Retailer increases productivity with bar coding

I T has been l0 years since univerI sal product codes and scanning equipment revolutionized the grocery industry's inventory and pointof-sale checkout. Today, more and morelumber and home center retailers are learning that bar code scanning can create the same increases in their productivity levels.

Story at a Glance

Customers, countermen and management approve bar coding .western retailer finds scanning improves productivity: faster checkout, more accuratepricing, better inventory management.

One of these retailers is Mike Cole of H&H Home Center, Seaside, Ca. A True Value member, he had bar code scanning equipment from Triad Systems installed last February. Since then, he has found that UPC bar coding improves productivity at poinrof-sale and provides him with the reliable stock information he needs to manage his inventory.

'ol've seen improved productivity in all areasfrom the stockroom floor to the checkout stands," said Cole. With bar code scanning he can check out customers two to three times faster than before. More important, though, the bar codes provide more accurate pricing by reducing the number of unmarked or mismarked items. "Maintaining accuracy is the most important aspect of scanning," said Cole.

Because the bar coding equipment is linked to his Triad business management system. his inventory records are automatically updated with each transaction. "Because I know my inventory records are ac- curate and up-to-date, I know exactly what I need to order to ensure I don't find myself out of stock," explained Cole.

Currently four registers are equipped with bar code scanning devices. The two terminals in the store use table top plate scanners, while those in the nursery and lumber yard are equipped with hand held scanners. "The advantage of plate scanners is that your hands are left free to do other things," explained Cole. "But for large, awkward items, like those in the nursery and lumber yard, you need a hand held device."

Cole has also found that manufacturers' bar codes save him hours of labor by eliminating the need to price sticker products. "With over 37,000 items in my store," said Cole. "l save $8.000 a year in price tags alone!"

His employees save time receiving merchandise and getting it to the sales floor. "Now, if it's bar coded, we just count it and put it on the shelves," explained merchandise manager Paul James. "Merchandise that used to take several employees a week to get on the sales floor now takes one employee one day."

With about 60% of H&H's inventory labeled with manufacturers' bar codes, Cole can only imagine how productivity levels will increase when more merchandise is labeled. "The real benefits will be realized when more of my items are coded," he said.

Anxious to make the best use of his bar coding equipment, Cole has sent letters to all his vendors requesting that they bar code more of their merchandise. Now, he has manufacturers calling him to find out how to get UPCs on their products.

Cole predicts that within the next few years, 80% of all home center products will be bar coded. However, as he points out, some products will never bear UPC labels, either because the manufacturer chooses not to label them or because the item does not lend itself to labeling, as with plants and lumber items. For this reason, Cole is hoping to add a bar code label printer to his system so he'll have the ability to label these items with his own bar codes.

After realizing some of the benefits bar coding can deliver, Cole is eager to use it in other areas of his business. Eventually, for example, he plans to use a hand-held bar coding device to cycle count his inventory.

He has found that with bar coding equipment, training employees is "easy as pie." According to James, employees are so eager to use the system that they practically argue over who gets to use the checkout stands equipped with scanning devices. "Employees love it," he said. "l haven't seen a better attitude in a long time."

Cole has also found that employees are more comfortable checking out customers with the bar coding equipment because they can provide faster service, and they're confident the pricing is accurate. "Psychologically, employees are more relaxed and friendlier to the customers." explained Cole.

According to Cole, today's retailer is facing problems revolving around inventory control, accurate pricing, employee training and employee attitudes. "Bar coding," he said, "helps alleviate problems in all these areas."