What is the role of barcodes in supply chain management?

First of all, from the perspective of enterprise production. In order to meet the diversified market demand, enterprises have shifted their production and manufacturing from the past large-scale, monotonous variety model to the small-batch, multi-variety model, which has brought greater pressure to the traditional manual method. The manual method is inefficient. Due to the time lag of statistical data in each link, the statistical data is chaotic in time sequence, and it is impossible to conduct overall data analysis and provide a true and reliable basis for management decisions. A management information system that uses barcode technology to collect and track the logistics information of enterprises. By tracking the logistics of the manufacturing industry, it meets the information management needs of enterprises in terms of material preparation, production and manufacturing, warehousing and transportation, marketing, after-sales service, quality control, etc.
1. Material management
The incoordination of modern production material matching has greatly affected product production efficiency. Disorganized material warehouses, complex production preparation and procurement plan execution are almost every enterprise's problems. The solution idea of ​​barcode technology:
(1) By encoding materials and printing barcode labels. It is not only convenient for material tracking management, but also helps to make reasonable material inventory preparation, improve production efficiency, and facilitate the rational use of enterprise funds. Establish a unified material code for the purchased production materials according to industry and enterprise rules to prevent losses and confusion caused by disordered materials.
(2) Print barcode labels on materials that need to be identified to facilitate tracking of individual materials in production management, thereby establishing a complete product file.
(3) Use barcode technology to perform basic purchase, sales and storage management of warehouses. Effectively reduce inventory costs.
(4) Through product coding, establish material quality inspection files, generate quality inspection reports, and link them with purchase orders to establish supplier evaluations.
2. Production management
Barcode production management is the basis for product barcode application. It establishes product identification codes. In production, product identification codes are used to monitor production, collect production test data, collect production quality inspection data, conduct product completion inspections, and establish product identification codes and product files. Orderly arrange production plans, monitor production and flow, and improve the product off-line qualified rate.
(1) Formulate product identification code formats. Determine the coding rules of product identification codes according to enterprise rules and industry rules to ensure product regularization and unique identification.
(2) Establish product files: Track product production on the production line through product identification barcodes, and collect data such as components and inspections of the products as product information. After the production batch plan is reviewed, establish product files.
(3) Control production information through information collection points on the production line.
(4) Collect quality inspection data on the production line through product identification barcodes, and determine whether the product is qualified based on product quality standards, thereby controlling the flow of products on the production line and whether to establish product files. Print certificates of conformity.
3. Warehouse management
(1) Goods inventory management The warehouse management system divides goods into categories according to the name, model, specification, origin, brand name, packaging, etc., and assigns a unique code, namely the "goods number". Goods inventory is managed by goods number and a collection of single items managed by goods number, and is applied to various warehouse operations.
(2) Warehouse location management is the management of inventory space. The warehouse is divided into several warehouses; each warehouse is divided into several locations. The warehouse is an independent and closed storage space in the warehouse. The space in the warehouse is divided into storage locations. The subdivision can more clearly define the storage space. The warehouse management system records the inventory of warehouse goods according to the warehouse location. When the product enters the warehouse, the barcode number of the storage location is matched with the barcode number of the product. When the product leaves the warehouse, the first-in-first-out or batch management information can be realized according to the inventory time of the storage location.
(3) Barcode warehouse management includes single-piece management of goods. It not only manages the inventory of goods varieties, but also manages each specific single piece of goods inventory. The product identification barcode is used to record the state of a single product, thereby realizing the tracking management of a single product.
(4) Warehouse business management includes: outbound, inbound, inventory, monthly inventory, and transfer. Different businesses are carried out in their own ways to complete the warehouse's entry, sales, and inventory management.
(5) More accurate completion of warehouse entry and exit operations. Barcode warehouse management collects single-piece information of goods, processes the collected data, and establishes warehouse entry, outbound, transfer, and inventory data. In this way, the warehouse operation can be completed. It can provide warehouse location information for warehouse goods outbound according to the single-piece inventory of goods, making the warehouse goods inventory more accurate.
(6) General warehouse management can only complete warehouse transportation error processing (based on human-computer interaction input information), which is accurate. Barcode warehouse management establishes warehouse transportation information based on collected information, directly handles actual transportation errors, and can timely discover single-piece errors of goods entering and leaving the warehouse (duplicate number in the warehouse, no goods outbound) according to the collected single-piece information, and provide error processing.
4. Market sales chain management
In order to occupy the market and expand sales, enterprises have formulated different product wholesale prices in different regions according to different consumption levels in different regions, and stipulated that they can only be sold here. However, some illegal wholesalers obtain products in the name of lower regional prices, and then dump the products at low prices in places with high regional prices, disrupting the market and greatly damaging the overall interests of the enterprise. Due to the lack of real, comprehensive, reliable and fast factual data, although enterprises know that this phenomenon exists, they are powerless against illegal wholesalers. To ensure the effective implementation of the policy, it is necessary to be able to track the product varieties or product unit information sold to wholesalers. By collecting the product unit barcode information during the sales and distribution process, the product sales process is recorded according to the product unit identification barcode, and the product sales chain tracking is completed.
5. Product after-sales tracking service

(1) Establish product sales files according to the product identification code. Record product information and important parts information.

(2) Perform after-sales repair product inspections through the barcode on the product to check whether the product meets the repair conditions and repair scope. At the same time, analyze the condition of its parts.

(3) Feedback product after-sales repair records through product identification numbers, supervise product repair point information, and record and count repair reasons. Establish product after-sales repair files.

(4) Implement basic purchase, sales, and inventory management for product repair parts. One-to-one correspondence with the repaired products. Establish a repair parts file.

Through the collection and tracking of product after-sales service information, it provides a basis for the company's product after-sales warranty service, and can effectively control the difficulties brought by after-sales service - warranty losses caused by the replacement of important parts of the sales product; false repair reports by sellers, etc. The collection of product material information and product information in each of the above links provides a strong basis for enterprises to conduct product quality management, control and analysis.

(1) According to the material item information collected during material preparation, production and maintenance services, the qualified rate of material quality is counted to assist in the generation of material quality analysis reports.

(2) Through the production line quality control product barcode information collection point, product production quality information is collected to assist in printing certificates and improve the effective control of product production quality.

(3) Analyze the data collected at the production line quality control collection point to provide production quality analysis data. Products go from the manufacturer through various wholesale and distribution channels and reach the end user through the retail link. The daily business operations of retail commercial enterprises mainly include three aspects: purchase, sales and storage. Business managers and operators urgently need to use modern management tools and means to strengthen internal management of the enterprise, speed up logistics turnover, improve capital utilization, accurately grasp the supply and marketing business situation, organize best-selling products in a timely manner, reduce inventory and circulation costs, and make the enterprise invincible in the competition. This realistic business management situation and management requirements have become an important prerequisite for computerized management. Computerized management of commercial enterprises meets the requirements of three levels: operation level, management level, and decision-making level. In actual operation, commercial enterprises implement large-category management and single-product purchase, sales and inventory management, and use the existing barcodes on the products in combination with self-printed barcodes as the basis for automatic identification and input, which reduces operation time, improves the accuracy of input, saves a lot of manpower and material resources, and improves the degree of automation. In 1970, the American Supermarket AdHoc Committee formulated the Universal Product Code - UPC code, which was first tried in the grocery retail industry. In 1977, the European Community formulated the European Article Code - EAN (European Artical Numbering) code based on the UPC-12 code. By 1981, the EAN organization had developed into an international organization. At present, most commodities use UPC codes or EAN codes, which contain information such as country, manufacturer, and product. Generally speaking, the barcodes of commodities imported from abroad are more in line with the specifications (UPC or EAN) and can be used directly. However, due to various reasons, barcodes on domestic products are often irregular, duplicated, etc., and barcode readers often fail to read due to printing or improper barcode color matching. Large logistics distribution centers and chain supermarkets use "in-store codes" for product management due to management requirements and other reasons.

Currently, barcode equipment includes barcode scanners (CCD or laser guns, 180 or 360-degree laser platforms), barcode printers, and handheld computers with integrated barcode scanners, which are called "inventory counting machines" in China. Each has its own application characteristics and application links. The functional design of some products has greatly exceeded the functions of traditional barcode equipment. For example, the speed of laser scanning is getting faster and faster, and the laser gun is designed to be inductive reading and plate reading in multiple ways, providing technical means for operators to improve work efficiency. The functions of barcode terminals-inventory counting machines have been strengthened in various ways. High-speed processors and large memory have enabled inventory counting machines to perform more than just inventory counting functions. Various tasks that could only be completed on POS machines in the past can be more conveniently achieved through offline operation of barcode terminals, which greatly improves the convenience and efficiency of operation. At the same time, the adoption of wireless RF technology also makes the collection of product information easier and faster. In famous foreign commercial retail industries, wireless barcode terminals are almost always used to complete the management of goods in and out of the warehouse, picking management, etc. The author completed the inventory of wireless barcode terminals for the largest book city in Beijing-Xidan Book Building, as well as the design and installation of inventory and in and out of the warehouse management system for the book delivery center. It solved the problems of difficulty in inventorying hundreds of thousands of books and long operation time for users, saving the losses caused by inventorying due to suspension of business. It brought huge economic benefits. At the same time, some well-known foreign manufacturers have also launched handheld and platform-type multi-purpose barcode scanning devices, providing more choices for the widespread application of barcodes. At present, barcode equipment has been widely used in the domestic circulation field, such as department stores, supermarkets, cigarettes, audio-visual products and other product specialty stores, to complete various operations such as sales item management, incoming goods inspection, picking goods in the warehouse according to documents, goods distribution and delivery, inventory counting, mobile sales, price inspection, outbound ordering, etc. It provides powerful management data for the retail link of goods. For example, most large-scale commercial warehouses adopt warehouse location management and use barcode information technology to encode the warehouse location. Suppliers and orders are used as the basis for goods entering the warehouse. At the same time, batch numbers and shelf life management are used for items with shelf life requirements to improve the rationality of goods turnover, reduce losses, minimize the time of goods entering and leaving the warehouse, reduce consumption, ensure that the inventory account is consistent with the actual quantity, and provide the latest goods entry and exit information for other modules of the system. The barcode, product name, and coding information of the specified cargo location of each product are matched. By scanning the product barcode, the product name and the cargo location that should be in are displayed, and compared and sorted with the actual location of the actual product, various operations such as price inspection and tallying are completed. From the above introduction, we can see that barcode technology provides us with a method to identify and describe items in logistics. With the help of modern technical means such as automatic identification technology, POS system, EDI, etc., enterprises can always understand the location of relevant products in the supply chain and respond immediately. The supply chain management strategies such as ECR, QR, automatic continuous replenishment (ACEP) that have emerged in developed countries such as Europe and the United States today are inseparable from the application of barcode technology. Barcode is the technical basis for realizing POS system, EDI, e-commerce, and supply chain management. It is an important technical means to modernize logistics management and improve enterprise management level and competitiveness. Aoda Supply Chain provides efficient logistics and supply chain management services to industry customers with the help of lean improvement and information technology.