Previously, I’ve made the point that scanners and smartphones do not make good verifiers. Here’s the two-sentence summary:

• A scanner is a go/no-go gauge: it either scans and doesn’t tell you how close you are to failing or doesn’t scan and tells you nothing at all.
• A smartphone can read barcodes a scanner can’t, so what seems to be a good barcode won’t work in the world. False confidence is a trap.

Get the Right Tool

Verifiers grade the print quality of a barcode based on international standards. The grade is a prediction of scanning performance, from the high first-read rate of an A-grade (ISO 4.0) barcode down to a poorly printed D-grade (ISO 1.0) barcode, which is likely to require multiple scans to achieve successful data capture, if not scanning at all.

Verifiers also test the parsing of the data in the barcode. Good print quality means nothing if the data is incorrectly structured. An expiration date, lot or batch number, and other important data fields must be presented correctly, with the appropriate prefix and in the correct sequence.

Both print quality and data structure must pass. Either one can cause the barcode to fail.

Barcodes are the backbone of the information highway that supports product manufacturing, movement through the supply chain to the E-tailer or retail frontline, to the end user, providing important and helpful information for product use.

Same picture, two different interpretations

Some people will see a verifier as an expense: the cost of the device itself and the cost of the people to use it. Without a doubt, both are considerable costs. You already own a smartphone—why not use it? A barcode scanner is a fraction of the cost of a verifier, and anyone can pull the trigger. Sounds smart, what’s the problem?

What they don’t do is help you recognize and act on early risk signals, before they become issues. They are blind to risk. You don’t even know there’s a problem until your customer calls you.  That’s the paradigm difference.

Risk: Problem or Opportunity?

A barcode verifier is a risk management tool. They don’t just collect data and make documents. Managing risk creates value. Barcode verifiers provide the intelligence that support

timely, wise decision-making and collaboration, turning potential, as-yet unrealized risks into opportunities for prevention.

When your customer notifies you of a problem, you already have at least two problems, both of them serious and damaging. Many more problems could arise quickly before it’s resolved.

Your customer will never know that you prevented a problem. They have other things to worry about. Their quiet confidence in you becomes a lasting loyalty, which is your reward.

A closing thought. If you already have too much on your plate to find the right verifier, install it and staff it, a barcode quality and compliance testing service could be an instant solution. We are quick, inexpensive, confidential, and bring years of experience so you can focus on what you do best.

Contact us here.