Labels and Barcodes: Checking Them Before Goods Enter the Warehouse

A label that scans badly can stall a warehouse for days. The cartons arrive, the system does not recognise the code, somebody has to type 600 numbers by hand, and goods that were counted on the dock cannot be found in the stock list. The fault is cheap to catch when the cargo arrives and expensive to fix once the goods are on the shelves. This article covers what to check on printed labels and barcodes, how to test a sample and what to write down. Whether the goods need particular marking, or a particular language on the pack, to be sold in Uzbekistan depends on the product and on the rules, so confirm that with your broker or the competent authority and not from this article.

What the label should say

Compare the label on the carton and on the unit with the order and the invoice:

• the item code and description;
• the quantity per carton or per pack;
• the batch or lot number and the dates, where they are printed;
• the size, colour or model, where the item has variants;
• the carton number and the shipping mark.

Look also at the print itself. Is it legible, straight, free of smudges and firmly stuck? A label half peeled off, or printed so lightly that it fades under a finger, will not last through storage.

Barcodes: three things to look at

1. The number under the bars. It should agree with the code in your order or product list. A common retail code has a fixed number of digits (13 for the widely used EAN-13), so a code of the wrong length is wrong at first glance.
2. The print quality. Bars should be sharp and dark on a light background, with clear space on either side. Blurred edges, grey ink, creases or a code printed across a fold can all cause failures.
3. The scan. Read the code with a scanner or a phone application, and compare what the device reads with the number printed beneath it. The two must be identical.

Check also which code is on what. The carton usually carries a different code from the unit inside, and both should match your product list. The same barcode on two different items, or two barcodes for one item, is a fault to record.

Testing a sample and recording it

You cannot scan everything, and the aim is to test fairly.

• Choose cartons by a rule, such as every 25th, across pallets and layers.
• Scan the carton label, and then the unit barcode in the sample cartons.
• Test with the device your warehouse will use, since scanners differ in tolerance.
• Record every failure and the cause you can see: blurred print, wrong digits, damaged label, missing code.

If the failures fall into a pattern, such as one pallet or one print run, widen the check to that group.

Use a table with these columns: carton number, pallet, label text, printed number, scanned result, pass or fail, and remark. Photograph each failed label with the scanner display beside it, if possible. A cause such as "blurred print" is useful. A guess about how it happened is not.

A conditional example

A shipment has 1,000 cartons. You scan every 25th carton, which is 40 cartons. Of the 40, 34 scan correctly. Four are blurred or creased and will not read, and two scan but give a number that differs by one digit from the printed number and from your product list. The record: "40 of 1,000 cartons scanned; 34 read correctly; 4 would not read (blurred print, photographs 61 to 64); 2 gave a number that differs from the product list in the last digit (photographs 65 to 68)." Both of the last two came from pallet 11, so you scan every carton on that pallet.

Plan the fix before the goods go in

If labels fail, decide before putting the goods away: relabel on arrival (who, where and how long), hold the affected pallets apart, or return them. Agree with the supplier, on the basis of your contract, who pays, and keep the failed labels as evidence.

In short

A label is cheap to check at the dock and costly to find out about at the shelf. CargoChek offers labels and barcodes as a type of check: it reads and scans a sample, compares it with your order and photographs every failure.