How to Bring Your Warehouse into the 21st Century
Historical Precedence
According to historians and scholars, Ancient Romans built the first warehouses around the 2nd century BCE. The largest of these ancient warehouses, called the Horrea Galbae, covered more than 225,000 square feet. Evidence showed it stored grain, olive oil, wine, foodstuffs, clothing, and even marble. These early facilities had thick walls, high windows, and ramps instead of stairs to making moving the goods easier. Other than varying in size, warehouses remained similar in their design and purpose for nearly 2,000 years.
The Industrial Revolution of the 18th and 19th centuries moved the thinking about these buildings away from long-term storage and toward product movement. This shift in focus helped to create some of the earliest large-scale supply chains. The next step forward came in the 20th century. Advancements in production, communication, and transportation led to the creation of warehouse networks all over the world.
Automation and Beyond
Now, in the 21st century, warehouses are moving toward the next innovation: automation. Machines now handle the heavy lifting of boxes filled with products or shipments of raw materials. Conveyor belts transport products to sorting stations. Automation reigns as the standard of warehouse operation. Only the tracking system remains as the one area stuck in the past within the warehouse. Products arrive at warehouse facilities with one (or more) of dozens of different barcodes. These barcodes help track the source of the product, its destination, and other vital information needed.
Possibly you have a barcode scanning system in place. For more than 50 years, many companies have found barcode scanning an excellent return on investment over other systems. Many of these systems became outdated, inefficient, and cumbersome as technology advanced. However, your scanner software may not allow for wireless scanning, requiring you to move products to the scanner rather than using a mobile scanner that can move to the product. Another issue with outdated systems is the software. Older software limits in the number of symbologies it can read which means limits in its effectiveness and functionality as well.
Toward the Future of Your Warehouse
With products arriving from across the country, or possibly around the world, you’ll likely encounter multiple barcode symbologies during an average day. Your software needs to be able to read and interpret each symbology so you collect the most accurate accounting of every item you receive. You also need software that can read those codes under the most challenging circumstances. When the barcode arrives damaged, curled, or incomplete; or when scanning requires high or low angles; or when bright light, low light, or fluctuating light comprise your situation, you need to know that your barcode scanning software provides you accurate results on the first try every time.
Code invites you to test the CortexDecoder software. It’s the ideal software for the modern warehouse for all of these reasons and more. This software scanning solution integrates into your workflow processes and can be customized to meet the unique needs of your facility. Our software development kit (SDK) also comes with our “first time every time” assurance – you’ll get accurate readings on the first pass to ensure you collect the right information on the first try. Whether it’s a damaged barcode or difficult lighting, CortexDecoder can deliver the results you need.
We are highly experienced at customizing a software solution that meets your exacting specifications. We understand the demands you have and how the right software fits your operation. Contact us today to start creating your unique solution. Take our software for a test drive and take the first step toward moving your warehouse into the future.
Give us a call at 801-495-2200 or email info@codecorp.com
