Can Barcode Software Help Small Manufacturing Companies Achieve Lean Status?

If you are in the manufacturing industry, you’ve most likely heard the term “lean manufacturing”. Lean manufacturing is essentially doing more with less through the reduction of waste. The main objective of lean manufacturing is to specify your company’s value, identify a value stream, make products flow at the rate of customer demand, and to constantly make improvements. Manufacturers around the world are brainstorming ways to become leaner in an effort to boost productivity, reduce overhead costs, and increase profitability. However, many small manufacturing businesses have a hard time achieving lean manufacturing status. Implementing lean strategies often requires a significant amount of time and money that small businesses do not have.

Barcoding software—along with barcoding applications—can change this reality. Manufacturers rely on a well-coordinated chain of events to make their operations work effectively. Companies who cannot provide real-time information about their products find themselves lagging behind their competitors. Today’s business software applications (such as ERP systems, warehouse management systems, and supply chain visibility applications) rely on real-time data collection to provide the information needed to optimize processes, productivity, and profitability. These systems support lean strategies by eliminating wasteful processes and achieving maximum efficiency.

While many small businesses cannot implement every lean manufacturing strategy, they can implement a barcoding system to support lean principles. Consider the following benefits of adding a barcoding system to the warehouse:

• Promotes known inventory and item location at all times
• Improves inventory stocks
• Reduces product search time
• Enhances manufacturing process control
• Promotes compliance
• Improves productivity
• Reduces finished goods cost
• Real-time monitoring of production, order fulfillment, and distribution process
• Improves efficiency
• Helps move products profitability and quickly to meet demand
• Reduces inventory costs
• Reduces labor costs by eliminating manual processes
• Increases order accuracy
• Ensures complete and error-free shipments
• Improves customer satisfaction
• Promotes real-time data capture via ERP and warehouse management systems

Barcoding solutions support lean manufacturing principles, as you can see in the benefits above. If your small business has given up on achieving lean status, consider implementing a barcoding solution. It will not only eliminate unnecessary processes (waste), but it will also improve your company’s efficiency and accuracy. These types of improvements support lean principles and help your company achieve full customer satisfaction.

If you are interested in implementing a barcoding system, contact our barcoding experts today. We provide Sage 100 barcoding software and Sage 500 barcoding software for your barcoding needs. Our services include barcoding software consultation, implementation, configuration, training, and on-going support for your barcoding needs.