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Warehouse barcode systems

A warehouse barcode system is the difference between what your ERP says you have and what is actually on the rack. These posts cover choosing scanners and label printers, printing labels that survive a freezer, and what changes on the floor once every move is scanned.

Operator working at industrial equipment

Best Barcode Label Printers Compared: Thermal vs Inkjet

If you sell, store, or ship physical products, sooner or later you have to barcode them. Maybe a retailer is asking for scannable labels, maybe your…

July 9, 2026
A handheld scanner reading a barcode on a wrapped pallet

Barcode Basics: How Barcodes Work and How to Choose a Scanner

What a barcode actually is, where it earns its keep in a warehouse, and the four things worth checking before you buy scanners: durability rating, temperature range, form factor, and symbology support.

January 5, 2021
Worker at a shipping dock printing labels

How to Choose Label Printing Software: What to Ask Before You Buy

Label printing software isn't one category. What decides whether it works is where the data comes from, where the label prints, and whether the barcode still scans when it reaches the customer.

October 6, 2020
Packages moving down a warehouse conveyor line

Mispicks: Why They Happen and How Barcode Picking Stops Them

A mispick isn't one mistake. Paper picking has four decision points and no verification step, and the expensive part is everything that happens after the box leaves the dock.

July 21, 2020
Warehouse aisle with bay and bin location labels on the racking

The Move to 2D Barcode Labels

The UPC isn't going away, but a second code is showing up next to it. What GS1's Sunrise 2027 milestone asks of retail scanning, where 2D codes already run in warehouses, and what it means for the scanners you own.

June 19, 2018
Warehouse operator in a high-visibility vest holding a rugged handheld computer

Mobile Computer vs Smartphone: What's Actually Different

A phone with a scanning app and a rugged handheld will both read a barcode. The differences that decide a warehouse deployment are the scan engine, the battery, the housing, and how the device gets managed.

May 14, 2018
Close-up of a barcode scan in progress

The Fascinating History of Barcode Scanners

Nearly every warehouse in the country runs on barcodes, and almost nobody knows where they came from. A graduate student who overheard the wrong conversation, a man drawing lines in beach sand, and twenty-five years of the idea going nowhere.

May 10, 2018