How Santa Prepares for His Big Night with Barcodes
He’s making a list, and checking it twice, gonna find out who’s naughty or nice. With millions of children to deliver toys to in one night, Santa sure does have a lot on his hands. While Santa’s elves and reindeer are a merry help for the old man, his jolly spirit and success contains one secret: barcode technology.
Holiday shopping might seem like a daunting task for some. There are so many people to shop for, so many stores to shop at and so many gifts to choose from. So, how does Santa
always get it done?
One night changed Santa’s operation forever. He was enjoying cookies and milk while searching the web and came across an
article about barcode systems. Santa learned that
barcode systems were created to help businesses track products, prices and stock levels for centralized management in a computer software system. In addition, the systems allows increases in productivity and efficiency.
After Santa decided to start using a barcode system, preparing for his big night became more efficient. Here are five
benefits from barcode systems that help out Santa:
- Labeling
Santa needs a label for each and every gift his elves wrap. Beforehand, the elves were manually designing individual labels, which was a tedious sand cumbersome process. Wasp’s
WaspLabeler +2D comes with over 100 pre-built templates and makes it easy to create
inventory labels, asset tags, address and shipping labels, ID badges and coupons. The elves were thrilled when they could quickly design
custom labels, barcodes, text and graphics using WaspLabeler +2D.
- Tracking
Santa needs to make millions of deliveries in one single night, so tracking the certain gift that goes to correct location is an essential part of pulling off the night. WaspLabeler +2D also allowed the elves to automatically serialize inventory and asset tags in order to simplify tracking. In addition, the system automatically remembers the number used previously, so human error (or should we say, elf error) is automatically reduced.
Saving time in relation to tracking is also a huge benefit from barcode systems. Examples on how
barcode systems save time with inventory include:
- One customer needed 25 employees to work over a weekend in order to take the 6-month inventory; with barcode system, this process was reduced to four employees and a total of five hours
- In a shipment of 10 packages, it takes approximately two minutes or more to write down product codes and serial numbers; with a barcode system, it only takes about 10 to 20 seconds to scan the product codes and serial numbers.
- Data Entry Errors
Santa’s workshop is the most fast-paced environment you could imagine, especially in the weeks leading up to his big night. In the past, the fast-paced environment made the workshop susceptible to errors. Barcode software eliminated this issue and now Santa can sleep soundly knowing he doesn’t have to fear those mistakes.
- Connectivity
Santa’s data exists in all sorts of databases to operate efficiently. He stores the “Naughty or Nice” list in a spreadsheet, the types of toys and the addresses in an SQL server and much more. The WaspLabeler +2D actually saved Santa
time and money by offering database connectivity. WaspLabeler +2D connected to Santa’s data across all different outlets, so now he simply inputs data into the label and it flows directly to the desired database, saving him time and avoiding errors.
- Efficiency
As each toy leaves the workshop, checkout efficiency is essential. Since not all toys are the same size, same weight or same dimension, tiny or bulky items can have issues being scanned at checkout. Santa implemented Wasp’s
Barcode Maker to help with that process. Checkout is no longer an issue for Santa and his workshop.
Santa’s workshop isn’t the only business reaping the benefits from implementing barcode software. The Arizona Cardinals scoreboard crew
implemented an asset tracking system (leveraging barcode technology) to track essential parts for a perfect game day experience. The crew ultimately saved over
500 hours per year. Even if your small to medium sized business isn’t participating in elf work, barcode systems provide benefits for all. The software reduces costs, saves time, minimizes mistakes and improves overall efficiency.