Looking for ways to make your team more productive without incurring more costs? You’re not alone: 70% of manufacturers are feeling the pressure to cut costs and improve productivity, even while 83% report that increasing operational complexity is making that task more difficult than ever.

Here’s some good news—your inventory recording process may be a great opportunity to save time and provide valuable clarity to your organization’s processes. As barcode scanning technology continues to advance, it’s easier than ever to transform recording your inventory into a money-saving activity for your team.

Why accurate inventories save money

The idea that recording your inventory accurately will save you money may not be intuitive, but consider: increasing inventory accuracy by 1% increases on-time order delivery by 4% and reduces the need for expedited shipping by 1.5%.

What’s more, accurate inventory counts enables accurate forecasting, reducing the required inventory volume you must keep on-hand to avoid stockouts.

How barcodes help

Barcode technology makes it possible for your team to perform faster, more accurate counts more frequently. Using barcodes, full inventory counts can be accomplished in 1/6^th of the time required for a manual count, with 99.9% accuracy.

Whether you’re hoping to improve the speed of cycle counts or reduce the time required for a full physical inventory, barcodes can help you work faster and prevent errors.

It’s no surprise that over the next 5 years, experts predict that barcoding adoption will increase by over 67%.¹

Wearables are particularly effective in the count process. Whether equipped with ring scanners, voice-controlled systems, or other wearable technology, keeping your team members’ hands free helps them their eyes on your inventory and eliminate distractions. 45% of today’s warehouse executives have some plans to implement wearable devices.

Reducing interruptions in the process lets you deliver products as needed—you won’t have to keep a large inventory on hand to meet customer demands for quick delivery.

It’s no secret that reducing inventory helps your bottom line, but how can you make sure your team can move fast enough to fill orders without delays? Wearable computers are a great way to maximize the productivity of your team members while increasing order accuracy, which is why.

Partners make implementation easy.

If you’re looking for a partner to help you go further in your waste-free strategy, consider the SMS Group. To learn about how we’ve helped other organizations implement lean principles successfully. more, give us a call at 937-498-2700 or fill a contact form and we will be in touch.

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