Wasp Barcode Technologies: The Barcode Solution People
5 Important Factors of Efficiency in the Workforce
For as long as WatchGuard Video could remember, they were printing pre-designed label templates through an outside company. At one time, they were spending about $7,000 on custom labels from the label manufacturer. Then, they implemented
barcode software and made a one-time, affordable purchase. Their expenses vanished and efficiency appeared, leaving the organization with important, long-term benefits in their overall workforce.
WatchGuard Video, the world’s largest manufacturer of in-car video systems for law enforcement departments, provides service to approximately 5,000 different law enforcement agencies. It is vital to the success of this organization to ensure that their camera system inventory is labeled properly.
However, printing labels with an outside company created a massive expense and put a large dent in saving time for WatchGuard.
“We had an immediate need to print labels in different sizes for our new product that we were preparing to launch,” said Chris Robertson, director of operations for WatchGuard Video. “But the cost to print the new labels and the time it would take to have them printed and shipped to us was unacceptable. On average, we were waiting 6-8 weeks for labels to arrive. I knew there had to be a faster, more flexible solution.”
[Tweet "“We had an immediate need to print labels in different sizes for our new product that we were preparing to launch.""]
Essentially, a word to describe WatchGuard Video before barcode software would be: hectic. A word to describe them after implementing barcode software: Efficient.
Wasp is here today to give you five important factors of efficiency in the workforce and show you how
WatchGuard received that efficiency due to target implementing barcode software.
1. Efficiency allows you to save TIME
Being the
boss of your own business is time consuming enough. According to an infographic created by Atlassian, people in the workforce are currently spending 31 hours in unproductive meetings over a month, receiving 304 weekly business emails and taking 2 hours recovering from distractions throughout the day. Clearly, there’s no time to waste. Businesses that don’t use an effective system fall victim to the statistics above. WatchGuard Video began to
print labels directly off of the laser printer they already had in their office, design and print standard or customized barcodes for inventory labels and much more instantly. No more time wasted.
“The label design process is straight forward and easy to use,” said Robertson.
Efficiency can be the difference in waiting 6 – 8 weeks for a barcode label to arrive and spending simply 10 minutes to design and print directly from your office.
2. Efficiency allows you to save MONEY
According to the
State of Small Business Report by Wasp Barcode, 51% of 1,000 small businesses in the U.S. spent money either replacing old equipment or maintaining current IT infrastructure. Not only are small businesses wasting time on inefficient software systems, they’re losing money too. “Since implementing
WaspLabeler +2D, target we’ve realized exponential cost savings,” said Robertson. “We were spending about $7,000 a year on custom labels from the label manufacturer. WaspLabeler +2D was a one-time purchase.”
When your business discovers efficient equipment, you should no longer be spending money each year replacing old equipment.
3. Efficiency allows you to ensure ACCOUNTABILITY
WatchGuard dealt with a printing facility that had a limited number of label sizes and often could not provide small enough labels for certain products that were necessary in the camera systems. They hold the largest market share of the digital in-care video industry, so it’s important for them to keep up with the demand. When you lay the fate of your business operations in the hands of another business, or even employees who manually track inventory or label products, you increase your business’s room for error. Whether it comes to estimating
product deployment delays due to extended label shipping times or simply ensuring your labels match the item they are labeling (and are the correct size), you start to juggle accountability. When the software your organization uses is efficient, you ensure accountability and discourage the
misuse of assets.
4. Efficiency allows you to provide THE RIGHT ENVIRONMENT
According to
Business Sense, Doug Crawford, founder and managing director of Crus Consulting, said, “Our brains need ‘maintenance’ in order to perform – nutrition, rest, appropriate stimuli etc. – but all too often the way we design work and lead and manage people ignores these fundamentals.”
Using outdated manual systems or systems that simple don’t function with the culture of your company prevent you from reaching an efficient workforce. When you provide your employees with the best possible software systems that are easy to use and save them time, you improve their willingness to be productive.
5. Efficiency allows you to improve COMMUNICATION
Your employees are your most valuable assets. When you provide them with systems that are difficult to use and time consuming, it is difficult for the entire organization to be in sync. According to James K. Harter, Ph.D., Gallup's chief scientist for
workplace management, there are several workplace elements that consistently predict turnover across business units. One of those including: having the materials and equipment to do the job right. Providing your employees with efficient software can be the difference between them staying or leaving.
When your company runs efficiently, the communication flows effortlessly. One way efficiency allows you to improve communication is welcoming the “open door policy”. If you’re able to create a culture of honest and open communication, the overall morale in your business will increase causing your employees to be more productive.
Whether you find yourself constantly running out of time, wondering why you’re constantly spending money on new equipment or simply trying to provide the right environment for your employees, there’s one important thing to keep in mind: Efficiency can be attained through the software and services you provide for your organization, and can make dramatic differences in the success of your business. After all, providing the most cost efficient, easy to use and timely software can become the difference in $7,000 a year or a one time, affordable fee and waiting for 6 – 8 weeks or completing a task in 10 minutes.
