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Decoding Barcode Symbologies
How to select the best barcode symbology for your manufacturing operations
In our last installment, we went through the basic process of barcode implementation, but with only brief mention of one of the first, and most important, choices you’ll make—the specific barcode symbology to use.
Huh?!
What is Barcode Symbology—and Why Do I Need It?
Symbology refers to the system used to translate text into a format a barcode reader can interpret. That’s it.
Now before you tell me your iPhone can read text—and even your sloppy handwriting—just fine, let me interject. Optical character recognition technology like this is awesome, and it’s getting better all the time. But trusting it for manufacturing-level precision is kind of like trusting spellcheck to fix your texts. Errors will be made.
Barcode symbologies, on the other hand, are specifically designed for simplicity. They’re big and blocky (thus the bars), so the machine doesn’t have to “work as hard” to tell the difference between the letter “o” and a “d” where the upper bit got smudged. What’s more, they incorporate checksum methods to guarantee that the right data was read. Can’t beat that.
What Are My Choices?
So you definitely want barcoding, not OCR—so let’s go barcode shopping! There are about 30 major symbologies out there, but fortunately, just three key factors to consider when deciding among them:
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Compatibility
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Density
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Range
Of course, as with most decisions in life, these three priorities don’t all line up easily behind one choice. Comparing the pros and cons of three popular options, however, should get you in the right ballpark.
CODE 39 IS UBER-COMPATIBLE
On the first criteria, compatibility, Code 39 is the hands-down winner among alpha-numeric barcode symbologies (ones that can code numbers and letters). Created in 1974, it uses a simple combination of bars and spaces, much like Morse code.
In Code 39, there are relatively few variables—bars and spaces can be wide or narrow. This simplistic coding makes it easy to print and read Code 39 via machine, so compatibility with barcode readers is essentially universal.
At its introduction, Code 39 only supported 43 characters, all uppercase letters and a few special characters. Users’ needs quickly outgrew this limited alphabet and the character set had to be expanded.
For technical reasons, the only way to add more characters was by using combinations of the original 43. So a lowercase “m,” for example, is coded as “+M.” It’s a fine solution, but the problem is that Code 39 uses nine elements (bars and spaces) per character. To code anything other than the initial 43 characters (the “+” and the “M” to mean a lowercase “m”) then requires 18 elements.
Barcodes in Code 39 quickly get unruly.
The shorthand for all of this is “density.” Code 39 isn’t very dense.
2D BARCODES CAN SAY ALMOST ANYTHING
Code 39 is a one-dimensional (1D) barcode. It has bars and spaces running horizontally along the X access. But what if you used another dimension, breaking up the black ink and blank space in various ways along the Y access as well? You’d get something like this:
Look familiar? You’ve probably scanned any number of these with your phone. It’s called a QR code, and it can store over 3,000 characters, which puts Code 39’s density to shame.
“Well, that’s great. I’ll use that!” you might say.
Sorry, but there’s a catch. 2D barcodes pose challenges on both compatibility and range, and these can be deal-breakers.
Let’s talk compatibility first. There are various types of barcode readers: CCD scanners, laser scanners, and imagers. Ideally, you’d want your barcodes to be readable by any type of device.
Well, an imager can read both 1D barcodes (like Code 39) and 2D barcodes (like QR codes), no problem. But laser and CCD scanners are linear—they read along that X access—so they can’t “see” what’s going on in the second dimension. 2D barcodes are all Greek to them.
This isn’t a big issue within a single company. You could buy only imagers and use whatever barcode format you like. But most barcode implementations also need to take into account materials suppliers, to more easily capture inputs, and customers, to facilitate their processes. They may or may not have the right equipment for 2D barcodes.
The larger issue with 2D barcodes, however, is range, by which I mean the distance at which a barcode can be read by a device. This factor comes into play because imagers, which are necessary to read 2D barcodes, cannot read at much distance at all. (Try scanning a QR code on your phone from across the room. It won’t work.)
Laser scanners, on the other hand, are great for places like warehouses, where an employee might need to scan a code affixed to a rack waaaaay up there. Unfortunately, as mentioned above, laser scanners can’t read 2D barcodes; the two are mutually incompatible.
Thus if range is a priority for you—and you’re not willing to mix 2D barcodes for labor activities and 1D codes for materials, which I’d recommend against—2D barcodes are likely a “no go.”
CODE 128, HAPPY MEDIUM?
A final option I’ll present here—which is, in my opinion, among the best for balancing compatibility, density, and range—is Code 128, so called because it includes all 128 letters, numbers and symbols in ASCII.
Like Code 39, Code 128 is a 1D barcode. That means it’s compatible with a wide range of scanners, including CCD, imagers, and laser scanners, both short- and long-range. It also has greater density than Code 39, so barcodes don’t get so out of hand.
And there’s an extra benefit, a more robust checksum than Code 39. Most barcode symbologies include formulas enabling the reader to verify that the correct values were read. In Code 39, the checksum method is very simplistic and does not validate the entire barcode. In Code 128, it does.
A small downside, special software is required to generate Code 128, whereas a Code 39 font exists that can be plugged into any application, but this isn’t a huge barrier for most manufacturers.
Summing Up Symbology
Phew! Barcode symbology may seem confusing at first and, sadly, it’s not a one-size-fits-all thing. But picking the right barcode symbology needn’t involve a Herculean research effort. To summarize, three top options for different applications are as follows:
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For simple needs, Code 39 offers excellent compatibility and can be read at a distance by laser scanners. But density issues mean using Code 39 can make for some looooong barcodes.
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2D barcodes, such as QR codes, are the real “say anything” of symbologies, accommodating 3,000+ characters. But reading them is limited to imagers, which may not work in the warehouse. Additionally, various suppliers and customers may not support 2D barcodes.
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Code 128 is a 1D code, with the associated compatibility and range benefits, along with greater density than Code 39. In other words, you can include more information in less space with Code 128 than with Code 39. It might be the Goldilocks choice you’re looking for.
The good news is that there are affordable, mobile solutions for reading every barcode option. Bezlio’s built-in camera-based barcode scanning interface functions just like an imager for 1D and 2D barcodes at closer ranges. If you do need “see further,” though, Zebra offers an Android-based scanner and various companies sell compatible Bluetooth products as well. Any way you read it, the scanned data can reach the Bezlio mobile app and your ERP, so you can put it to work.
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Using Epicor ERP? Grow Your Revenue Faster With A Mobile Field Sales Solution
Your Revenue is at Risk
If you’re in sales for a manufacturing or distribution company, you know how it is: you have goals to hit. Just as with any other company, sales drives your pipelin. In your industry, you might have long-term contracts for monthly, quarterly, or annual production, but that’s just business as usual. Without new sales opportunities, you’re standing still — and that’s not what being in sales is about. Your responsibility across the board is growth, and that can only come with new relationships, new orders, and more production.
This challenge is compounded for sales managers. Not only are you likely responsible for building and maintaining your own book of business and closing new deals, but you’re also responsible for the opportunities those on your team are bringing in (or not). It’s quite a burden to carry, and with it comes a number of other responsibilities as well.
In addition to managing junior sales reps’ prospect lists and performance, you have to ensure that they have the tools they need to do their jobs well. Are they using tools that make their lives easier, or are they still using a notepad to write down critical details that will inform a future proposal? Is that information safely saved somewhere that’s quickly accessible when needed? Or are your reps digging through old notebooks?
The same goes for you, too. If you’re in a sales leadership role, how can you manage effectively without a proper mechanism for oversight? Are you monitoring sales performance in real-time, or are you updating a spreadsheet (with data that you had to ask sales reps for)? If you don’t have controls in place, you don’t have control at all.
And what about client meetings? Are you and your reps going in prepared? Or are you learning details you should’ve known ahead of time? Lastly, what happens after those client meetings? If you come out with some great insights or important details that could affect your quotes, how are you keeping track of them? Are you having to ping multiple reps for different details to prepare your quote or proposal? Is that info spread across multiple documents, notebooks, and spreadsheets?
A Mobile Field Sales Solution is the Answer
These are all important considerations for a sales manager. You don’t want your team operating in the blind, and you don’t want to be blind to their progress. The first place to look for a solution is technology — specifically your ERP. As a manufacturer or distributor, your ERP system houses virtually every piece of data your company needs to operate. Internal information, customer data, and more are all stored in a single spot.
While there are many ERP systems out there, one of the most prominent tools for manufacturers and distributors is Epicor. This leading mid-market ERP is used by countless organizations that chose to centralize data for their organization. But even if you have and are using Epicor, the challenges above can still affect you. This is because Epicor works as an on-premise and cloud-based ERP system. It has a mobile app, but that can’t necessarily resolve those challenges for you because it’s not customized to your sales workflow.
What you and your team need is a mobile field sales app that connects everyone to Epicor ERP data wherever you are, right when you need it, and how it makes sense for you. Let’s take a look at four ways that a mobile field sales solution can make your life easier.
1. IT FILLS THE SOLUTION GAP
If your reps don’t have a mobile field sales solution in place, how will they know what tasks and accounts are higher in priority? How will they know where they’ll be able to drive the most revenue? No mobile field sales solution means reps will be forced to use everything from their own mobile device (that may or may not be secure) to a laptop that’s not saving to your ERP because it has no connection. They may even have to use paper-based processes that could get ruined or lost.
With a proper mobile field solution in place that’s integrated with your ERP, your reps will have full remote access to access and update customer data on demand. They’ll be prepared for each client meeting, having access to all the details they need about that account that they can modify on the fly. Mobile field sales solutions like Bezlio are also OS-agnostic, meaning that any rep using any device can still use the solution. There’s no need to provide devices when reps can use their own in the field. And all data is updated in Epicor right there and then. This allows reps to stay focused on driving revenue — not worrying about how they’ll get notes and details into Epicor because it’ll already be there.
2. IT IMPROVES SALES MANAGEMENT
For sales leadership, oversight is everything. You need to understand what your reps have on their plates, what they’re up to now, and how it’s working. If you’re using Epicor’s CRM, the data you’re viewing at any given moment is likely outdated. This is because it’s not being updated in real-time. This also means that your management activities and assignments might not be what reps actually need to be focusing on.
With a mobile field sales solution, the data your reps generate in the field and update in Epicor automatically gives you immediate insight into their efforts and oversight on its performance. You’ll know what tasks to assign, which rep to assign them to, and when to assign them, ensuring higher-priority tasks are addressed first rather than letting reps prioritize separately without your level of understanding and strategy.
A mobile field sales solution helps you manage more than rep activity, too. With data funneling up from the field to your view level, you can more accurately manage the overall pipeline. Solutions like Bezlio allow you to update quote expected close dates and probability to give a clearer picture of your pipeline and its performance. This allows for more accurate forecasting and analysis across the board.
3. IT KEEPS EVERYONE INFORMED
You’ve probably been in this situation before: a rep comes to you with an opportunity, and the next step is to bring you in to meet with the prospect. The rep fills you in, and you go to the meeting. As the prospect talks, the data they’re sharing isn’t the same as yours. Turns out they need less support than what you were told because something changed on their end. You ask for clarity, and they say, “Yeah, we told your rep last week.” Not only do you now look greedy but you — and your rep — also look like you don’t communicate.
He later tells you that he wrote it down, but he forgot to update the deal in your Epicor CRM. The change means a 50 percent lower deal amount than before, and now your forecast (that you naturally provided to your VP of sales earlier) is inaccurate. It’s a bad situation on multiple levels.
If a mobile field sales solution has been in place, that rep could’ve updated the prospect’s record earlier and when he was on-site meeting with them — saving you from coming into the picture too soon. This applies customer-side, too. Real-time read/write access to Epicor means data on current customers is always up-to-date, so when you do your periodic check-in, you know what’s been happening and can identify ways to grow the relationship.
4. IT IMPROVES DATA CAPTURE
Remember how the rep forgot to update the prospect’s information when he learned about the change? That’s because he wrote it down on a notepad, then forgot to make the update in Epicor later that day. He had no mobile way of accessing the prospect’s record on his phone or laptop during the meeting. All his notes, thoughts, and action items were forgotten. And while accidents do happen, this could be occurring more than you know depending on how many reps and prospects you have.
With a mobile field sales solution, your entire team can instantly add customer meeting notes, set to-dos for follow-up items, and log that visit or call — even using native device features like voice-to-text. This ensures that all customer data is rapidly and securely stored in Epicor, centralizing it and keeping everything up-to-date at all times. With solutions like Bezlio, you can even set a close confidence level, assign reason codes to closed quotes, and more.
A Mobile Field Sales Solution is Already Here
At Bezlio, we recognized the gap that existed between Epicor and the need for a mobility solution for field sales teams at manufacturing and distribution companies. We also recognized that manufacturers and distributors want a solution that’s ready to go right now — without having to invest in internal development or costly outsourcing.
That’s why we’ve created the first solution that’s both ready to go from the start while also providing the customization you need to match the way your field sales team works. Bezlio works as a layer on top of your existing Epicor implementation (even if it’s a legacy version) — allowing you to use the setup and data you already have while gaining the advantage of instantaneous mobile access.
Ready to learn more? Fill out the form below.
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Where Does The Time Go? Or The Parts? Or The Sales Opportunities?
How to combine bezls to achieve more data-driven manufacturing operations
Do you have the Epicor ERP application for manufacturing? Do you find that it’s got a good handle on the whole “enterprise resource planning” thing…but that the data you need to drive your planning is often difficult to collect or, sometimes, MIA?
You’re not alone. We hear all the time from customers who turn to Bezlio because the Epicor mobile ERP app doesn’t allow them to quickly capture and access the information they need, when and how they need it.
These manufacturers demanded a more flexible solution, so their sales reps, shopfloor workers, inventory managers, and others can more conveniently track and pull data from wherever they are—on the road, by the rack, at their work station, whatever.
That’s exactly what we built with Bezlio. And we just made it even easier to apply these powerful tools with a new Epicor ERP Bezl store.
An App “Production Line” for Epicor ERP Users
The Epicor ERP Bezl Store allows you to “pick and pack” the bezls you need to optimize your operations.
Think about it. To maximize profits, you must win business, order materials, minimize labor costs and accurately track finished goods, among other things. It’s like an assembly line with a lot of moving parts and people, each with different responsibilities.
The problem is that Epicor is a hefty, monolithic application with a relatively thin mobile app. The lack of functionality in Epicor mobile leaves most manufacturers stuck using kiosks and PCs for many barcoding, data entry and other tasks, and those just don’t travel to the point-of-work very well.
This is where Bezlio comes in, to securely tap into your Epicor without putting your confidential data on the internet. Bezlio is the overall mobile platform. But unlike most ERP systems, Bezlio was specifically designed to be modular, based on discrete task management mini-apps we call bezls.
There’s a Bezl for That!
Different bezls help with different parts of the manufacturing process—and when you put them together, you have a “production line” for better revenues and lower costs. For example:
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The Mobile CRM bezl empowers sales teams to view and update client information on the go, so they get more done from the road and bring home more bacon.
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The Production Labor Entry bezl makes it easy for workers to record their activities from the smartphone they probably carry in a pocket, not the kiosk across the room.
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The Parts Tracker bezl puts inventory information, such as pricing and availability, literally at your fingertips for better management.
Of course, there are an array of other bezls. And if you don’t see what you’re looking for in the Epicor ERP Bezl store, contact us. We’re a bezl-building factory, and we can create, enhance or customize pretty much any solution you need.
Multiply Efficiencies
Like we said, bezls fit together like digital puzzle pieces. And similar to your products, the end result is more valuable than the sum of the parts. For instance:
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Track purchase order receipts in Bezlio and you instantly know more about the materials you’re receiving.
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Add the Location Transfer bezl and material handlers can seamlessly track their transfers within your four walls as items are relocated.
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Augment that pair with the Issue Material bezl and all the raw materials information you already collected is automatically available to associate with specific work orders, so you can analyze total cost and hunt down that ever-elusive waste.
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Pop on the Finished Goods Receipt bezl to close the circle and document your product inventory.
Combining bezls gives you soup to nuts—or in this case, raw materials to final product—visibility over your operations. Company leaders quickly find that Bezlio is the best app for manufacturing to help them give a Six Sigma black belt chop to inefficiencies and boost the bottom line.
The best part, you’re never on your own with Bezlio. We strive to make implementation simple and seamless, so you can get mobile right away.
Need more information? Check out our FAQs for some deep reading or better yet reach out! We’re always glad to hear from Epicor’s manufacturing users and can walk you through everything.
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Getting Started With Barcoding
How to Implement an Efficient Barcoding System on the First Try
How do you implement barcoding the right way? In more than 15 years doing manufacturing consulting, this is one of the most frequent questions I’ve heard.
That manufacturers are interested in—and concerned about—barcoding makes a lot of sense. They certainly understand the advantages, which include increasing efficiency and reducing data entry error.
Based on long experience, however, manufacturers typically expect new technologies to come with trade-offs. For instance, labor tracking is great for driving data-based decisions, but it increases overhead to ask employees to perform the additional actions. (I’ll share ways to reduce that overhead in a future post.)
Fortunately, barcoding generally proves the exception to the rule. The costs of implementation are extremely low and are greatly outweighed by the benefits—assuming you build an efficient system. The good news, that isn’t hard to do. Here’s how to get started.
Design Labels
To have a barcoding system, you’ll need barcode labels to attach to materials and finished goods throughout the manufacturing process. So first, you’ll need to determine what information to include in the barcode and select a symbology to meet your needs.
Barcode design isn’t complicated, but there are two common pitfalls to avoid. One frequent mistake among first-timers is barcoding location on inventory labels. The downsides to this will quickly become apparent, as you have to replace the label every time you perform a location transfer, adding an unnecessary labeling step. The better way is to track inventory location digitally in an ERP application like Epicor and affix location barcodes to the racking itself. Problem solved.
The second issue involves quantity. It can be helpful to list on a barcode the quantity of raw materials or finished goods in a group, but what if you have to split the set? If this is likely to happen, design your barcode label with space to write in an updated quantity. It’s a manual step but it avoids the cumbersome workaround of issuing the full quantity in a mobile ERP app or other system, doing a return, and then generating a new label with the remaining quantity. (Ask me how I know!)
Set an Intermediate Goal
With label formats in hand, you’re ready to roll out barcoding. But how?
Most manufacturers will eventually want to barcode their entire production process, from materials inputs through the picking and packing of finished goods. Tackling it all at once, however, can be difficult, so it’s often best to start small. Here are some options for implementing in stages.
MATERIALS FIRST
One way to proceed is to barcode materials first. To do it, you’ll need to design a raw material inventory label and add label printers in the receiving dock. It is also essential to establish a process for printing labels automatically whenever raw materials are received and enter the warehouse.
The goal should be to have suppliers also use a barcode you can scan when receiving. Once you have an approved label design, get it to your suppliers right away and insist that they use your format. This is standard operating procedure for most suppliers these days, and even smaller outfits that initially put up resistance can usually be brought around. After all, the customer is always right!
But know up front that getting suppliers on board does involve some back and forth, obtaining barcode samples from them and testing them on your scanners to verify that they read cleanly. Plan for this, and begin the process early.
Even when suppliers are using your approved barcode format, it’s nonetheless a best practice to replace those labels when the material is received. Establishing this process facilitates barcoding of any materials that don’t come pre-labeled (it happens) and enables you to add other data specific to your operations.
FINISHED GOODS FIRST
If you don’t want to start with materials, consider launching barcodes on finished goods. Perhaps the best part of beginning here is that you won’t have to reach out to all of your suppliers to implement the approved barcoding format, although depending on your product’s destination, your customers may ask for this courtesy.
Barcoding finished goods isn’t much different than barcoding materials. Start with label design and printer installation, this time at all final production stations. Once again, a process must be in place to automatically print and affix labels prior to storing products in the warehouse.
To close the circle, then add barcode scanning to your shipping processes to verify the goods being shipped and enable automation.
HYBRID APPROACH
A hybrid approach would be to work from either “end” of production and proceed inwards, as follows:
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Label incoming material, confirming data from purchase order receipts
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Then shift to finished goods, barcoding for the shipping process.
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Finally, address material movements inside your own four walls.
The advantage to this approach is enjoying many of the benefits barcoding while you deal with material movements. Architecting this part of operations can be a bigger lift, as at some points new barcodes for existing inventory must be generated, but you want to ensure efficiency.
The best approach is usually cycle-counting, which kills two birds with one stone: ensuring inventory accuracy and generating labels for materials.
If you use this method, be sure to pick a manufacturing-friendly application with barcode-optimized input, as well as text input and search features to support inventory for which barcodes have not yet been generated. (And yep, Bezlio has it all and works seamlessly with most manufacturing ERPs!)
Automatically Print Labels
Although I mentioned this point earlier, it is worth underscoring. Labels used for materials and final goods should print automatically. Having employees go to a terminal and use label-printing software is a huge time waste and will kill your efficiency.
The better alternative is to tap the data already entered to generate the required labels in the correct formats, and there are plenty of software packages capable of performing this function. We designed our Bezlio app with manufacturing in mind, and it incorporates several options to suit different needs.
Hopefully, this information, based on dozens of successful barcoding implementations, has been useful in getting you started. Still, setting up an efficient barcoding system does require forethought and attention to small details. If you need help from someone who’s “been there, done that,” please reach out!
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Bezlio Test Blog Post 6
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Bezlio Test Blog Post 7
That foresee the pain and trouble fail in their duty through. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam, eaque ipsa quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt explicabo. Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem quia voluptas sit aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos qui ratione voluptatem sequi nesciunt. Neque porro quisquam est, qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit, sed quia non numquam eius modi tempora incidunt ut labore et dolore magnam aliquam quaerat voluptatem.
Follow these steps to get there
It is a long established fact that a reader will be distracted by the readable content of a page when looking at its layout. The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution of letters, as opposed to using ‘Content here, content here’, making it look like readable English. Many desktop publishing packages and web page editors now use Lorem Ipsum as their default model text, and a search for ‘lorem ipsum’ will uncover many web sites still in their infancy. Various versions have evolved over the years, sometimes by accident, sometimes on purpose (injected humour and the like).
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Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla Donate Now pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam, eaque ipsa quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt explicabo. Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem quia voluptas sit aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos qui ratione voluptatem sequi nesciunt. Neque porro quisquam est, qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit, sed quia non numquam eius modi tempora incidunt ut labore et dolore magnam aliquam quaerat voluptatem.
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Bezlio Test Blog Post 8
That foresee the pain and trouble fail in their duty through. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam, eaque ipsa quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt explicabo. Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem quia voluptas sit aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos qui ratione voluptatem sequi nesciunt. Neque porro quisquam est, qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit, sed quia non numquam eius modi tempora incidunt ut labore et dolore magnam aliquam quaerat voluptatem.
Follow these steps to get there
It is a long established fact that a reader will be distracted by the readable content of a page when looking at its layout. The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution of letters, as opposed to using ‘Content here, content here’, making it look like readable English. Many desktop publishing packages and web page editors now use Lorem Ipsum as their default model text, and a search for ‘lorem ipsum’ will uncover many web sites still in their infancy. Various versions have evolved over the years, sometimes by accident, sometimes on purpose (injected humour and the like).
How to a nonprofit like Beckham
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla Donate Now pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam, eaque ipsa quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt explicabo. Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem quia voluptas sit aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos qui ratione voluptatem sequi nesciunt. Neque porro quisquam est, qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit, sed quia non numquam eius modi tempora incidunt ut labore et dolore magnam aliquam quaerat voluptatem.
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Bezlio Test Blog Post 9
That foresee the pain and trouble fail in their duty through. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam, eaque ipsa quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt explicabo. Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem quia voluptas sit aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos qui ratione voluptatem sequi nesciunt. Neque porro quisquam est, qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit, sed quia non numquam eius modi tempora incidunt ut labore et dolore magnam aliquam quaerat voluptatem.
Follow these steps to get there
It is a long established fact that a reader will be distracted by the readable content of a page when looking at its layout. The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution of letters, as opposed to using ‘Content here, content here’, making it look like readable English. Many desktop publishing packages and web page editors now use Lorem Ipsum as their default model text, and a search for ‘lorem ipsum’ will uncover many web sites still in their infancy. Various versions have evolved over the years, sometimes by accident, sometimes on purpose (injected humour and the like).
How to a nonprofit like Beckham
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla Donate Now pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam, eaque ipsa quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt explicabo. Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem quia voluptas sit aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos qui ratione voluptatem sequi nesciunt. Neque porro quisquam est, qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit, sed quia non numquam eius modi tempora incidunt ut labore et dolore magnam aliquam quaerat voluptatem.
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Kick Out The Kiosk, Leave The Laptop Behind
How a Mobile ERP Solution Enhances Efficiency—with No Painful IT Migration Necessary
Remember those heady days when manufacturing ERP kiosks became a thing? It was a huge step to integrate enterprise resource planning beyond the central office and put data capture and other capabilities near the production line.
Well, the industry is in the midst of the next great leap forward. Manufacturing is going mobile, and it’s easy to see why.
“Efficiency” is the watchword for companies obsessed with Lean engineering and Six Sigma. And mobile ERP apps deliver kiosk-level efficiency on steroids because they put essential tools in the hands of people wherever the action is, whether that’s…
…ON THE SHOP FLOOR
Nothing beats realtime progress monitoring and adjustments for maximizing profitability. But walking over to a shared kiosk to login, enter data and perform analyses isn’t realtime. It’s time-consuming.
In contrast, customized ERP interfaces on employee phones and tablets allow teams to perform functions where they work. For instance, they could scan a badge to track their start time on a client job, enter an inventory count from the storage rack or complete the quality assurance checklist without all the paper.
Data is instantly captured, and managers can continually gauge ROI and intervene to boost performance.
And when everyone is connected, communications improve, too. A supervisor can send a task reminder, or a worker can alert higher-ups to a mechanical problem. No more searching the facility for the right person and hollering over machines to get a message across.
With mobile ERP, teams might see their Fitbit step counts decrease, but their productivity will skyrocket.
…WITH FIELD SERVICE TEAMS ON-SITE WITH CUSTOMERS
Today’s consumers and businesses demand convenience. So product manufacturers are turning to field service teams to offer on-site and in-home installation, maintenance and even engineering services.
It’s a great differentiation strategy, but it becomes more powerful with a mobile ERP solution to turn the field service team into a roving revenue-generation army.
With mobile ERP, on-the-go field service professionals can access customer data and job requirements, track time and materials costs, and more. Making such functions possible with a few taps on a smartphone helps them use their time with the customer more effectively, reducing appointment duration while enhancing satisfaction.
And realtime information is delivered to managers, schedulers, accounting personnel and others so they can move on with their jobs as well.
…WITH SALES TEAMS IN A POTENTIAL CLIENT’S BOARDROOM
Then there’s field sales, who have their own remote demands. Capturing details of client interactions, analyzing accounts or estimating jobs on the spot—all of these capabilities can help accelerate the sales process and get to “yes” with lower upfront investment.
Using a mobile ERP—especially one with built-in CRM or the option to integrate applications like Salesforce—gives your sales team a “one stop shop” for their functionality desires, with no bulky laptop to haul. It eliminates the time-consuming workarounds many sales reps have rigged and provides features like voice-to-text and click-to-call to make everything easier.
And when the sales process feeds directly into production, billing and so on, the entire path from earning the business through banking the profit is smoother.
Now that’s efficiency.
The Barrier to Mobile ERP is the ERP
Manufacturers are striving to integrate these types of improvements. The only thing holding most mid-level manufacturing firms back is their ERP.
Some applications don’t include an ERP mobile app at all, and other mobile apps for manufacturing, such as Epicor mobile, are limited. But swapping out an existing ERP is generally not an option—it’s too expensive and fraught with risk.
This is where Bezlio comes in. A natively mobile solution, Bezlio securely taps into the ERP system and makes any desired functionality available via tablet, smartphone or that Apple Watch your best CNC operator got for her birthday.
And we do mean any functionality. Because Bezlio isn’t a monolithic application that takes ages for developers to update. It’s a flexible platform on which we create new workflows—bezls in our terminology—all the time.
Need to capture job-specific data from the production line or give sales reps some new analytics? Select and customize a bezl, and you’re on your way—no programming required.
Don’t see what you need in our bezl library? We can create it! For instance, we recently developed a touchless timeclock bezl to enable a client to implement a new, safer pre-shift process in response to COVID-19. It’s just one example of how Bezlio increases agility.
With Bezlio, the mobile transformation needn’t be a huge technological undertaking. You can simply shift your mindset toward the future.
Let us show you what’s possible by adding Bezlio to the ERP you already know and love. Just contact us to set up a convenient time for a demo.