Ninety six per cent of European companies rely on barcodes to increase efficiency, according to research carried out by Zebra Technologies. Some 39% of UK companies surveyed reported increased accuracy of information is the most important benefit of barcodes.
The European Labelling Study 2006 was carried out among 127 companies in the UK, Germany and France by Vanson Bourne on behalf of Zebra Technologies, the global provider of on-demand printing solutions, to explore European businesses attitudes to barcodes, RFID and other labelling technology.
Despite a high percentage across Europe in general, efficiency was not top of the list for French companies, with only 18% saying it was the most important reason for barcoding. French companies are under pressure to meet compliance mandates from global customers and as a result, 31% of respondents in France put this as the main reason for using barcodes.
Other reasons that European companies gave for using barcodes were: increasing the accuracy of ordering and invoicing (32%), cost reduction (26%), and the fact that newer technology isnt ready yet (16%).
The results of our survey show that the barcode is here to stay, said Rod Rodericks, managing director, Zebra EMEA. Companies have been using this technology for over 30 years and new innovations are improving the effectiveness of the barcode all the time. The latest printing and scanning technology has seen the development of two-dimensional barcodes which can contain many times the information of standard linear codes in use everywhere today.
These barcodes are making it possible for Zebra customers, which rely on the efficient movement of goods through the supply chain, to use a single label instead of many. This increases the accuracy in reading the information on the package, improving handling times and ensuring goods reach their destinations quickly and safely. These two-dimensional labels will become common place within the next two years, working alongside other auto-identification technologies, like RFID which continues to evolve, continued Rodericks.
Barcodes are being used for everything from tracking cans of beans onto shelves and through checkouts, to identifying patients during their stay in hospital. For line of sight applications the barcode is quick, efficient and very cost effective.
About Zebra Technologies
Zebra Technologies Corp. (Nasdaq: ZBRA) delivers innovative and reliable on-demand printing solutions for business improvement and security applications in 100 countries around the world. More than 90% of Fortune 500 companies use Zebra-brand printers. A broad range of applications benefit from Zebra-brand thermal bar code, smart label, receipt, and card printers, resulting in enhanced security, increased productivity, improved quality, lower costs, and better customer service. The company has sold more than five million printers, including RFID printer/encoders and wireless mobile solutions, and also offers software, connectivity solutions and printing supplies. Zebra Technologies Europe Ltd, headquartered in the United Kingdom, provides product and speciality label sales and support, including oversight of offices in Benelux, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, Sweden and the United Arab Emirates.
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