What you need to know about barcode labeling

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CartonCloud

Barcode labels provide a single point of truth for your freight, transport, and warehouse storage, ensuring accuracy and efficient data management, even across multiple touchpoints. With barcode label scanning, you have instant access to incoming freight, individual product, or a warehouse location’s information at your fingertips.

Quickly access the volume of product stored in a particular warehouse location, view all other locations storing the same product, see expiry information, batch numbers or other item specific information, read shipping and custom format label information, and use barcode scan to update your system with item movement, order fulfillment or delivery status.

See how barcode label scan and print can simplify even the most complex logistics.

Get the accuracy you need, every time

You can use a mobile device with bluetooth scanner, or a mobile computer to scan a location, product or freight barcode to confirm the correct selection, receive goods, or detail dispatch information.

When scanning incoming freight from the dock, that means you can enter inventory details as you go, from the dock.
For picking, it means a 100% confirmation that you're picking the right product.
For stock movement, you can confirm the item and update the move details directly into your WMS, as you go — and scan the new location to assign the item to its new warehouse location.
For deliveries and dispatch, it means you can provide clear and concise information for your drivers, on-forwarders, and delivery partners, ensuring your consignment is correctly allocated.

Let’s take a look at what you need to know to correctly set up barcode labeling and scanning to optimize your processes.

Paperless warehouse pick and pack

The first step is to assign your warehouse location barcodes, identifying various storage locations. This might detail the zone, aisle, racking level, bin, cross-dock storage section, or other areas you have designated for storage. Once you have your warehouse locations mapped and labels applied, you can use these labels to easily identify and confirm the correct warehouse location by simply reading or scanning the label.

With your WMS mobile app, you can even scan the correct warehouse label to confirm the correct item location for picking or put away. Scanning the location allows you to assign it directly within your WMS, so you can update your inventory information as you go.

While scanning barcodes before selection may seem more time consuming, the process actually saves a lot of time in the long run, in terms of picking accuracy and also the ability for staff to locate stock with ease. Find out more about paperless pick and pack here.

Product barcodes

Product barcodes provide information for all inventory of certain types; for example, a yellow shirt in size 10. The product barcode can be fixed to the warehouse racking at the location that product is stored, and can be scanned to pick any number of that product from that location. You might have some of this product stored in a pick bin, and some stored in bulk in another area of the warehouse. In this case, when you scan the product barcode, it will show you all of the warehouse locations where that product is currently stored, and how much at each point.

Individual item barcodes

There can also be individual item barcodes that are unique to each item unit. This is particularly useful for inventory where individual items have an expiry date or batch number identification, like a tin of tuna, or a single lipstick. In this case, the individual item barcode labels can be applied and scanned to ensure the selected item is correct, and to check off a specific item in your WMS when it is picked for an order.

For example, when selecting perishable goods or inventory such as medical supplies where each individual item must be accounted for directly, individual barcode scanning is an essential step in maintaining accuracy. By simply scanning the barcode, you can ensure you have the correct item, and keep your records up to date, knowing exactly what stock is where, and when.

Custom barcodes

Custom barcodes allow you to capture all of the information you need, in a scannable label. The CartonCloud Mobile App can be set up to allow you to scan either standard or custom format barcodes (Eg GS-1 labels containing the product barcode and additional information (batch numbers, expiry dates, etc.).

Barcode scan for inventory movement and putaway

This is especially useful when moving stock from one area of the warehouse to another, such as when replenishing pick face locations, or consolidating warehouse locations to make room for new stock.

The move cart function allows you to scan or manually enter a warehouse location barcode and select specific stock within that location to be moved (as opposed to moving all stock within the location). This way, you can collect stock as you go, moving from location to location in the warehouse with the items assigned to the 'move cart'. Once you have collected all of the stock to be moved, you can assign new locations to each, from the move cart.

Cross-Docking with Scan Move

The Scan Move 2.0 function is also extremely useful in cross-docking operations, allowing you to receive incoming freight into your WMS, before it is assigned to a warehouse location. Scan incoming freight to add it to the move cart, and it can remain there, to be allocated to a warehouse location once you’ve completed unloading the freight.

Freight Barcode labels (consignments)

Freight barcode labels are fixed to the outside of a packaged order, detailing the items within, the order details and the delivery information. Drivers can scan the freight barcodes to check the consignments against their run sheet, and to update the delivery status when recording an electronic Proof of Delivery (ePOD).

You can also scan freight barcode labels to allocate the delivery to a driver within your TMS rather than manually writing out paper run sheets, simplifying your transport management admin, and ensuring all records are up to date in the system.

SSCC Barcode Labels

One type of freight barcode label is the Serial Shipping Container Code (SSCC) barcode. This is a unique label that is used to identify a logistics unit (pallet, container, etc), and provide important delivery information that can be accessed by each person handling the freight along the shipping journey.

The SSCC label identifies each carton or pallet shipped and its contents, consolidating information from a range of sources, including your order summary, inventory data, transport data and tracking and more — providing all the information you need, presented in one easy to access label on the outside of your pallet or container, to provide freight visibility throughout the supply chain. The SSCC is a universal barcode label that is accepted and required throughout global logistics operations.

Creating your barcode labels in CartonCloud

There are two ways to print labels with CartonCloud; you can either export to PDF or direct print to a label printer (ZPL language) via CartonCloud Connect. Sound a bit technical? Don't worry; it's simple.

Within CartonCloud, you can set up a range of label templates at either the Organisation Settings level or the Customer Settings level, which is then used to automatically create your barcode based on the item, order or consignment details your enter.

One of the benefits of having an integrated WMS/TMS like CartonCloud is that you can transfer data seamlessly between your warehouse and transport operations, making life and labeling that little bit easier.

Barcode Scanning with CartonCloud Mobile App

Another benefit of using CartonCloud’s Mobile barcode scanning is that it’s designed to accommodate all budgets. You can simply download the mobile app to your smartphone and pair it with an entry-level bluetooth scanner, to start scanning instantly.

Download the Mobile app for iOS or Android in Demo Mode to try for yourself!