Due to the current economic conditions there are many organisations who are trying to reduce business expenses. There are quite a few ways a company can go about doing this, but one ideal way is by using asset tags to track your assets.

If you decide to use asset tags you may have to spend a little money upfront to set the system up. But when fully running, you will find that an asset tracking system can save your company thousands of pounds every year.

Conducting an equipment audit when you are struggling is always a good idea. You can isolate items you may no longer need or items which will never sell, and gain funds for these via an auction. You can also prevent any of the items you own going missing in the future and reduce the chances of them being stolen.

Asset tracking

For large companies it can be difficult to keep a track of every item you own. This can lead to ordering of multiple or duplicate items which can be drain on a company’s resources. If the asset is tagged and added to a comprehensive database, all you items can be recorded.

You can also personalise asset labels and attach them using semi-permanent adhesive so they can withstand the difficult decisions seen in some industrial premises.

Posted in Asset Tags by Geoff

Asset tags are an essential tool to keep track of any inventory or stock you may have. The tags come in many forms but are essentiality a way of identifying the difference between items you own or stock you have. They are usually fastened onto the items either using an adhesive or are fixed to an item using a plastic tie.

Their use by private companies

Asset tags are used by countless private companies across the UK. The tags are fixed to every item they own and a database is kept by the company so they have a record of all their assets.

Barcode asset tags

To make asset tagging simpler, some asset tags now make use of barcode technology. The tag is still affixed onto the stock item but instead of just a reference number, a barcode is added. This barcode can be read by a scanner so stocktaking of items becomes much quicker and human error is reduced.

Asset tags are extremely cost-effective and give their users a host of benefits including enhanced identification of items, improved tracking or items, easier collection of data and advanced control of inventory.

Posted in Asset Tags by Geoff

Barcode labels are not usually expected to be exposed to harsh conditions such as high temperatures or dirty or greasy environments. In fact, the barcode labels which we are all familiar with would likely not survive for any length of time at all if they were exposed to just the standard conditions inside the average factory in the UK.

For businesses which need to use barcode technology in harsh environments, such as in heated rooms, cold stores or when products are exposed to chemicals, there are other options available.

Durable barcode label technology has been developed over the last few years which takes away the worry of a paper barcode label being damaged. The labels won’t peel, won’t fade and won’t disintegrate, meaning they can be scanned whenever you want.

The reason barcode labels can be used in these environments is due to the material in which they are made. Materials include overlaminated polyester, vinyl, and even some metals. And the super-strong adhesive which adheres the labels onto the products means the labels will stay in place for a guaranteed length of time.

Posted in Barcode Labels by Geoff

If you have to manage inventory or stock, you’ll realise the importance of keeping track of all the items you have on site. So, when it’s time for stock taking to take place, it’s not uncommon to spend days updating your records so that a complete inventory list is created.

It is really easy to make this manual process much quicker and more efficient however – by using barcode technology. If you use barcode labels, which can be stuck to all the items you own, you can use barcode scanning technology to scan each item so your database can be updated automatically.

By using barcode labels you can thus reduce the amount of time you spend stocktaking significantly. If you use stick-on barcode labels you can also reduce the chance of human error. The database you hold is updated automatically, all you have to do is systematically scan each item in turn and the stock take will be complete.

By using an up-to-date database of your stock items you can plan for the future and order more of those times that are performing particularly well, whilst cutting down on the items which are not selling so prolifically.

Posted in Barcode Labels by Grahame

Stock taking is the process by which you can verify the quantity and condition of your assets or stock within the business. This may need to be completed as an audit of current stock valuation or to provide valuable information relating to stock levels and possible discrepancies.

Despite its obvious benefits to an organisation, performing a complete stock take can be a time consuming and consequently costly exercise for any business. It may be performed as an annual intensive review, or an ongoing process.

One technique which can dramatically streamline the stock-taking process is the use of fixed asset labels. Such labels can help you to track and monitor all assets or stock, in accordance with your specific requirements.

It is significantly quicker to scan a barcode label on each asset or stock item than any other alternative method of recording and capturing the information related to an individual item. By reducing the time to capture such information, a business can save valuable man-hours currently lost to the process.

It is also possible to integrate the information contained with the scanned details on the barcode label to your businesses tracking system, further reducing the timely process of collating the stock-take information.

Posted in Asset Tags by Grahame

As a nation we are all used to seeing barcodes in the retail sector. They have become a ubiquitous part of daily life.

A barcode is a form of data, which is readable by a machine, which provides information about the object to which it is attached. It is classically made up of varying widths and spacing of vertical lines, although recent evolutions include rectangles, dots, hexagons and other geometric patterns.

In the retail sector many items now come with labels already containing the item’s barcode, but the uses of barcodes has extended far from groceries, reaching many new modern applications. Consequently the manner in which items are labelled with a barcode also evolves. In some of the new alternative uses, being able to use pre-printed barcodes can provide convenience and flexibility of use.

Pre-printed barcode labels can be used in many ways, including but by no means limited to the following areas:

• Relabeling previously barcoded items
• Medical care for patient identification (such as wrist bands, patient notes, report and records)
• Aviation for tracking items, such as baggage (or even passengers) through airport terminals
• Document management, for which the potential is endless

Posted in Barcode Labels by Bridget

There are numerous applications for security labels which are normally dependent on sector or individual requirements.

Some security seals can be used to prevent, or more accurately provide evidence of, tampering of pieces of equipment or products. There are two main categories of security labels which can be used to provide evidence of tampering.

• Tamper evident seals – these labels spilt apart if anyone attempts to remove them. They cannot be removed in one piece. These labels cannot then be re-used or re-attached.
• Void labels – these are labels designed so that even once removed they leave the word void on the product. These labels cannot then be re-used or re-attached.
The uses of such labels are almost endless:
• A visual deterrent to minimise the misuse or tampering of labelled items
• Labeling equipment or property of a company, including logos and a numbering system, to provide visual immediate evidence of ownership
• Ensuring panels are not removed from pieces of equipment except by authorised personnel
• Labels could be used as packaging seals to provide evidence that it has not been opened
• DVD or CD-ROMs cases could have labels applied to provide a further level of protection for your data
• Such labels even have applications in aircraft and vehicle security

Posted in Security Labels by Geoff

It doesn’t matter if you are a large company or an independent small to medium enterprise (SME), if you use asset tracking technology you can easily keep track of all the items you own.

Introducing asset tags

Asset tags are a type of label which is generally made from either paper, plastic, polyester or aluminium. The tags are a way of identifying a product or labelling a piece if equipment. You can even add your company name on an asset tag to improve company branding. Asset tags can also be weather proof and highly durable, so the information on the tag is always readable.

The benefits of asset tags

Asset tagging equipment can help you to identify how much money you have in your assets. Stocktaking is also made simple when you use asset tags, as is claiming for loss of goods if items you own go missing or are lost because of a fire or theft.

Because each asset tag is unique you can uniquely identify every item you own. This makes asset management extremely effective and important, especially for those businesses which work to tight timescales, tight ROIs and tight profit margins.

Posted in Asset Tags by Geoff

For your business to run effectively and at a profit you have to implement systems which don’t just work, they have to work well. Due to the economic downturn many businesses are turning to lean ways of running to enable them to trade without making a loss. And one way they do this is by streamlining their inventory tracking processes to reduce overheads.

Smaller business can use barcode labels to help them reduce overheads and streamline operations. Barcode labels can be used in any business which operates in the manufacturing, packaging, shipping or logistics sectors. Barcodes simplify the identification of products and let you track where your equipment or goods are at any point in time.

Some of the benefits of using barcode labels for small businesses include:

Reduced human error

If you use barcode technology for inventory tracking, the chances of human error are greatly reduced. If you have to keep track of data manually or type data into a spreadsheet manually, errors frequently occur. When you use scanning technology human error is minimised.

Speed

Levels of data accuracy and speed of acquiring data can be improved when you use barcode labels. When the barcode is read the information is updated automatically. And because you use a barcode scanner to read this information, it can be entered into a database extremely quickly reducing the amount of attributed man hours you need.

Posted in Barcode Labels by Geoff

Many people have started to tag the products they own to keep them organised and safe from theft. Asset tagging has been happening for years in business establishments as a way of tracking inventory and stock items. However, the way this was done in the past led to items still going missing and lots of time being taken up.

By using stick-on asset tags, items can be recorded on a database and all tracking information added via a keypad. When the item is then scanned using a barcode scanner, the inventory can be adjusted or item details updated.

Asset tagging is simple to implement, easy to do and it’s really cheap. Using stick on asset levels, all the inventory you have can be tagged and your systems kept up to date.

Where can I find cheap asset tags?

Cheap asset labels might be cheap in price, but they are not cheap in terms of quality. Labels are printed on semi-gloss adhesive paper and just about any shape and size of label can be chosen. If the label is no longer needed or if the label needs to be upgraded, a new label can simply be stuck over the top of the old label.

Posted in Asset Tags by Bridget