One of the first supply chain processes recognized as gaining benefit from the use of bar coding technology is shipping of raw materials to other manufacturing plants/areas and storage facilities.

Current bar coding mandates require that shipping containers (cases, pallets, etc.) are identified with barcodes that will aid the receiving party to more easily identify who the product came from and what it was. Using bar code technology to capture the identifying information on an outbound pallet provides some of these benefits:

• Allow for real-time load confirmation of product and creation of an outbound ASN
• Provide visual indicators to a fork truck operator regarding pallets being loaded onto the proper truck or to the correct manufacturing area
• Confirm loading/movement of product on the shipping/loading dock
• Streamline the amount of time it takes to load a pallet into the truck/move into manufacturing:
  • Eliminate the need to manually compare paperwork against product
  • Collect information as activity occurs
• Provide increased visibility to loaded/moved product
  • There is no delay between the time product enters the facility and when it is recorded/confirmed
  • Pallets are scanned as they are loaded/moved.

Current bar code mandates have also focused on the use of bar code technology to scan cartons as they pass along on a conveyor system. In many distribution centers and freight depots cartons of product are floor loaded into trucks for parcel delivery. Using bar code technology to capture the identifier on an outbound carton provides some of these benefits:

• Confirm loading/manifesting of product without human intervention
• Streamline the amount of time it takes to load cartons onto a truck:
  • Eliminate the need to handle cartons one at a time.
  • Loading is accomplished simply by conveying the carton past the scanner
• Provide increased visibility to loaded product