Barcode Scanning
- Bart Friederichs
Introduction
Barcode scanning is often used as a very broad concept, but in the essence in is just a quick and error free way to get information from the physical world into the virtual world. Within StockControl, barcode scanning is only used in the PocketApp. And within the app, there are two main uses of it:
Check scanning: here we use the scanner to check if a certain code matches some known data in the app.
Data input: here we use the scanner to provide the system with previously unknown data.
Check Scanning
By far the most used application of a barcode scanner is the check scanning. In this application, we check a scanned code against a code we have in our system. This is used in the app in the following locations:
When walking to a location. The app knows which location to go to and it will only continue after the order picker scanned that location.
When picking an article. The app knows which article needs to be picked and will only continue after the correct article (or even the exact amount) is scanned.
When putting an article in a tote or box. The app knows which article needs to go into which tote or box (see also batch picking) and will only continue if the correct tote or box has been scanned.
When using Check Scanning, the system does not need an exact match on the barcode. By default, it will remove all non-alphanumeric symbols.
Data Input
In some cases, we need to provide input from the physical world into the virtual world, for example when scanning LOT codes, or location codes to place items. In the app, this is used in the following places:
When scanning a location, article or carrier in the “manual” mode of the app.
When scanning a code to select an order in the order list.
When scanning information on the properties screen in the inspect process.
When scanning a carrier in the inspect process.
When using Data Input, the system will remove any leading and trailing whitespace (e.g. spaces, tabs, newlines) from the code before sending it to the system. Whitespace inside the code is untouched.