Barcode Scanning Implementation

Below is a list of barcoding implementation steps, from cieTrade’s perspective.  cieTrade recommends using this as a starting point for an internal discussion, to address your company's specific needs.

1. Look the warehouse floor and determine what devices you want to use. IE do you want a tough pad on the forklift? Do you want a desktop terminal at the unloading dock? Handheld scanners for scanning labels and moving inventory or just for batch scanning labels to put on an outbound load?  We find it helpful to walk the warehouse floor and see which staff would ideally be using the software at each stage, and using that to determine what type of device to buy.
2. Once you have that list, check for compatibility with our apps.  We have our recommendations included in our help file here.
3. Look at the out of the box barcode labels that the system generates. I recommend outlining what you want changed (if anything). Please note you can have separate inbound and outbound label formats. You can even have it by product if you want to get that granular. Just note, the more customizations and specific the labels are, the longer it will take to go live. Once you have this compiled, send it to our support team to review.  
   1. Our help file on customizing barcode labels can be found here.
4. Review cieLocation and Stock Count functionality in cieTrade, to determine if this will be useful for your team.  Some related help files have been included below.
1. cieLocation
2. Navigating cieLocation
3. Creating a Physical Cycle Count & Sending it to cieLocation
5. Establish a cross over date and roll out plan.
1. Do you want to roll out barcoding at each warehouse location individually, or do all locations at once?
2. Which team members should be trained? 
3. Are there barriers to learning (such as language barriers)?  cieTrade can potentially do training for team members in Spanish as needed.
6. Decide how or if you want to apply labels on your existing inventory, or if you’d like to only label new incoming inventory.
1. Some of our clients have shut down for a few days to apply labels to all inventory.  If needed, the cieTrade support team is happy to help make a recommendation, depending on your unique needs.
7. Barcode labels only work for serialized inventory. You currently only have bulk inventory, so you need to decide internally if you will change all of your products over to serial or if you only want to track processed material. Should all grades become serial products, or only specific ones?  Once you have a list of grades and how you want to track them, send it to us and we can assist with Product set up.
8. Train your staff in using cieTrade, and make note of any workflow changes.
1. Warehouse team to use Warehouse module.
2. Back office team to use the Inventory module.
3. Accounting workflow training for your accountants as needed.
9. Set up your equipment at the warehouse.  We typically recommend contacting the equipment manufacturer for assistance.
10. Let the warehouse staff test in cieTrade using the new equipment and diagnose any issues.
11. Make a final inventory count to send to cieTrade for uploading.  We should have a 30-minute call to discuss how inventory will be loaded.