I once ran the stockroom (or as it is often called: the back) of a large retail store for two years before moving into a management position. I loved the constant movement in the back. It was a fun job; one that allowed me to interact with everyone who worked in my store. For everything to run smoothly in retail demands an organized and efficiently run stock room. I will admit that my organizational OCD came in handy. If an employee scanned an empty shelf tag on the floor and the scanner said there were more in back, it was my job to make sure it was there, exactly in the place it was logged. Of course, I had my select floor employees that always forgot to reassign merchandise to the floor but if my inventory was done on a regular basis, I could catch any errors.
When working in the stock room of a retail store, there is nothing more frustrating than having equipment that doesn’t work. I hated being in the middle of an inventory and having my scanner quit. Not only did it seem there were never enough scanners for everyone to use, people were constantly leaving them at their station at the end of a shift, requiring me to go hunt them down all over the floor. My entire job depended on a scanner: tagging new merchandise, accepting new shipments and deliveries, logging in stolen merchandise, returning defects, completing monthly inventory and bringing product from stock to floor all need handheld scanning equipment that lasts an entire shift.
The one thing I really wish I had had in the back was a traceable handheld so that if I ever lost it, it’d be easily found. It’s also nice to have interchangeable keypads, long lasting batteries, large/easy to read screens and a scanner that can work at all angles for when UPCs are in hard to reach areas or are difficult to read. They also occasionally get dropped; so having a handheld that can withstand a drop from a ladder to a concrete floor is important. Instant communication with the mainframe, immediate inventory updates, and an ergonomic build all make for easy day long use.
AbeTech has a wide range of handheld scanning devices for the retail environment. From handheld printers to scanners, we cover all the bases of a stockroom inventory.
