Business of Agriculture March April 2019 Edition | Page 20

B a r C o d i n g : T h e u s e o f b a r- c o d i n g i n
warehousing operations plays a critical role in
inventory management. Bar-coded receipts have
several benefits such as: quick and accurate data
collection; reduces manual intervention; and
labour costs, as well as the risk of fake manual
storage receipts, is completely eliminated. Faster
and accurate access to information is critical
especially in operations like warehousing, as
it allows informed decision making and better
management.
Today’s
warehouses
can cover huge
amounts of
space or be
on multiple
levels. As such
manual stock
management
can be a time
consuming,
cumbersome
process that is
also prone to
errors
Radio Frequency Identification (RFID): Today’s
warehouses can cover huge amounts of space or be on
multiple levels. As such manual stock management can
be a time consuming, cumbersome process that is also
prone to errors. Low visibility of stock positions also
runs the added risk of pilferage from the warehouse.
An RFID uses electromagnetic fields to identify and
tag items which can then be monitored using radio
waves. An RFID system accords complete visibility of
stocks and helps in securing the warehouse against
pilferage or theft.
20 Business of Agriculture | March-April 2019 • Vol. V • Issue 2
GPS & GEO Tagging: The integration of real-time
technology with GPS & GEO tagging also plays a
key role in the successful operation of warehouses.
Digitisation and technologies such as: satellite imagery;
mobile telephony; and handheld devices like tablets
are increasingly being used in conjunction to each
other in the collection of data and information which
are then analysed and used to improve logistics as
well as storage management. These handheld devices
are capable of:
• Data management in the warehouse and real-time
capturing of data with real-time reporting and
controls
• Facilitates digital signature and cuts down
turnaround time
• Configured to communicate to the Management
Information System (MIS) database kept at a
remote location
• Configured to fire SMS to the client upon validation
of the data by the main database
Warehousing Operations
Temperature and humidity management are keys