Did you know that the first-ever barcode appeared on a pack of chewing gum in 1974? In the half-century since, barcode technology has become an integral part of our daily lives. Today, barcode readers are a familiar sight in grocery stores, warehouses, airports, and hospitals.

However, just like every other technology, barcode readers come with their own set of pros and cons. Let’s now explore the advantages and disadvantages of barcode readers – and how the latter can be overcome.

Advantages

Companies typically use barcoding and barcode readers to save time, reduce cost, and minimize errors. Ultimately, this increases business efficiency. More recently, developers are including barcode features in customer-facing apps to add value and improve the customer experience.

Saves time

Barcode readers are a rapid and effective means of data extraction and entry, and so speed up a range of workflows. They deliver major time savings compared to human data entry, that is, typing or writing down data.

Because a barcode reader can instantly collect and decode data in just a simple scan, businesses can streamline operations like inventory management, product identification, and pricing lookup.

Increases accuracy

Scanning barcodes with a barcode reader is far more accurate than entering data manually.

On average, a human makes a mistake every 100 characters. In comparison, barcode readers only make one mistake in every 70 million scanned characters.[1]

Companies can avoid manual input errors by integrating barcode scanners into their workflows.

Improves productivity

Keeping track of all the assets that move through your organization takes time and effort. Implementing a barcoding system is an excellent solution to the problem of tracking valuable items and goods. It removes a lot of administrative overhead – and allows businesses to react to changes and inquiries more quickly.

Companies also use barcode scanning to easily record order entry, shipping, and receiving, or a product passing quality control. Barcoding also sees use in access control, document handling, and project management. It provides a real-time company-wide connection that allows enterprises to increase their productivity and operational efficiency.

Reduces cost

By increasing productivity, accuracy, and efficiency across a variety of organizational activities, barcode scanners can reduce expenses considerably. Here are just some examples:

Supply chain management: These tools increase overall efficiency while reducing errors to optimize the supply chain.

Back-office: Barcode scanners simplify inventory management and do away with the requirement for paper-based processes. Additionally, they eliminate the risk of manual data entry errors.

Retail: They also speed up the checkout procedure, cutting down on wait time and improving client satisfaction.

Barcode scanners are an excellent investment for companies seeking to improve their bottom line: The higher operational efficiency and lower error rate can unlock large cost savings.

As technology advances, handheld scanners are increasingly replaced by software-based scanners. Software barcode scanners are often not only more convenient and less costly, but also provide advanced features, making them the tool of choice for many businesses.

Disadvantages

Before we delve further into the merits of these cutting-edge software solutions, it is essential to consider some disadvantages of traditional handheld scanners.

Connectivity constraints

Even high-end handheld barcode scanners frequently have very limited connectivity options. Some devices only offer a wired connection, others need a dedicated base station. This constraint can affect the usability and integration of the barcode reader with other systems or devices.

Limited range

Handheld barcode readers typically have a very short scan range, meaning the user has to hold them very close to the barcode to read it correctly. This limitation poses a significant challenge when the barcode is located in an inaccessible or hard-to-reach spot.

Lack of support of different barcode types

While useful for some applications, hardware-based barcode scanners often do not cover a wide range of barcode symbologies. Unlike software-based scanners, they often struggle with decoding complex barcodes. Software-based scanners excel in versatility, accommodating various barcode types and meeting diverse scanning needs. Their flexibility enables them to decode a wide range of codes effectively. In terms of barcode compatibility, software scanners outperform handheld devices, since the number of supported barcode formats can be extended at any time via an update.