It takes advanced tracking technology to ensure thorough supply chain traceability in our modern, intertwined supply chains. There is a real need for tracking solutions that enable traceability across various workflows with various requirements, including inventory management, shipping, and warehouse operations. This is a vital part of ensuring that a product’s life cycle is accurately documented.
Enter barcodes. This versatile technology has already found a number of uses in enhancing supply chain traceability. These days, barcodes can be found on every pallet, pack, and product.
Let’s explore how mobile pallet barcode scanners take supply chain traceability to the next level.
What types of barcodes are on pallets?
Pallets usually have barcodes in two places.
Firstly, they come with a label – or packing list – which feature a single barcode. Most often, this is a GS1-128 barcode containing a Serial Shipping Container Code (SSCC).
This 18-digit number is a unique identifier assigned to all kinds of logistics units, including pallets. It acts like a digital passport for the pallet. Scanned at every step, the SSCC enables end-to-end traceability as the pallet moves through the supply chain.
The GS1-128 barcode itself is a global standard for encoding data on logistics labels. It encodes not only the SSCC but also additional information, such as batch numbers and expiration dates. These are identified using GS1 Application Identifiers (AI).
Although pallet label scanning is a fast and efficient way of tracking the pallet as a unit, confirming the physical contents of the pallet is another story.
For this, all items in a pallet have their own barcodes. But scanning all these containers or individual products is a challenge. Scanning them one by one takes a lot of time and effort. Additionally, product cartons typically feature various barcode types, including EAN-13, UPC-A, and newer 2D barcodes. A pallet barcode scanner needs to be able to scan all of them.
How do you read a pallet barcode?
Although dedicated handheld barcode scanners excel at scanning single barcodes, they have limitations when multiple barcodes are involved.
With ordinary handhelds, scanning the barcodes on all cartons requires employees to circle the pallet and actively aim at the labels. This is obviously impractical for the dozens of pallets they often have to process every day. Given their drawbacks, the cost of these single-purpose devices is high.
Pallet barcode scanning needs have given rise to specialized solutions. For instance, there are gate scanners. Mounted at gates or dock doors, these camera-based barcode readers scan pallets as they pass through.
Although they are quite effective at reading multiple barcodes from cartons, these scan systems are fixed in place, and are less suitable for scanning packing list barcodes.
The modern solution is barcode scanning software that can be used on any smart device. Leveraging tablet and phone cameras together with computer vision and machine-learning algorithms, these systems deliver fast and reliable barcode scanning.
Software is flexible and scalable – it can be easily downloaded as a smartphone app and then accessed whenever needed. For pallet barcode scanning, the software can be designed with features that enable scanning multiple barcodes at once.
Mobile pallet barcode scanners: Applications
Smartphone-based barcode scanners are far more versatile than static gate scanners or dedicated scanner devices. Thanks to their compact design and low weight, they are easy to carry around. They are simple to use, and since most people are familiar with how they work, training time is minimized.
In this way, ordinary smartphones and tablets become the perfect tool for various tasks related to pallets in supply chain management. Let’s take a look at the main applications:
- Receiving docks: Incoming pallets are scanned to record their arrival, verify shipment details, and send them to the correct storage location. All carton barcodes must be scanned to verify the accuracy of the information contained in the packing list or pallet label barcode. Like this, missing, extra, or duplicate items are detected before they are accepted.
- Shipping docks: Before shipments leave the warehouse, pallet barcodes are scanned to update inventory records and to ensure that the correct items are shipped.
- Warehouse storage and inventory audits: Scanning pallet barcodes allows operators to track the movement of goods within the warehouse. It also ensures up-to-date stock level information.
- Order picking and packing: During order fulfillment, employees scan pallets to confirm they are picking the correct goods and to update inventory systems.
Start scanning pallet barcodes with smart devices
The Scanbot Barcode Scanner SDK is designed to speed up your logistics workflows. With features such as Multi Scanning and Batch Scanning, it captures multiple barcodes simultaneously or consecutively at high speed and accuracy.
The GS1-128 barcode and all major barcode types are supported. The SDK scans them even in less-than-ideal conditions: Damaged, tiny, or curved barcodes pose no challenge.
Experience the Scanbot Barcode Scanner SDK for yourself with our free barcode scanner demo apps.
To learn more about our highly scalable fixed-price model – unlimited scanning at a flat annual fee – request a quote or write to sdk@scanbot.io.
