Implementing Barcode Materials and Work-in-Process Tracking Systems
in Manufacturing Plants and Industrial Distribution Warehouses

Plugging a barcode scanner into the USB port of a computer and having the scanned barcode data "magically" appear in an Excel spreadsheet, as if you had typed it in, makes the implementation of a barcode data collection system seem trivially easy.

And yet, over the past decade, many organizations have spent hundreds of thousands and sometimes millions of dollars on barcode tracking systems that have failed. These systems have sometimes failed technically but more often they have failed because the resultant systems failed to meet the many diverse operational needs of different users within the implementing organizations.

Tracking the location of materials, such as in an item locator inventory tracking system, is reasonably straight forward. But, as soon as we have to also track the transformation of those materials, in manufacturing and industrial distribution operations, these projects get really complex as they typically involve a lot of people within the organization.

Things then get even more complicated when these tracking systems have to automatically exchange data with accounting, CAD, and ERP systems, as well as with customer and supplier supply-chain systems.

In this white paper, we look at the project management issues in implementing a real-time barcode inventory and work-in-process tracking system in manufacturing plants and industrial distribution warehouses.

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