around the warehouse. Sure, a handheld barcode scanner, portable printer and smartphone can do the job just fine, but why carry around three devices when you just have to carry one? When it comes to warehouse management, simpler is always better.
Here are a few benefits our customers have experienced since adding mobile barcode printing to their warehouse management technology situation:
- Faster barcode printing. When your software has to communicate with the printer across the warehouse or even the printing solution at your station, it is having to relay the information across networks. By adding mobile barcode printing hardware to your solution, you can hook up a printer directly to your smartphone or tablet, allowing you to print the information you need instantly. Because it is all happening on one device, the lags you’ve come to expect in barcode printing are virtually eliminated.
- Improved productivity. Mobile barcode printing means you can print the labels you need wherever and whenever you need them. By pairing your mobile device with barcode printing technology, you eliminate the need to walk back and forth across the warehouse, which, in turn, will improve your productivity rates, inventory counting, putaway, and order fulfillment times.
- Less hardware. We touched on this at the beginning of this article, but it’s important to keep in mind that mobile printing solutions that can be added onto your mobile device reduce the amount of hardware you use on a daily basis. That means fewer items to keep up with, fewer items to store, and fewer items to replace when they become outdated or lost.
- Greater durability than stationary printing. Mobile printing solutions are going to be more durable than the traditional stationary printers. Not only are they designed to withstand even the most rugged situations, but they are also fitted with protective exteriors so they cannot be easily broken (unlike traditional printers).
- Increased efficiency and cost-savings. When you are able to print, scan, and enter the information into the system at one location from the same solution, you will get things done faster. This means less time will be spent on the menial tasks associated with product placement, inventory counting, picking, and putaway, reducing labor costs and freeing up your employees’ time to be spent on more important tasks.
Our barcoding solutions are designed to work with your other warehouse management systems to provide you with the best in warehouse and manufacturing automation technology. Contact us today to learn how you can pair your mobile warehouse management and barcoding solutions with our mobile printing technology.