QR codes, also known as quick response codes, have become exceedingly popular for businesses that need to track inventory. A more evolved sibling of the barcode, QR codes can store more data and be scanned from any angle, making them an easy choice for all businesses across various industries.
In this article, we’ll touch on the overall benefits of QR codes before diving into possible future applications.
The overall benefits of QR codes
QR codes are widely recognized as one of the most straightforward and robust technologies for businesses serious about streamlining not just their inventory management but other internal and customer-facing processes. Reasons to consider QR codes include:
1. Ease of use
For such powerful technology, QR codes are markedly easy to generate, scan, and replace. For example, businesses that use Sorly’s inventory management software and app can rapidly create customized QR codes on their computers and then print them on everyday label paper using standard printers.
Moreover, QR codes require only a smartphone or tablet to scan. While external Bluetooth devices can be synced with inventory management software, this additional equipment is unnecessary. That means that employees—whether in a warehouse or a dental office—do not need to carry around bulky equipment. Instead, the phones already in their pockets can be used to scan inventory and virtually anything else (i.e., a safety procedure, SOP, or restaurant side work checklist) efficiently.
2. Efficiency
As previously mentioned, the ease of use of QR codes leads to increased inventory management–related productivity. This is partly because employees need no more than a smartphone or tablet to scan inventory on the go.
But QR codes also lead to increased efficiency outside of inventory management. For years now, businesses have relied on QR codes to streamline communication with customers. This includes adding QR codes on promotional posters, bar menus, retail tags, and more.
Regardless of how a QR code is being used, businesses and customers alike can leverage the technology to reduce friction (and slash extra steps) in various processes. Whether that process is inventory tracking, signing up for a newsletter, or learning the night’s drink specials at a local restaurant, QR codes are accurate, fast, and widely understood.
3. Affordability at scale
There are various ways to tag inventory and assets, including RFID, a popular choice in retail stores. That said, such technology is not always an affordable (or even an intelligent choice) for businesses. Unlike RFID tags, QR codes can be generated and printed at scale for only the price of an inventory management app subscription, label paper, and ink.
Moreover, while external scanners and other hardware can be purchased to support a QR code tracking system, these investments are not necessary. Employees using inventory tracking software (or customers at a concert, mall, or conference) can scan QR codes with just their phones and an internet connection.
This makes QR codes an excellent choice for businesses that want to benefit from automation without making an outsized investment in technology . . . or simply interact with their customers in a frictionless way.
4. Real-time insights
One of the chief reasons businesses utilize QR codes internally is because they enable perpetual inventory management. Perpetual inventory management refers to an inventory tracking strategy in which databases and inventory lists are updated in real time. As inventory and assets come and go, employees simply utilize QR code technology to check these items in and out.
Because this process is fast and repeatable (and well explained through a standard operating procedure), the resultant real-time data available on the inventory database can be used to inform all sorts of crucial inventory-related decisions. (Collecting this data now is also wise because, year after year, always-evolving AI and predictive technology will be able to offer your business even more insights.)
This easy, comprehensive guide will help you:
Free Ebook: The Complete Guide to Barcoding Your Inventory
How has QR code usage grown?
According to data from Statista, the number of smartphone users who scan QR codes in the United States has grown from over 70 million in 2020 to a projected 100.2 million in 2025. While these numbers do not single out business users, they indicate how prevalent QR codes have become in our everyday behavior.
This is notable because one of the main barriers to unlocking the benefits of QR codes is inconsistent use . . . or resistance to implementing the tool. For businesses on the fence about utilizing QR codes to streamline inventory tracking processes, the national increase in QR code popularity should serve as encouragement.
After all, scanning QR codes is highly intuitive, and the more popular and commonplace the technology becomes, the more likely it is that businesses feel comfortable implementing it, thus reaping the benefits to productivity and profitability that come along with it.
What are the possible future applications of QR codes?
While QR codes in and of themselves are unlikely to change very much, the technology that interacts with them continues to become increasingly intelligent. As a result, businesses implementing QR code-based processes now stand to unlock new benefits year after year.
Here are two ways that QR codes may increasingly be used in the future:
1. Lifecycle tracking
QR codes can automatically create documentation for assets your business owns, from procurement to disposal. Key details can be consistently recorded by creating a standard operating procedure in which all assets are always scanned via QR code upon relocation, maintenance, or regularly scheduled audit. Recorded details should include location, condition, current value, and anything else your business needs to know.
This data can be used for various reasons, including calculating asset depreciation, determining future budgets, and identifying when, where, and why the condition of certain assets is deteriorating too quickly. Keep in mind that as technology evolves, many of these benefits could be unlocked automatically.
2. Theft Prevention
Typically, RFID technology (or other physical asset tracking technology that is tamperproof) is utilized to prevent the physical theft of items. While QR codes cannot currently be “tracked” like an RFID tag, they lend themselves to an affordable, scalable way to attract inventory across multiple locations.
This is especially true because QR codes offer real-time insights about inventory usage. The data unlocked from these perpetual inventory records can then be utilized to identify vulnerabilities based on patterns and discrepancies.
And these insights will only get better with time. As artificial intelligence and other predictive technologies become more powerful, businesses with broad swaths of inventory-related data stand to glean the most information. By implementing a QR code system that’s efficient, scalable, and intuitive now, you’ll not only reap the current benefits of inventory automation but be prepared to unlock those that have yet to materialize.
About Sortly
Sortly is an inventory management solution that helps you track, manage, and organize your inventory from any device, in any location. We’re an easy-to-use inventory software that’s perfect for large or small companies. Sortly builds inventory tracking seamlessly into your workday so you can save time and money, satisfy your customers, and help your projects succeed.
With Sortly, you can track inventory, supplies, parts, tools, assets, and anything else that matters to your business. It comes equipped with smart features like barcoding & QR coding, low stock alerts, customizable folders, data-rich reporting, and much more. Best of all, you can update inventory right from your smartphone, whether you’re on the job, in the warehouse, or on the go.
Whether you’re just getting started with inventory management or you’re an expert looking for a more efficient solution, we can transform how your company manages inventory—so you can focus on your next build. That’s why over 15,000 businesses globally trust us as their inventory management solution.
Start your two-week free trial of Sortly today.
