Asset tags and barcode labels are an incredibly useful medium for ensuring that equipment owned by a company is not lost and is always trackable. A Californian security firm recently found this to be the case as they installed a new asset management system for their business.

Paladin Security in Sacramento, California, found that they would not be seen as credible in the security industry if they could not be trusted to protect their own assets and so they went for a solution called MobileAsset by Wasp.

Following a spate of missing equipment such as fuel credit cards and even Taser guns, managers at the security firm decided they needed to act and keep better track of their inventory at any given time. They now track all of their company assets relating to security and surveillance so that it reduces the chances of it being lost or stolen.

With a lot of expensive equipment on the company’s books this technological solution to record and monitor the location of these items was necessary. A barcode number is now assigned to all of this equipment, which can effectively be scanned and checked using the system.

Posted in Asset Tags, Barcode Labels by Grahame

After a recent issue with doctors stateside who received counterfeit treatment products, a more rigorous process has now been introduced to check what is being sent in using a national database system.

Last week it was revealed by the Food and Drug Administration that around 19 doctors bought a version of the colon, lung and brain cancer drug Avastin which was counterfeit. Since then stringent checks have now been put in place that involve the usage of barcode labels.

Under this new system any new drugs received at centres such as the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute will be thoroughly reviewed. What this means in practice is that pharmacy staff will scan the barcode labels present on the packages. From this they will be able to perform a check of the coding to ensure the validity of the prescription drugs arriving at the hospital.

Sylvia Bartel, vice president for pharmacy at the institute, explained that should any issues be present, then the wholesale supplier is obliged to provide the hospital with a detailed history of what has happened to the drug since it was first manufactured.

The margins for error are so high when it comes to drugs to treat cancer and so this tracking system ensures that everything is done meticulously in future.

Posted in Barcode Labels by Grahame

When you have a need to keep track of all the assets owned by your company asset labels are an excellent solution. Once you have identified the need for these labels it is all about selecting the right one for the situation.

Many different materials are used to make labels, each with their own set of features and benefits. Therefore, you should carefully consider the intended use of the labels so you can get asset labels with the most suitable properties.

Some of the most common materials used to make asset labels include polyester, vinyl and aluminium. We will now take a brief look at each:

Polyester – The layer of polyester laminated to these labels us extremely durable and will protect against scratching as well as certain chemicals. These labels are also able to withstand extreme temperatures.

Vinyl – The great thing about vinyl is that it can be stuck to a wide variety of surfaces and has temperature resilient properties too, making it a very useful material to manufacture asset labels out of.

Aluminium – asset labels made from anodised aluminium are perfect for outdoor and indoor use as they can withstand more harsh environments, while proving to be highly durable.

Posted in Asset Tags by Geoff

In the past with most business conducted in offices, there was not really any need to track company property which was used by employees. Nowadays, with many people working in the field or using their homes as a base for carrying out their role, other solutions were necessary.

With companies now offering a more flexible way of working, staff will be taking equipment from the business premises and so it makes it more difficult to track who has what and where it is at any given time.

This is why asset labels have proved to be incredibly useful in this area as managers do not have to worry when company assets are removed from the confines of the office and taken to other locations.

The costs saved from the workers not being tied to the office can now be fully utilised as any equipment away from the head office can be tracked using this system.

For field workers, they can take out the equipment they need to efficiently work remotely and the laptop or mobile phone can still be tracked by the company using asset labels and a comprehensive database. All kinds of information can be stored on the label and so it gives the business owner complete peace of mind.

Posted in Asset Tags by Grahame

Many more companies are coming up with unique ways of making use of barcode labels in this day and age which is great to see. A rather more unusual one reported recently is that of a company from Regina, Saskatchewan, a province of Canada.

They have been the first in this country to come up with a use for barcodes that involves linking gravestones with online memorial information to give relatives and friends of the deceased access to details.

With the system designed by Remco Memorials, all a person has to do is scan in the barcode with their smartphone and this will present them with a digital obituary. Information that couldn’t possibly be carved on a monument can now be accessed quite easily.

QR code technology, which is now widely used in the United States, is used to make this possible and the use of barcode labels in this way has really opened up a whole new world of ways for these barcodes to be put to good use.

The internet is a great place to use barcodes to their full potential. In this instance, these removable barcodes are printed onto durable vinyl stickers and firmly placed on grave markers.

Posted in Barcode Labels by Bridget

In the past we have gone through the sorts of benefits that can be gained from using asset labels in your business. The loss of an asset can really have a negative impact on the finances of a company, so it is necessary that managers make the best use of things of value to the organisation.

Asset tags can be used to manage fixed and portable assets in an effective manner, while they are normally encountered in all areas of a business. They are predominantly used to identify items or goods to make things easier for a company.

The adhesive behind each label is strong enough to ensure there won’t be any peeling and there is no limit to the kind of information that can be stored on an asset tag. However, below are some of the more common usages of asset labels:

• Barcode information
• Serial or part number
• Marketing copy
• Company name / logo
• Asset name and number
• Information on safety
• Details on what the product contains

As there are fairly few restrictions as to what information can be printed on asset labels, you can start to understand how it makes such things as stock taking that much easier. Once the label has been scanned, the information is updated on the company database.

Posted in Asset Tags by Bridget

What levels of stock your business holds at any one time can really impact on the overall finances of your company. However, carrying out a stock take is the only way you are really going to know how much money is being held within your products at any given time.

By carrying out this important procedure you will be able to verify the condition and quantity of the goods you currently have in stock. Checking the assets of your business can be conducted on a regular basis, while it is often part of an annual review when the finances of a company are assessed.

It can take quite a bit of time to conduct a stock take as the process has to be performed in the right way. A thorough stock take can therefore add to the costs incurred by a business, so anything that reduces this significantly should always be considered.

One thing that can really do that is to buy asset labels and place these on all the stock you have at this moment. You can now keep track of each individual item and as it can be quickly scanned in using the barcode featured on the label, data does not need to be manually inputted during the stock check, thus saving on man hours required to complete the task.

Posted in Asset Tags by Grahame

It is becoming more and more common to see customers going into shops and scanning the barcode of items they are interested in using their smartphone’s camera. This is all well and good in terms of choice for consumers, but how can retailers ensure they still get the business?

Barcode labels have proved to be an amazing invention. The simplicity they provide retailers so that by just scanning a product, they can find out all sorts of information about the item as well as stock levels.

The use of barcodes is so widespread, they are used everywhere. With the latest mobile phone technology, however, customers can now use their devices to scan products and compare prices with rivals in order to get the best deals.

For larger companies with a competitive price structure this is fine in any case as they can be sure that people will continue to come to them to purchase their goods.

It may be more of a concern for smaller shops but even then barcode labels can easily be covered up with a price sticker until they need to be scanned at the till. Alternatively, you can always choose to order custom barcodes, so as you can see there are various ways of continuing to use barcodes which provide a wide range of benefits and still manage to safeguard the business.

Posted in Barcode Labels by Grahame

There are various ways in which asset labels can be used to aid a business. This is not just confined to being able to label or number some product or other. In fact, asset labels are perfect for security purposes.

When you consider asset labels and their many features, you will be able to see how they can warn people against tampering with particular equipment or device parts.

The security labels you can order online can be chosen in types such as tamper evident and void varieties. Their advantages are as follows:

• A tamper evident seal ensures that these labels cannot be removed in one piece should they be tampered with. As they are not able to reattach this lets you know if they have been messed with in any way.
• If the label is removed, a void message can appear.
• This deters people from stealing or misusing the item
• Offers somewhere to place ownership details
• Data is secured and cannot be tampered with
• Computer equipment in the office is more secure.

Tamper evident seals like the ones we have been discussing are now so widely used. They can be applied to all sorts of things in a business environment.

Posted in Asset Tags, Security Labels by Geoff

The majority of UK businesses need to have their portable appliances tested at some time or another. This is because it shows that the check makes the produce perfectly safe to use and the way it is labelled demonstrates that the company is complying with current standards.

In fact, many insurers actually insist that portable appliances are tested on a regular basis if your premises and its contents are to be covered for damage and loss. Asset labels are therefore deployed in this way to label these portable appliances, while containing information about the equipment you have within the building.

These asset labels allow you to keep track of all the appliances on site and can record all types of data. A portable appliance tester or barcode scanner can be used to read the pre-printed information on the label. By having a centralised database, this enables you to find out which appliances are due a retest and so you can keep your insurance company happy. As you are in control of these matters you can instantly find out which appliances need to pass a certain test in the near future.

With various types of asset label to choose from, you can get the right kind for your particular environment and application.

Posted in Asset Tags by Bridget