Barcodes are machine-readable visual codes that represent data. They come in a variety of styles that can be scanned by various devices. In a recent webinar, IntelliDealer/e-Emphasys Technologies Senior Sales Account Manager Brian Lewis explained how barcoding can be applied in ag equipment dealerships to drive efficiencies, reduce errors and avoid missing inventory.

Required Hardware & Software

Many pieces of hardware can be used to read barcodes. Lewis cites some models made by manufacturer Zebra Technologies, “very ruggedized, heavy-duty barcode guns that are drop-resistant. They have connectivity methods such as  cellular LTE, 5G, 4G and Wi-Fi connectivity. So a number of ways to connect the guns to your system to be able to scan barcodes for various purposes.” Lewis adds another option is hardwired guns that are attached to local PCs and laptops via USB for stationary solutions.

Making scannable barcodes requires a barcode printer. Lewis says that companies like Zebra also manufacture such printers. “It produces very reliable, resilient, durable barcode labels that you can affix to various components, including your parts bins, parts packaging themselves and equipment, in fact.”

Finally, a dealership management software (DMS) solution is required for using the barcodes to effectively manage things like inventory, pricing and product descriptions. In his webinar, Lewis demonstrated how to use barcodes with e-Emphasys’ IntelliDealer DMS product.

Effectively Managing Parts Inventory

According to Lewis, anyone who has scanned groceries at a self-checkout in the supermarket already has some idea of how barcoding works in a dealership’s parts department. “The point of having a barcode at the grocery store is obviously to get in and out of the grocery store quickly — get to the checkout, wave the item against the barcode reader, get your price and checkout and leave the grocery store with your groceries,” he says. “The concept of grocery store barcode labeling is very similar to a heavy equipment dealership.”

Applying the same concept to a dealership means applying barcodes to parts and components in the showroom. “That makes it very accessible for the customers to see what they're looking at — make sure it is what they think it is,” Lewis says. “They can easily grab that component and bring it up to the parts counter, and your parts staff could very easily check them out similar to the grocery store where they get in and out of the dealership quickly with the items that they need, knowing that they picked the right item with the right price.” 

However, he adds that benefit to the customer is only the tip of the iceberg for dealerships in terms of benefits. For example, Lewis says a parts department barcoding system allows dealerships to perform and ensure the accuracy of cycle counts and annual inventory counts. Barcoding also makes receiving parts orders when they arrive easier and more efficient. By extension, Lewis says that parts returns become an easier process, as well.

One of the more beneficial applications is the creation of parts lists. “ If you walk through the warehouse, and you want 1 of these, you want 3 of these, and you want 4 of these, you can very quickly build a pick list that makes it easy for checkout at the front counter when you get back,” Lewis says. He adds that barcoding simplifies parts order picking when the ordered part has been received from the supplier and it’s ready to ship to the customer or put in will-call.

For parts that may be more difficult to identify — or if a parts professional is new to the job and unfamiliar with some parts — a barcoding system allows for a “quick check” of what that item is. 

“And if you're ever reorganizing your warehouse — moving things from one place to the other to reorganize and get it a little more tidy and able to find things — it makes it very easy to help you physically move the items and not lose track of where you put them,” Lewis says.

Keeping Track of Equipment

As with parts inventory, dealerships can use barcodes to manage equipment inventory. “You're going to have again a barcode, make stock number, model number, serial number, description and branch location,” Lewis says. While the OEMs will have their own labels on the equipment, you are not required to use OEM barcodes and may choose to put your own labels on the equipment. 

Doing an inventory account is as simple as walking the yard or showroom and simply scanning the barcode labels, Lewis says. “You can then do an audit later to say what units do I show in inventory that I've not counted in the last 30 days or 90 days. It gives you the ability to stay on top of doing yard counts on a fairly frequent basis to make sure you're on top of what's in stock and what's in the yard and showroom.”

Barcode scanners can also be used to get a variety of equipment details, including the stock number, description, cost, price and availability among other things. “In a very quick barcode scan, you're pulling up the details of that machine,” Lewis says. “It makes it a very handy way to identify what you're looking at, see what the details are on that machine and pull up some cost information and some various other details.” 

IntelliDealer also allows for editing of equipment details via the barcode scanner, so the dealer can update details while standing at the machine. These can be the equipment’s location in the yard, the number of hours on the unit and even multimedia such as photos and videos. “If there is something mistyped in there, you can correct it very easily on the handheld as you walk throughout the yard,” Lewis adds.

Finally, you can use barcodes to associate attachments with equipment. “A lot of dealerships are constantly adding and removing attachments to machines out in the yard for various purposes,” Lewis says. “This lets you very easily add or remove an attachment to a main machine. “You may add a bucket, a lawnmower deck, those kinds of things. Whatever attachments you need to add or remove, it makes it a very easy way to scan the barcode label, add an attachment or remove an attachment as appropriate, and that very easily keeps track of these little attachments that tend to get misplaced and you can't find throughout the yard.”